Game one between the Providence Bruins and the Cleveland Monsters on Friday night (Jan. 31) did not disappoint. A six-goal game and seven penalties saw both teams show no love for each other after 60 minutes of play. After losing the first two games of the 2024-25 regular season in Providence, the Bruins took the first game in Cleveland 4-2. What are the three Bruins Bites that came out from the first game of the two-game set?
First Bite: Oh Captain, My Bruins Captain
What a game for Bruins captain Patrick Brown who led the team with a three-point night. He kicked off the scoring just 24 seconds into the game beating Jet Greaves to make it a 1-0 lead for the visitors. People weren’t even in their seats and already the Bruins had an early marker. That is certainly one way to get the guys going in an away barn.
Brown added an assist on Ian Mitchell‘s third goal of the season in the third period, giving the Bruins the 3-2 lead. Brown was showing why he was the captain by being able to make plays all night. The Bruins were looking to get a revenge win after losing both games at home in overtime in November, and Brown led the way. He capped off his huge night with an empty net goal for his second of the game. Furthermore, his 11th of the season iced the game for the Bruins to get the win.
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Brown’s three-point night saw him go from 26 to 29 in one swoop and sits with 11 goals on the season. Talk about leadership coming in clutch when it mattered most.
Second Bite: Riley Tufte is Tough
Do you want to make your presence felt? How about a Gordie Howe hat trick to set the tone for the weekend? Riley Tufte made a statement on Friday night with a goal, an assist, and a fight for good measure. Tufte got the lone assist on the Brown goal early in the first period to get his assist out of the way. He then added the goal in the same period to make it a 2-1 Bruins lead with under two minutes left. Regarding the first period, what a way to come out strong for Tufte. Also, his two-point period saw him get his 11th assist and 12th goal of the season.
He was not done, however, as he capped off his Gordie Howe hat trick with a brouhaha in the third period with Max McCue. Tufte was driving to the goal and collided with Greaves in the crease. Both guys were down with some discomfort after the initial interaction. While trying to get back up, he got bumped by McCue and took exception to it. Both guys dropped the gloves and Tfute took the win pretty quickly. Unfortunately for Tufte, while he did get the five minutes for fighting, he also got a two-minute penalty for goalie interference.
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However, in the end, he did have a stellar night for the Bruins with the Gordie hat trick and the 4-2 win. Basically, he sent a message to the Monsters to not mess with him if they wanted to drop the gloves. He has no issue getting into a “why I outta” with anyone.
Third Bite: Special Team’s Shines for Bruins
While it might be a cliche, special teams in games like these matter. Regarding the Bruins, special teams came in clutch for them in the win. The power play went 1-for-4 on the night after Mitchell’s shot from near the blue line went in for his third of the season. In the players-to-watch piece, Mitchell was one of the guys to watch for his two-way play. In the end, he finished the night with four shots on goal and the power play goal (PPG).
Mitchell’s PPG was also the game-winning goal for the Bruins. The way he played Friday night showed why he is essential to the 5v5 play as well as the special teams.
What was even more special was how the penalty kill played for the Bruins. The penalty kill units went for a perfect 3-for-3 on the night to shut down the Monsters. Plus, they were able to get Cleveland to commit penalties to essentially kill off their power plays. In the third period, the Monsters took a power play and turned it into a 4v3 power play for the Bruins in a matter of minutes. The worst thing to do is turn a power play into a power kill for the opponents.
That type of special teams play turns into a clinic of how to make the power play work to your advantage, especially for the Bruins, who capitalized on it well. In the end, it came up huge to close out the game for their 24th victory of the season.
Back at it on Saturday
The Bruins are back at it on Saturday, Feb. 1, for game two of the weekend set. Providence looks to even the regular season series with the Monsters. The game is set for a 7 p.m. Eastern start time. It’ll be interesting to see how game two goes after the fireworks of game one on Friday night. Will the 24-13-4-1 Bruins be able to even the series and get their 25th win of the season? Or will the 23-13-3-3 Monsters look to spoil the revenge tour?
