HARTFORD, Conn. – Maxime Sauve provided the decisive offensive punch for the Providence Bruins in a 4-2 victory over the Connecticut Whale Tuesday night at the XL Center.
Sauve scored two power-play goals off rebounds in a three-goal third period that rallied the Bruins from trailing 2-1 after the second period.
Sauve also had two goals in the Bruins’ 3-2 victory at the XL Center on Jan. 15.
“It’s becoming a nice place to play and get some goals,” Sauve said. “I just try to play the game simple and put the puck on the net. I kept my feet moving, rushed the net, played hard and found the puck.”
The Whale (22-18-2-5) seemingly had control through 40 minutes before four penalties led to Sauve having four of his 12 goals in the last two meetings with their Atlantic Division rival.
“That’s the way it was going,” Whale coach Ken Gernander said of the calls. “We had some power plays in the second period and capitalized, and (referees Jamie Koharski and Tim Mayer) are going to look to maybe make amends. But if you keep your stick on the ice and your feet moving, you should be all right.
“But when you feel you’re on the defensive and flat-footed, there are going to be opportunities where you’re going to put yourself in a compromising position and possibly take a penalty. They were playing the whole third period in the offensive zone and could be aggressive.”
Consecutive penalties on Stu Bickel (interference), Jared Nightingale (boarding) and newcomer Bretton Cameron (tripping) in the opening 7:34 of the third period and a slashing call on Tessier that offset a hooking penalty on Colby Cohen led to Sauve’s two power-play goals as the Bruins amassed a 13-4 shot advantage in less than 11 minutes.
Jeremy Reich’s empty-net goal with 1:04 left assured the Whale would lose their first game in regulation (13-1-0-2) when leading after two periods. Meanwhile, the Bruins (21-20-3-1) won for only the third time when trailing after 40 minutes (3-17-2-0). It wasn’t the way the Whale wanted to begin a key four-game homestand against division foes that they’re fighting for playoff spots and position.
The Whale lost the lead despite the return of right wing Dale Weise, playing his first game at the XL Center since Dec. 29, when he was called up by the Rangers for the second time this season. He was scoreless in eight games while averaging 61/2 minutes in New York, but he scored twice Tuesday night while playing 241/2 minutes and felt he could have played another 10.
Sauve’s winner came when he converted Cohen’s rebound with 9:37 left. That came 12 seconds after Nolan Schaefer (27 saves) made a strong stop on Weise’s backhander from 15 feet in the slot.
Weise said he had “a little hop in my step” but didn’t feel it was “a statement game” He said it took a few shifts to get into a rhythm and was the beneficiary of two brilliant set-ups by Tim Kennedy and All-Star right wing Jeremy Williams.
“I believe in myself and feel I can play, and I’m just down here to try to help the team win,” said Weise, who had a game-high seven shots and now has nine goals in 17 games with the Whale. “I’m not trying to send a message to anyone. I play with a chip on my shoulder, and both passes were great passes.”
But the penalties were most on Weise’s mind.
“I’ve been kind of checking up on the team lately, and even when I was here before, penalties are what were hurting us,” said Weise, who was on a line with Kennedy and Jason Williams and scored his first goals since Dec. 21. “We take a couple that are completely unnecessary, and they come back to bite you, and that’s usually what happens. I thought we were in full control of that game, and then we took some penalties, they scored on the power play and we just gave up two points.
“If you’re up in a 2-1 game, you can’t afford to take penalties in the third period. Power plays are the biggest momentum swings you have in games. We get a big (penalty) kill and all of a sudden we start rolling, and they score a couple and they get rolling.”
The Whale started strong with six of the first seven shots, but Bruins came closest to scoring when Zach Hamill hit the left post at 7:18 while on a power play. Just 40 seconds later, Schaefer, coming off a 41-save effort in a 2-1 shootout victory over Manchester on Sunday, stopped Jason Williams’ backhander on breakaway off a deft lead pass by Jeremy Williams.
The Whale got fortunate again with 6:20 left in the period when Kirk MacDonald hit the post, then on the ensuing rush, Chad Johnson (31 saves) denied Jeremy Reich from 15 feet in the slot.
Schaefer flicked out his right pad to stop Nightingale’s right point shot with 5:24 left, and the Bruins then took the lead when MacDonald raced down the left wing and slipped his own rebound between Johnson’s legs with 2:55 to go. Lane MacDermid, son of former Hartford Whalers right wing Paul MacDermid, set the scoring play in motion when he forced a turnover in the neutral zone.
Johnson kept it a one-goal game when he stopped Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman on a 3-on-2 with 1:22 left, and Kennedy set the table for the tying play when he made a brilliant backhand pass from the right circle, through the slot to the left circle to Weise, who fired a one-timer on which Schaefer had no chance at 3:01.
The Whale took their only lead on their second power play as Weise got inside Cohen and deflected in Jason Williams’ centering pass from the left circle at 7:20.
After Johnson stopped Sauve’s partial breakaway at 5:28 thanks to help from defenseman Wade Redden’s hustling backcheck, Sauve converted the rebound of Cohen’s one-time shot from the left point to tie it at 6:16. Schaefer kept it even when he stopped Weise’s backhander with 9:47 left, and on the ensuing rush, Sauve got the winner when he put in Scott Arniel’s rebound 12 seconds later.
Weise nearly tied the score with 8:16 left, but Reich iced it three seconds after Johnson went to the bench for a sixth attacker.
“When we get up a goal, the best thing is to just keep getting the puck deep and keep forechecking,” Redden said. “I think sometimes you try to make plays, and if you turn the puck over, it’s coming back at us and then we’re in a position where we have to hook a guy or take penalties. I don’t think you can just say it’s penalties because there are plays that lead up to them that puts us in a bad position. So we have to play smarter.”
Story by Bruce Berlet of the Connecticut Whale Comment@prohockeynews.com
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