MINTEN’S NATURAL HAT TRICK PROPELS P-BRUINS PAST THUNDERBIRDS

Mar 16, 2025

Springfield, MA -  Forward Fraser Minten netted a natural hat trick and added an assist, propelling the Providence Bruins past the Springfield Thunderbirds 4-1 on Sunday evening at the MassMutual Center. Riley Duran netted the fourth goal in the victory. Goaltender Michael DiPietro stopped 24 shots to earn the win.

 

How It Happened

• Just 4:40 into the game, Georgii Merkulov fired a pass to Minten above the crease, where he redirected the puck into the back of the net for a power play goal, giving the P-Bruins a 1-0 lead. Matthew Poitras was credited with a secondary assist. 
• From the left post, Minten tapped in a feed from Billy Sweezey to give Providence a 2-0 lead just 2:29 into the second frame. Riley Tufte received a secondary assist. 
• Minten collected a rebound in the slot and walked it to the right post, where he patiently flipped the puck under the crossbar, giving the P-Bruins a 3-0 lead with 10:05 left in the second period. Fabian Lysell was credited with an assist. 
• Dalibor Dvorsky’s shot from the right circle bounced off the glass behind the net and rebounded out to the crease, where it banked off the back of the goaltender and across the goal line, cutting the Providence lead to 3-1 with 7:14 remaining in the second period. 
• Duran got his stick on Minten’s shot from the point, sending it into the back of the net to extend the P-Bruins’ lead to 4-1 with 2:46 to play in the second frame. Joey Abate was credited with a secondary assist. 

 

Stats 

• Minten’s tallies were his first three in a Providence uniform.
• DiPietro stopped 24 of 25 shots. The P-Bruins totaled 29 shots.
• The power play went 1-for-5 and the penalty kill was 3-for-3.
• The Providence Bruins improve to 33-18-4-3.

 

Up Next

The Providence Bruins travel to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday, March 21 at Mohegan Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m.