Jack Ahcan recorded a goal and an assist as Providence fought off elimination with a 6-3 win in Hartford on Wednesday evening.
The Wolf Pack still lead the best-of-five Atlantic Division semifinal series, two games to one, and will host Game 4 on Friday.
Justin Brazeau scored the first of his two goals on the evening at 15:54 of the first period, giving the Bruins a 1-0 lead and handing the Wolf Pack their first deficit of the postseason. Oskar Steen then scored with 0.2 seconds left in the frame as Providence took a 2-0 lead into the intermission.
Luke Toporowski upped the lead to 3-0 with his second goal of the series, but Zac Jones got Hartford on the board with 24.5 seconds in the middle period and Tim Gettinger scored shorthanded 2:18 into the third as the Wolf Pack closed back to within one.
With Hartford pressing for the equalizer, Ahcan knocked down an entry attempt at the Bruins blue line and raced the other way on a breakaway, beating Dylan Garand (4-1) to put Providence back in front by a pair.
Lauri Pajuniemi cut the Bruins lead to 4-3 with 6:26 to play, but was robbed point-blank with the potential tying goal on his stick as Brandon Bussi (1-2) made a highlight-reel right glove save two minutes later.
The Bruins tacked on empty-netters by Brazeau and Vinni Lettieri to seal their first win of these playoffs and snap a six-game postseason losing streak.
Atlantic Division Semifinals (best-of-5)
A1-Providence Bruins vs. A5-Hartford Wolf Pack
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 28 – Hartford 1, PROVIDENCE 0 | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 29 – Hartford 2, PROVIDENCE 1 | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., May 3 – Providence 6, HARTFORD 3
Game 4 – Fri., May 5 – Providence at Hartford, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sun., May 7 – Hartford at Providence, 7:05
*if necessary… All times Eastern
