Jiri Patera turned in a spotless night in net, stopping all 21 shots he saw, and Alex Steeves piled up a goal and four assists as the Providence Bruins rolled past the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 8-0 on Sunday evening at the PPL Center.
Brendan Gaunce added a pair of goals and an assist, while Lukas Reichel and Dans Locmelis each finished with a goal and an assist in the lopsided win.
Providence set the tone late in the first period when Steeves left the puck for Ty Gallagher, who carried it to the top of the slot and ripped a wrist shot into the upper-right corner to make it 1-0 with 9:11 remaining. Reichel picked up a secondary assist on the play.
The lead grew to 2-0 with 5:47 left in the opening frame after Steeves moved the puck across the neutral zone, entered the right circle, shielded off a defender and slipped a pass to Reichel at the left post. Reichel chipped it in for the finish.
The P-Bruins kept pouring it on early in the second. Just 37 seconds into the period, Joey Abate pushed the puck over the blue line on a 2-on-1 and fed Jake Schmaltz, who one-timed a shot from the right circle past the diving goaltender for a 3-0 edge. Harris earned a secondary assist.
Gaunce then cashed in on the power play, knocking a rebound in from above the crease with 6:32 left in the second to stretch the margin to 4-0. Locmelis and Steeves assisted.
Providence made it 5-0 with 1:52 remaining in the period when Cross Hanas jumped on a clearing attempt at the top of the right circle and fired a wrist shot inside the near post.
The scoring kept coming in the third. At 1:36, Gaunce sent the puck to Steeves on a 2-on-1 rush, and Steeves buried a wrist shot into the upper-right corner to push it to 6-0.
Gaunce added another later in the period, redirecting a shot from Tobie Paquette-Bisson at the top of the crease to make it 7-0 with 9:51 left.
Locmelis closed out the scoring with 4:54 remaining, finishing a rebound at the left post. Loke Johansson and Billy Sweezey were credited with the assists.
Steeves’ goal was his first of the season, and his five-point night was a season high. Georgii Merkulov was the last Providence Bruins player to post five points in a game, doing it on December 9, 2023 with a 2-3-5 line.
Patera’s shutout was his first of the season and the fourth of his AHL career.
Providence outshot Lehigh Valley 32-21, went 1-for-3 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. The Bruins improved to 5-6-0-0.
Next up, Providence visits the Hamilton Hammers on Friday, November 6 at TD Coliseum. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
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