Brendan Gaunce Scores Twice as Providence Bruins Beat Charlotte Checkers 4-2

Brendan Gaunce scored twice and Riley Duran added three assists to lead the Providence Bruins to a 4-2 win against the Charlotte Checkers at Bojangles Coliseum on Wednesday night.

Leaving the penalty box, Gaunce intercepted a wayward Charlotte pass in the neutral zone, broke away, and fired a shot under the goaltender’s pads to start the scoring with 16:41 left in the second period.

FRESH OUT OF THE PENALTY BOX… BRENDAN GAUNCE ON THE BREAKAWAY‼️ pic.twitter.com/uNvKf9OILz

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Duran slipped a pass to Gaunce near the bottom of the right circle, where he turned and sent a backhand under the crossbar to push the advantage to 2-0 with 12:37 remaining in the middle period. Lukas Reichel received a secondary assist on the play.

Charlotte responded when Nate Smith redirected a pass across the ice from the right post to cut the deficit to 2-1 with 10:45 remaining in the second period.

Providence reclaimed a two-goal advantage when Duran slung a wrist shot from the right circle that rebounded out to Ivan, who fired past the diving goaltender for a power play goal with 6:55 left in the second period. Brian Halonen picked up the secondary assist.

BRENDAN GAUNCE 🚨

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The Checkers pulled within one again during a 5-on-3 power play when Alex Petrovic hammered a one-timer from the top of the slot into the upper-left corner of the net with 1:34 to play in the second frame. Reichel sealed the 4-2 final score by hitting an empty net with 1:07 remaining in the third period, with Duran and Halonen notching the assists.

Gaunce secured his second multi-goal game of the season, bringing his team-leading total to eight goals among active Providence skaters. Duran recorded a career-high three assists, extending his point streak to four games with seven total points over that span. Goaltender Jiri Patera stopped 33 of 35 shots faced to earn the win.