Projo Bruins Blog

June 2009 Archives

BOSTON -- The Bruins announced Tuesday night they have bought out the last year of forward Peter Schaefer's contract.

Schaefer spent all of 2008-09 with the Providence Bruins, recording 7 goals and 19 assists for 26 points in 47 regular-season games. In eight career NHL seasons, Schaefer played in 556 games for three clubs (Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators and the Vancouver Canucks). Overall he scored 98 goals with 161 assists for 259 career points.

Schaefer was acquired by the Bruins from the Ottawa Senators for Shean Donovan on July 17, 2007.

Following the buyout, Schaefer becomes an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any other NHL team.

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USA Hockey today announced that 34 players, including Tim Thomas and Phil Kessel of the Boston Bruins, have been invited to the U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Orientation Camp from Aug. 17-19, at Seven Bridges Ice Arena in Woodridge, Ill.

The Olympic team's general manager is Brian Burke and the head coach is Ron Wilson, both Providence College alums. Wilson's assistants will be Scott Gordon, former Providence Bruins head coach, and John Tortorella.

Here's the list of invitees:

Goal: Ryan Miller, Jonathan Quick, Tim Thomas

Defence: Tom Gilbert, Tim Gleason, Ron Hainsey, Erik Johnson, Jack Johnson, Mike Komisarek, Paul Martin, Brooks Orpik, Brian Rafalski, Robert Scuderi, Ryan Suter, Ryan Whitney

Forwards: David Backes, David Booth, Dustin Brown, Dustin Byfuglien, Ryan Callahan, Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Patrick Kane, Ryan Kesler, Phil Kessel, Jamie Langenbrunner, Ryan Malone, Mike Modano, Kyle Okposo, T.J. Oshie, Zach Parise, Joe Pavelski, Bobby Ryan, Paul Stastny

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According to The Boston Globe, the Bruins were prepared on Friday night -- the start of the NHL Draft -- to trade Phil Kessel and their 2010 first-round draft pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for defenseman Tomas Kaberle and Toronto's first pick in the draft, the seventh overall.

The Globe, quoting unnamed sources with knowledge of the negotiations, said that the deal collapsed just hours before the draft, when Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli learned that Toronto was not willing to part with the number-seven pick, and wanted Kessel and the 2010 Boston pick for Kaberle alone.

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Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke is expected to do lots of wheeling and dealing at the NHL draft this week, and Tim Wharnsby of the Toronto Globe and Mail believes that Burke may have interest in Peter Schaefer, who spent all of last season with the Providence Bruins.

Click here to read the story.

Schaefer, who turns 32 next month, has one year and $2.3 million left on his contract. He was a good soldier in Providence last season, according to coach Rob Murray, though he wasn't particularly effective on the ice, with 7-19-26 totals in 47 games.

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BOSTON (AP) -- The Boston Bruins say defenseman Andrew Ference has undergone successful surgery to repair an abdominal hernia and a torn groin.

Ference's recovery time is estimated at four to six weeks following the surgery Wednesday at Massachusetts General Hospital.

The 30-year-old Ference played in 47 regular-season games for Boston, recording a goal and 15 assists.

His career NHL totals include 24 goals and 109 assists.

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BOSTON (AP) - The Boston Bruins have signed general manager Peter Chiarelli to a contract extension.

Chiarelli helped build the team that finished with the second-best record in the NHL last season.

The Bruins beat the Montreal Canadiens in the first round for their first playoff series victory since 1999. Boston then lost in the conference semifinals to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Chiarelli had one year remaining on the four-year contract he signed in 2006. Terms of the new deal were not disclosed.

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Ten years ago, Providence Bruins won their only Calder Cup with a win over the Rochester Americans on Sunday, June 13, in Providence. Here is the game story by Bob Dick, who at the time was the Journal's P-Bruins beat writer:

By BOB DICK
Journal Sports Writer

PROVIDENCE - A loud and festive sellout crowd of 11,909 at the Civic Center last night went bonkers over their Providence Bruins, who capped a historic American Hockey League season by capturing their first Calder Cup with an impressive 5-1 win over the Rochester Americans.

When it was over, the P-Bruins threw gloves and sticks into the air, leaped off the bench and mobbed winning goaltender John Grahame. On the bench, the coaching staff of Peter Laviolette and Bill Armstrong hugged everyone in sight. The long, tiring season was finally over and the team of destiny in the AHL during the 1998-99 season was Calder Cup champions. All the players took a turn skating around the Civic Center ice holding the Cup above their heads.

"They worked so hard during the season," Laviolette said. "Nine months of hockey. They made a dedication to win every single game they played. They tried, they didn't win them all but they tried. I have a tremendous amount of respect for those guys."

And, for the first time this season, Laviolette wasn't afraid to say what everyone else has been saying - that his team was, indeed, the best in the league and the best of all time.

"Arguably, this is the greatest team to ever play in the American Hockey League," he said. "The greatest players to ever play the game in this league. They did everything that could be asked. No one is going to hang that statement on the wall in a lockerroom and say they're cocky."

P-Bruins forward Peter Ferraro was named winner of the Jack Butterfield Award as the MVP of the playoffs. Ferraro was the leading postseason scorer for Providence with nine goals, including one last night, and 12 assists for 21 points.

"Anytime you're lucky enough to win a championship, it's a tremendous honor," Ferraro said. "We had a comfortable feeling througout this series. Rochester was a very good, hard-working team. But the combination on our team of skill and hard work paid off."

Providence, a team that finished in the AHL basement last season, eliminated the second best team in the league in five games and beat the Amerks in six of their seven meetings this year, further emphasizing exactly how dominent this team was.

When checking line center Marquis Mathieu banged in Providence's third goal at 13:18 of the second period, P-Bruins fans were ready to celebrate the first Calder Cup for the city of Providence since the Providence Reds won it 43 years ago. By then, the odds of Providence coming out on top were pretty good because. The P-Bruins were 47-2-1-2 this season when leading after two periods.

First-period goals by Landon Wilson and Joel Prpic had given Providence a jump start toward winning the Cup.

One Providence player who shined throughout this championship series was Grahame, who was outstanding in the five games, allowing the Amerks only nine goals. He also recorded one shutout. It was Grahame's best goaltending effort of the year. Last night he finished with 26 saves.

Rochester coach Brian McCutcheon called Grahame one of the keys to the series' outcome.

"We felt going into this series that goaltending might not be a strong point for them, but Grahame disproved that. He turned out to be one of their strengths," McCutcheon said. "But their team has so much depth. It is so tough to shut them down."

Prior to the start of last night's championship finale, Laviolette said he was sure of one thing: "I don't know if we'll win or not, but I do know my team will work its heart out on every shift."

It did. Wilson got the P-Bruins off and flying with a power-play goal when he beat Amerks goalie Martin Biron from low in the slot at 5:48 of the first period on a rebound of an Eric Nickulas shot.

Then Providence's line of Prpic, Mathieu and Aaron Downey accounted for the next two P-Bruins goals. The 6-foot-5 Prpic scored his fourth postseason goal thanks to his long reach. Mathieu skated out from behind the Amerks cage to Biron's left and delivered a pass that skimmed through the crease. Prpic, at the far post, stretched out and tucked the puck into the left side for a 2-0 Providence lead at 17:53.

"By far, that was the biggest goal of my career," said Prpic, who later, along with Downey, assisted on Mathieu's goal. "I don't score many big ones, but that was the best feeling I've ever had."

Amerks defenseman Dean Melanson avoided a shutout when he went in alone on Grahame after coming out of the penalty box and beat the Providence netminder at 9:01 of the final period. However, seventeen seconds later Ferraro grabbed a long lead pass from Jeremy Brown, moved across the Rochester blue line along and whipped a drive that beat Biron to the near side for a 4-1 Providence lead at 9:18.

"He made a great tape-to-tape pass and I just wanted to get it on net as quick as possible," Ferraro said.

And when Cameron Mann fired Providence's fifth goal into an empty net at 19:22, the Calder Cup celebration officially got underway.

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With the Providence Bruins holding a three games to zero edge on the Rochester Americans in the Calder Cup finals, the teams met in Game Four on Friday, June 11, in Rochester. Here is the game story by Bob Dick, who at the time was the Journal's P-Bruins beat writer:

By BOB DICK
Journal Sports Writer

ROCHESTER - Finally, the Rochester Americans found a way to beat the Providence Bruins.

Rochester kept its slim Calder Cup championship hopes alive with a 4-2 victory last night before an enthusiastic crowd of 8,802 at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.

The win was Rochester's first against Providence in six games this season, and reduced the Amerks' deficit in the title series to 3 games to 1.

The loss means P-Bruins fans will get a chance to see their team try to wrap up its first-ever Calder Cup in Game 5 tomorrow night at the Providence Civic Center (7:05).

The teams entered the final period last night tied at 2-2, before the Amerks' Craig Fisher scored a power-play goal at 10:02.

Fisher's goal came seconds after Providence's Antti Laaksonen had missed from in front of Rochester goalie Martin Biron, who made a save and then started Rochester the other way with a pass to Randy Cunneyworth.

Cunneyworth then found Fisher, who got past defenseman Jason McBain and moved in on P-Bruins goalie John Grahame. Fisher flicked the puck to his backhand and beat Grahame to the near side for his second goal of the game.

"Too many times, we went to the penalty box in this game. We shot ourselves in the foot. Defensively, we made mistakes that are uncharacteristic of us," said Providence coach Peter Laviolette. "We had a lot of chances to score but couldn't capitalize on them. They played a good game and deserved to win. Sunday is another day."

Providence did have some solid chances to tie the game after Fisher's goal, but couldn't beat Biron. They failed during a 5-on-3 advantage when a drive by Steve King went just wide of Biron, and defenseman Brandon Smith fanned on an attempt down low. Then, with just under two minutes remaining, McBain unleashed a drive that went wide to the far side. But the best chance to tie the game came from in close, when Landon Wilson's shot was stopped by Biron at the near post with 20 seconds remaining.

After that Providence barrage, Rochester's Matt Davidson scored an empty-netter with two seconds left.

"We weren't thinking sweep at the start of this series," said Smith. "We put the effort in tonight. It came down to the final 20 minutes and who wanted it more. Obviously, they wanted it just a little more."

For the first time in the series, Providence outshot the Amerks in regulation, 35-24. Grahame finished with 21 saves; Biron stopped 33 shots.

"We got off to a sluggish start in the first period," said Fisher. "It was Biron who kept us in it at that point. We have a lot of pride and tradition. Going to Providence isn't the best place in the world to play. We dug ourselves this hole. It's our first win over these guys. We definitely feel we can go into Providence and come away with a win."

Rochester owned a 1-0 lead after one period, on a goal by Cunneyworth just before the session ended. Providence scored twice in the middle period. Jeremy Brown tied it at 1-1, and Peter Ferraro evened the count again, at 2-2. In between, Fisher had given Rochester a 2-1 lead.

Providence committed a big turnover late in the first period that led to a a shorthanded goal by Rochester. With his team on the power play, McBain, after taking a poor angle pass from Randy Robitaille, lost the puck at the Rochester blue line to the Amerks' Domenic Pittis.

Rochester's speedy center raced down the right side with McBain in hot pursuit. McBain actually took Pittis out of scoring range, but Pittis found Cunneyworth cruising down the middle with no Providence defender close to him. Cunneyworth grabbed the pass and pushed the puck past Grahame for a 1-0 lead at 19:23. The P-Bruins had better scoring chances in the opening period but couldn't beat Biron.

Providence had a great chance to even the game in the opening seconds of the second period during a 5-on-3 advantage, but failed to get a shot on Biron. However, with the teams at even strength, Providence broke through with the tying goal by Brown at 3:20.

Laaksonen (0-for-6 in shots) began the scoring play with a pass to Marquis Mathieu, who carried into the Rochester zone and drilled a shot at the Rochester goalie from high in the left circle. The puck went off Biron's glove, and Brown batted in the rebound at the far post for his sixth playoff goal.

Rochester regained the lead at 8:24 after a 2-on-1 rush deep into the Providence end by Pittis and Fisher. Pittis, skating down low to the right of Grahame, worked the puck around Smith and then delivered a goal-mouth pass to Fisher, who flicked a shot at the near side. The puck appeared to be going wide, but it caromed off McBain's skate, eluded Grahame's glove and slid into the cage for a 2-1 lead.

Providence continued to press its attack, and at 12:33 Ferraro found the range when he stepped around Rochester's Dean Melanson inside the Amerks' blue line, moved toward the middle and whistled a drive that broke through Biron's pads, making it 2-2. McBain and Cameron Mann got the assists. A breakaway by Laaksonen with 4:04 remaining nearly gave Providence the lead, but his backhand attempt from below the right circle sailed wide of the cage.

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The third game of the 1999 Calder Cup finals started on Wednesday, June 9, but didn't end until early on Thursday, June 10. Here is the game story by Bob Dick, who at the time was the Journal's P-Bruins beat writer:

By BOB DICK
Journal Sports Writer

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - An old nemesis came back to haunt the Rochester Americans last night.

Providence's Steve King snapped a 2-2 tie 55 seconds into the third overtime and gave the P-Bruins a 3-2 victory and a commanding 3-0 lead in this Calder Cup championship series.

The goal was King's fourth in three games against Rochester.

Providence will try to clinch its first Calder Cup title tomorrow night here at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. About half of the crowd of 6,736 was still on hand when King scored his game-winner.

Providence thought it had won the game on an Antii Laaskonen goal at 17:44 of the second overtime when he went around Amerks defenseman Jason Holland and beat Martin Biron with a wrist shot over his right shoulder.

Referee Brad Watson, however, immediately disallowed the goal, claiming he had blown his whistle for matching penalties to Providence's Marquis Mathieu for high sticking and Rochester Randy Cunneyworth for slashing. Providence protested, but to no avail.

Both goaltenders, Biron for Rochester, and John Grahame for Providence were outstanding. Each ended with 50 saves.

In the first overtime, Providence failed to cash in on a power play, and then had Joel Prpic stopped by Biron on a breakaway down the slot. The P-Bruins outshot the Amerks in that extra period, 14-7.

Making matters even more difficult for Providence were injuries to forward Eric Nickulas and defenseman Terry Virtue late in the second period. Both suffered leg injuries and were unable to play in the third period or the overtime sessions. Their status for Game 4 is uncertain.

Providence got first-period goals from Mathieu and Peter Ferraro. Rochester got a first-period score from Domenic Pittis.

After a scoreless second period, Rochester defenseman Cory Sarich tied the game at 2-2, at 1:33 of the third period. That goal came when Grahame was accidentally knocked down by Andre Savage. Grahame could not scramble back to an uncovered net in time to stop a drive from the right circle by Sarich.

From that point on, goaltenders Grahame and Biron of Rochester closed the door on any further scoring in regulation. Grahame finished with 33 saves in regulation; Biron had 25.

For the third consecutive game, Rochester outshot Providence in regulation, this time by a 35-27 margin.

Mathieu got Providence on the board at 4:00 of the first period when he wristed a high drive past Biron from the slot. Just over two minutes later, Pittis recorded his first point of the series when he beat Grahame with a high drive from the right circle. Pittis skated around the side of the net into the circle, grabbed a pass from Craig Fisher and beat the Providence goalie with his high wrister.

Providence went ahead, 2-1, at 13:16 of the opening period when Ferraro flipped in a power-play goal with Sarich in the box for hooking.

Virtue started the play with a slap shot at Biron from the right point. The rebound came to Ferraro to Biron's left. With the Amerks' netminder on his back, Ferraro, from his knees, lifted the puck into the far side.

Before the period ended Grahame was forced to make a couple of sharp pad saves on Pittis and defenseman Mike Hurlbut during a Rochester power play.

The second period was scoreless but it was Grahame who was the star of the session, coming up with a number of sparkling stops when Providence put Rochester on the power play three times. Each time the Amerks came up empty.

Rochester's best scoring chance in that period came after Aaron Downey went off for charging at 7:16. During that power play, Fisher unleashed a drive at Grahame from out front that broke through Grahame's pads but dropped to the ice in the crease. Mathieu, backchecking hard, was able to swipe the puck out of trouble.

However, the final two minutes of the period proved costly to the P-Bruins when Nickulas and Virtue had to be helped off the ice. First, with 1:57 left, Nickulas was ridden into the back boards by Rochester defenseman Alexandre Boikov. His left leg crashed into the boards at an awkward angle. Ironically, it was Boikov who had to miss Game 2 of this series after being checked hard from behind by Nickulas in the series opener.

Then, in the final minute of the period, Virtue skated to the side boards, tried to stop, but caught an edge in the ice and went down. He, too, had to have help getting off the ice. That left Providence with only four defensemen to finish the game.

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Two rumors regarding the Bruins are floating around the blogosphere.

*** Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun says that Phil Kessel is looking for $5 million a year.

"The Bruins and F Phil Kessel appear to be far apart on a contract. Coming off an entry-level salary of $850,000, Kessel wants a huge raise to $5 million per season. It appears GM Peter Chiarelli wants Kessel to accept a similiar deal C David Krejci inked earlier this week -- $11.25 million over three years. If Kessel won't budge, he could be moved.''

Click here to read Garrioch's column.

*** Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com says that the Bruins may trade to the rights to Manny Fernandez at the draft:

"Goalie Manny Fernandez is an unrestricted free agent July 1, but he won't be staying in Boston. The Bruins believe it's time for Tuukka Rask to come up and back up Tim Thomas. Look for the Bruins to shop the rights to Fernandez and maybe move him at the NHL draft, giving a team exclusive negotiating rights before July 1. Fernandez was decent in Boston this past season and could be a cheaper option in goal for a team looking for veteran depth.''

Click here to read LeBrun's column.

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The second game of the 1999 Calder Cup finals was played on Sunday, June 6. Here is the game story by Bob Dick, who at the time was the Journal's P-Bruins beat writer:

By BOB DICK
Journal Sports Writer

PROVIDENCE - This is how quickly things went down hill for the Rochester Americans in Game 2 of the American Hockey League's Calder Cup finals against the Providence Bruins last night, before a crowd of 8,269 at the Civic Center:

* At 2:55 of the first period, Cameron Mann, who would wind up with the hat trick, ripped home a power-play goal for a 1-0 P-Bruins lead.

* At 3:32, Antii Laaksonen made it 2-0 with another power-play tally.

* By 9:44 of the first period, Providence was in command, 3-0, courtesy of a Steve King goal.

At that point, the Amerks said good night to their all-star goaltender, Martin Biron, who was pulled by coach Brian McCutcheon in favor of Tom Draper. It was Biron's shortest stint of the season.

By the time Biron had gone to the runway to the right of the Rochester bench, he had faced only four shots and had stopped one. And those goals really weren't Biron's fault. He didn't have much of a chance on any of them; that's how efficient the P-Bruins' offense was at that point. Rarely has this defense-minded Rochester team been sliced up so easily in such a short period of time this season.

Providence eventually skated off with a 6-0 win, which included four power-play goals, for a 2-0 lead in the Calder Cup finals. Games 3 and 4 are set for Rochester's Blue Cross Arena, Wednesday and Friday nights.

What made Providence's second win so impressive was that the P-Bruins, averaging 40 shots a game in the playoffs, managed just 25 last night, and only six in the first period. The six goals allowed by Rochester were the most against the Amerks in a game this season. Providence now is 9-0 at home in this year's playoffs.

Coach Peter Laviolette was low-key about Providence's performance.

"Hopefully, when we wake up in the morning, this game is gone from our memory. We try to put everything behind us. The minute we think we're better than Rochester or (think we) have an insurmountable lead, we're going to be in trouble," Laviolette said. "I thought we did play better than Saturday night, but I also thought Rochester played a good hockey game. They outshot us again. I don't think the score was indicative of the way the game played."

Rochester's McCutcheon tried to sound positive before heading home.

"By our count, we had the same scoring chances; they made theirs, we didn't. We have to start becoming more opportunistic," he said.

Before Providence fans start thinking about the first Calder Cup in the franchise's history, they should take this into account: Rochester lost the first two games of the Western Conference finals in Philadelphia, then won four straight.

Making matters even tougher for the Americans in the first two games of this series was the solid play of Providence goaltender John Grahame, who finished with 27 saves last night and earned his first playoff shutout while recording his 50th win of the season.

"I feel good out there, but this shows what we can do when we're firing on all cylinders. We had everything going - the offense, the defense and the goaltending," said Grahame. "Getting the shutout was nice, but winning is what's important."

Mann said Grahame's peformance should not be overlooked.

"He may not have the best goals-against average or best save percentage, but he's been there when we need him. He definitely kept us in these last two games," Mann said.

After Mann's second goal had zipped over Draper's shoulder into the far corner at 3:22 of the second period for a 4-0 lead, frustration got the better of the Amerks, and things became hot and heavy, with a number of skirmishes breaking out in the Providence zone at 10:33.

After everything was sorted out, the Amerks' Carlin Nordstrom, Derek Wood and Peter Vandermeer went off for two-minute roughing minors. Mann and Peter Ferraro were given two-minute minors for roughing, while Providence's Terry Virtue was tagged by referee Mike Leggo with a double minor for roughing, giving Rochester its fourth power-play opportunity. And when Rochester failed to cash in, the Amerks dipped to 1-for-11 in power-play chances in the two games.

Mann's fourth goal of the playoffs opened the scoring for Providence. He skated in on Biron from the left circle and, with Amerks defenseman Jason Holland draped all over him, slammed the puck past the Rochester netminder.

For his effort, Holland earned a two-minute minor for cross-checking Mann. Thirty-seven seconds later, Laaksonen, standing in the slot, took a feed from Mann, who was at the bottom of the left circle, and unleashed a drive that sailed past Biron, making it 2-0.

By then, the crowd was really into it, and at 9:44 the atmosphere became even more festive when King, standing to the right of Biron, made it 3-0 by beating Biron to the near post, converting a pass from Marquis Mathieu.

Power-play goals by Landon Wilson and Mann in the final period finished closed out the scoring.

"We played three solid periods," said Providence captain Dennis Vaske. "They played well, too. We just got the breaks."

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It's hard to believe that 10 years have passed since the Providence Bruins won the Calder Cup, but it's true. Providence opened the finals against Rochester on Saturday, June 5, 1999. It was a special season in the history of the P-Bruins, and it's worth remembering. Here is the game story from Game One by Bob Dick, who at the time was the Journal's P-Bruins beat writer:

By BOB DICK
Journal Sports Writer

PROVIDENCE - Winning the opener in the Calder Cup finals for the Providence Bruins didn't come easy. That's for sure. It was a defensive struggle the likes of which Providence had not faced in some time.

But that's exactly what the P-Bruins expected from the stingiest defensive team in the American Hockey League, the Rochester Americans, who effectively bottled up Providence's high-powered attack for two periods.

Still, Providence managed to come up with just enough offense from Steve King, Landon Wilson and Peter Ferraro to pull out a thrilling 4-2 win in front of a crowd of 11,306 at the Civic Center last night. Providence will host Game 2 in the series tonight.

Two goals by King, including the game-winner that snapped a 2-2 tie at 7:35 of the final period, paced Providence to its 12th playoff win. His winning goal came on a drive from the hash mark of the right circle, eluding Rochester's all-star goalie Martin Biron. King and Wilson had given Providence a 2-1 lead after one period.

"It looked like it got re-directed in front," said King of his second goal, "but I just tried to shoot it as hard as I could. It looked like Biron had a good angle. All I wanted to do was get it on net."

Biron, who played with King last year at Rochester, knew what was coming from his former teammate.

"I know he has a hard shot," Biron said. "He came down the wing, but his shot hit (defenseman Jason) Holland's stick, went into the air and into the top corner. The bounce just went their way tonight, that's all."

After being limited to only five shots in the second period, Providence picked up its offense in the final period and just missed converting a pair of breakaways by Jeremy Brown and Andre Savage before King connected for his game-winner. Ferraro's empty-netter iced the win with 5.2 seconds left in the game.

John Grahame preserved the lead after Rochester pulled Biron in the final minute and finished the game with 34 saves.

"Johnny Grahame kept us in the game with some terrific saves in the first two periods," King said.

Providence coach Peter Laviolette knows his team has to play better if it is to get three more victories to secure the first Calder Cup in franchise history.

"We're going to have to get stronger," Laviolette said. "They're a very good defensive team. They create a lot of chances on turnovers. It's difficult to play them. In that last period, we simply tried to get the puck deeper and establish the forecheck and we picked up our intensity to match what they were doing."

Laviolette certainly appreciated the effort by King, who sat out five of the six games in the Conference finals against Fredericton.

"He played a great game for us. We looked at his playoff stats. He's got 22 playoff goals in a very limited amount of time so he's a playoff player who can put the puck in the net."

Rochester coach Brian McCutcheon could only look at missed opportunities by his team as one of the reasons his team is down a game in the title series.

"It was a heck of a hockey game. It was up and down. The big crowd was into it, but the key was we didn't capitalize on our opportunities, especially in the second period when we had a four-minute power play," McCutcheon said. "We didn't capitalize. They got a shot, it deflected off our defenseman and went over Marty's shoulder. You can't fault him for that."

King opened the scoring when he gave Providence a 1-0 lead at 3:29 of the first period, with Brown and Terry Virtue assisting. Providence opened fast and kept the puck in the Americans' end. King, latching onto the puck after it deflected off a skate, beat Biron for his fourth goal of the playoffs.

Rochester evened things at 1-1 at 9:17 of the period when Amerks right wing Matt Davidson beat Grahame from low in the right circle. Grahame saw the play developing but couldn't get his left pad over to the right post quickly enough and Davidson's shot slid into the cage.

Landon Wilson's power-play goal with Rochester's Derek Wood off for hooking sent the P-Bruins ahead, 2-1, at 13:32 of the first period. Virtue sent the play into motion when he dumped the puck deep into the Rochester end. Providence moved the puck around smartly and it eventually came across the blue line to defenseman Jason McBain at the left point. McBain one-timed a drive at Biron but it went wide and, Wilson, standing at the far post, grabbed it and tucked in a backhander for his fourth goal of the postseason.

The second period, though, was all Rochester. The Americans quickly tied it, 2-2, one second before a penalty to King expired when Dean Sylvester beat Grahame from in close at 1:16.

The P-Bruins finished the period with only five shots at Biron, the lowest total in the playoffs for a period by Providence. After two periods, Rochester had outshot Providence, 25-15.

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By MARK DIVVER
Assistant Sports Editor

PROVIDENCE -- A Calder Cup would have been nice, but even without it Rob Murray's first season as a head coach was an unqualified success.

On opening night in October, the Bruins were the youngest team in the league. For their 99th and final game of the season on May 25, 12 of the 19 Bruins who played were 22 or younger. Included in the remaining seven were a 23-year-old, four 25-year-olds, a 30-year-old and a 31-year-old.

Riding herd on such a young group may have been a daunting task for a rookie head coach, but after a 16-year playing career and four seasons as Scott Gordon's assistant in Providence, Murray was ready.

And having an experienced assistant at his side in Bruce "Butch'' Cassidy undoubtedly helped.

Murray and Cassidy quickly gelled into one of the AHL's top coaching staffs.

"Murr's done a great job. We treat them like men. We treat them very fairly. We've asked them to do some things, and demanded that they do other things. They respect us. We respect their effort,'' said Cassidy.

"I tried to treat them like men, and be honest with them,'' Murray said. "The respect I showed them was paid back to Butch and I throughout the year,'' Murray said.

Though they didn't know each other going into the season, Murray, 42, and Cassidy, 44, had much in common.

"We'd crossed paths playing against each other, even way back in junior,'' Murray said. "We come from the same background. We grew up in Canada playing hockey. We both played junior, both played quite a bit in the minors. We've got the same kind of mentality.''

The fact that Murray was a rookie head coach, while Cassidy had a long coaching resume -- including a 110-game stint as the Washington Capitals head coach -- was never a source of tension, both men said.

"To his credit, with the experience he had, another guy might have come in here with a little bit more of a bigger head and tried to run the show, and he hasn't,'' Murray said. "He's been very respectful, understands his position as assistant, and has been very helpful to me. It's been great.''

The willingness to exchange opinions and ideas was a key.

"We've developed a good relationship here. It's pretty open. We talk about different things. I'll come in in the morning and he'll say, 'I was watching our game, and what if we try this . . . .' We won't deviate from our systems, per se, but he picks up on little nuances within the game. We try different things. It's great that he's always thinking the game, trying to figure out ways we can improve, be more efficient in different areas. That's been really good for me,'' said Murray.

Cassidy said that even if the two disagree, "that doesn't mean we can't talk about it.''

After the season-ending loss to Hershey, Boston general manager Peter Chiarelli said that he was pleased with the job the Providence coaching staff had done.

"We've got a very young team and the fact that we went this far is outstanding. They work really well with these young guys. We stress skill and skill development with these young guys. Having gone to many practices at North Smithfield, I've seen how they handled them through the course of the year. I'm very happy with them,'' Chiarelli said.

Murray and Cassidy each have a year remaining on their contracts. Both have a standard clause that allows them to take a better job -- in Murray's case, an NHL job; for Cassidy, a head coaching post.

Murray, who has put down roots with his wife and four children in South Kingstown, says he and his family love Rhode Island.

Cassidy, a former AHL coach of the year who got the Washington job at age 37, was circumspect about his future.

"I had a chance (in the NHL) once when I was young. Who wouldn't want a second chance? Maybe it happens, maybe it doesn't. . . . If your team does well, hopefully some people notice that the players are doing a good job, the coaching staff is doing a good job, and things fall into place.''

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BOSTON (AP) -- The Boston Bruins have signed forward David Krejci to a contract extension.

The team said Tuesday it's a multiyear deal, but did not disclose financial terms.

Krejci led the NHL with a plus-minus rating of plus-36 this season and helped Boston to the best record in the Eastern Conference. He also had career highs with 82 games, 22 goals and 51 assists.

Krejci had two goals and six assists in 11 playoff games this season.

Krejci is slated to have hip surgery soon and is not expected to be ready for the start of next season.

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Zdeno Chara is a finalist for the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award.

Here's the press release issued by the Bruins:

The NHL announced today Bruins captain Zdeno Chara has been named a finalist for the 2008-2009 Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award presented by Bridgestone. Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Calgary's Jarome Iginla are the other two finalists. The award honors an individual who leads by positive example through on-ice performance, motivation of team members and a dedication to community activities and charitable causes.

Mark Messier solicits suggestions from club and League personnel and NHL fans in compiling a list of potential candidates. However, the selection of the three finalists and the ultimate winner is Messier's alone.

Since Chara was named captain of the Bruins before the 2006-07 season, the Black & Gold have gone from missing the playoffs in his first year, to winning 41 games and qualifying for the 2008 postseason in 2007-2008, to capturing the best regular season record in the Eastern Conference by going 53-19-10 this past season. He has been named a finalist for the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman for the second straight year and his goal totals in his three seasons with the Bruins have gone from 11 to 17 to 19.

In addition to his on-ice achievements, Chara has been extremely active off the ice as well. Last offseason, he visited Tanzania and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro to focus attention on Right to Play, the international charitable organization that uses sport and play to enhance child development in areas of disadvantage. Chara also raised $24,000 for Right to Play by winning the Hardest Shot competition at 2009 NHL All-Star Weekend after getting his competitors, the competitors' respective NHL clubs, the NHL and the NHLPA to contribute to a pot to go to the victor's charity of choice. Chara won the competition with a record-setting 105.4 MPH blast.

The winner will be announced Thursday, June 18, during the 2009 NHL Awards that will be broadcast live from the Pearl Concert Theater inside the Palms Hotel Las Vegas on VERSUS in the United States and on CBC in Canada.

Messier, a six-time Stanley Cup champion and 16-time NHL ® All-Star in his 25 NHL seasons, is widely viewed as one of the greatest sports leaders of all time. Among his numerous hockey and humanitarian honors, the naming of the Mark Messier Skyway at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey for his 15 years of dedication and commitment to help raise millions of dollars to benefit children with cancer and other serious blood disorders is one of the most special.

Following are the other finalists for the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award, presented by Bridgestone in alphabetical order:

Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Though not yet 22 years old, Sidney Crosby already has established himself as one of the NHL's most respected on-ice leaders as well as a dedicated contributor to his community. On the ice, Crosby's legend preceded him to the NHL as he was designated hockey's next transcendent player at an early age. He has lived up to all the hype, winning both the League's MVP award (Hart Trophy) and scoring title (Ross Trophy) in his second season (2006-07), becoming the youngest player in NHL history to reach the 100- and 200-points plateaus and being named the youngest team captain in NHL history on May 31, 2007. Crosby has received the most votes in fan balloting for all three NHL All-Star Games during his career. And he has led the Penguins, who missed the playoffs the three seasons prior to his debut, to three straight postseason appearances and berths in the 2008 and 2009 Stanley Cup Finals. Crosby hosts a suite for underprivileged children at every Penguins home game in conjunction with the Make a Wish Foundation. He funds and serves as an on-ice instructor for the Penguins' Learn to Play Program that introduces the game to youngsters and, with support from Reebok, outfits them from head to toe.

Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames
Growing up in Edmonton idolizing Messier, Iginla has spent his 12 seasons in the NHL following in the Hall of Famer's leadership footsteps. Like Messier, Iginla plays with a combination of superior skill and fierce toughness. Like Messier, he leads his team both with motivational words and fearless deeds. Iginla has led the NHL in goal-scoring twice, won the Art Ross Trophy in 2002 and scored a playoffs-leading 13 goals while driving the Flames to Game 7 of the 2007 Stanley Cup Final. A five-time NHL All-Star and two-time Canadian Olympian, Iginla is a pillar of the Calgary community. Since 2000, he has been an ambassador for KidSport Calgary, which purchases equipment and pays registration fees for disadvantaged families, and donates $2,000 for every goal he scores. He supports the Juvenile Diabetes and Doctors Without Borders foundations and is a member of the Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids Foundation. Iginla is generous and tireless in donating his money and time to a variety of other causes, including literacy programs, hockey diversity initiatives and youth hockey programs. He was awarded the 2004 NHL Foundation Award for community service and the 2004 King Clancy Memorial Trophy for his humanitarian contributions.

Previous winners of the Mark Messier Leadership Award
2006-07 - Chris Chelios, Detroit Red Wings
2007-08 - Mats Sundin, Toronto Maple Leafs

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