P-BRUINS FALL TO CHECKERS

Mar 25, 2025

Charlotte, NC - The Providence Bruins fell 6-3 to the Charlotte Checkers on Tuesday night at Bojangles Coliseum. Forwards Trevor Kuntar and Jaxon Nelson each tallied a goal and an assist. Matthew Poitras netted a power play goal in the middle frame. 

 

How It Happened

• Ben Steeves collected the puck off a defender’s skate in the low slot and fired a shot past the diving goaltender, giving the Checkers a 1-0 lead with 12:25 remaining in the first period. 
• Nicholas Zabaneh intercepted a clearing attempt, sending him on a breakaway, where he chipped a shot under the goaltender’s pads, extending the Charlotte lead to 2-0 with 10:26 to play in the first frame. 
• Justin Sourdif redirected a shot from above the blue paint into the back of the net, giving the Checkers a 3-0 lead with 1:36 left in the first period.
• Nelson got his stick on Chris Ortiz’s shot from the left point, sending it through the goaltender’s legs to cut the Charlotte lead to 3-1 with 15:36 remaining in the second period. Kuntar was credited with a secondary assist. 
• Jesse Puljujärvi caught a feed while open at the blue line, took it on a breakaway, and scored on the forehand to make it 4-1 Checkers with 5:59 to play in the second frame. 
• Poitras caught a pass in the right circle and fired a shot short-side top shelf for a power play goal, cutting the Charlotte lead to 4-2 with 5:16 left in the second period. Fraser Minten and Georgii Merkulov received the assists. 
• Just 44 seconds later, Kuntar hammered a slap shot from the left side boards past the glove of the goaltender, shrinking the Checker’s lead to 4-3. Joey Abate and Nelson were credited with assists.  
• Wilmer Skoog wristed a shot from the top of the left circle that whistled inside the near post, extending the Charlotte lead to 5-3 with 3:44 remaining in the second period.  
• Trevor Carrick ripped a slap shot from the point that beat the goaltender on the glove side, giving the Checkers a 6-3 lead with 16:05 to play in the third frame. 

 

Stats 

• Nelson tallied his first goal of the season.
• Poitras has points in nine straight AHL contests with 13 total points in that span.
• Daniil Misyul played in his first game for Providence.
• Goaltender Brandon Bussi stopped 24 of 29 shots. Michael DiPietro stopped 8 of 9 shots in 20 minutes of relief. The P-Bruins totaled 31 shots.
• The power play went 1-for-2 and the penalty kill was 2-for-2.
• The Providence Bruins fall to 35-19-4-3.

 

Up Next

The Providence Bruins remain in Charlotte to face the Checkers on Wednesday, March 26 at Bojangles Coliseum. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.