During the long three month stretch between the should have been October start date, and the finally happening January 19th start date, my roommate and I found our fix of hockey in the AHL. And with that a pricey new hobby. Going to school in the West-Boonie area of Massachusetts, the Springfield Falcons were in our backyard. Their NHL affiliate is the Columbus Blue Jackets. Who? Precisely. That wasn’t going to happen. We turned of course to the Providence Bruins (And the Connecticut Whale, but that is neither here nor there, and not important.)
Providence was an easy choice, with familiar names such as Torey Krug, Jordan Caron, Carter Camper, Lane MacDermid, and Matt Bartkowski, who all stepped up during the end of the 2012 season for the Boston Bruins. With the start of this half season we are seeing a new wave of Providence faces filling up the Bruins bench.
Chris Bourque is most notable, having played ten of the Bruins 11 games so far, and for being the son of Hockey Hall of Famer Ray Bourque. Bourque this season has totaled one goal and one assist, the goal being a game-winner against the Toronto Maple Leafs on February second. He is filling the role of Benoit Pouliot on the third line with Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley. A spot that was considered for Jordan Caron, but given to Bourque on account of Caron being injured.
Lane MacDermid is a familiar face. He won over many Bruins fans last season when on his first shift, first game, he dropped the gloved against the Rangers’ Mike Rupp. Clearly his attitude hasn’t changed, having dropped the gloves twice in the Toronto game on the second.
Rounding out the Providence faces we’ve seen on the Bruins bench this season are two of Providence’s three top goal scorers, Jamie Tardiff and Ryan Spooner.
Tardiff leads Providence with 24 goals and 10 assists. This 28year old played his first NHL game in Toronto in that same February 2nd win over the Leafs.
Brad Marchand took an injury in that Toronto game, opening up a spot on the roster for Spooner to play on February 6th, 2012 against the team he grew up watching, the Montreal Canadiens. Spooner is tied for first at 34points with Tardiff in Providence with ten goals and 24 assists. Spooner also appeared in the Bruins development camp in 2012.
With the Bruins bench healthy again, that’s all I’ve got on the Providence boys playing in the big leagues. Providence is currently fifth in the Eastern Conference, and after what was a rocky start to their season its good to see they’ve found their legs.
Anyway, keep checking back for more, I’ll be here to keep you informed.
-Kaylin
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