Manchester tops P-Bruins 3-1

The Providence Bruins fell to the Manchester Monarchs 3-1 this evening at Verizon Wireless Arena. Jamie Tardif scored his 17th goal of the season, a team-high and Michael Hutchinson posted 27 saves in the loss as the Bruins fall to 19-15-0-3 on the season.

Despite outshooting the Monarchs 11-8 in the first period, the P-Bruins were unable to find the back of Peter Mannino's net. The P-Bruins again came out flying in the second period, but a defensive mistake cost them a goal at 3:55 when David Kolomatis beat Hutchinson for his fourth goal of the season. Just over two minutes later the Monarchs struck again when Brandon Kozun tallied his 11th goal of the season. The Bruins responded with multiple chances, including a few volleys in front of Mannino, but the Monarchs' goaltender stood strong and kept the Bruins off the board.

Both teams came out hungry in the third period, however it was a battle of the goaltenders as both Hutchinson and Mannino made highlight reel saves. It wasn't until Providence pulled Hutchinson in the last two minutes that the Bruins finally cracked Mannino. Jamie Tardif beat the Monarchs' goaltender right off the faceoff for his 17 goal of the season, a team-high. Carter Camper and Ryan Spooner assisted on the play to bring the Bruins within one. However, the Monarchs' capitalized on the Bruins empty net less than a minute later to secure the 3-1 win.