Goaltender Michael DiPietro stopped all 26 shots and forward Max Jones netted two goals, helping the Providence Bruins blank the Syracuse Crunch 5-0 on Saturday night at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Patrick Brown recorded two assists. Trevor Kuntar, John Farinacci, and Georgii Merkulov found the back of the net as well.   How It Happened Jones hammered a one-timer from the slot off a tic-tac-toe passing play that beat the goaltender on the glove side for a power play goal, giving the P-Bruins a 1-0 lead with 7:02 remaining in the first period. Brown and Tyler Pitlick received the assists. Joey Abate’s wrist shot from the top of the right circle rebounded out to Kuntar above the crease, where he smacked it inside the left post to extend the Providence lead to 2-0 with 12:18 to play in the second frame. Brown was credited with a secondary assist. Jackson Edward flung a shot from the point that redirected off Farinacci’s stick and inside the right post, giving the P-Bruins a 3-0 lead with 9:42 left in the second period. Riley Tufte received a secondary assist. Merkulov collected a turnover from the corner, patiently walked it out to the slot, and fired a shot past the blocker of the goaltender, extending the Providence lead to 4-0 with 35 seconds remaining in the second period. The goaltender flung a clearing attempt directly into Jones in the slot, before he flicked it back into the open net to give the P-Bruins a 5-0 lead with 11:07 to play in the third frame. Stats Merkulov has points in four straight games with five total in that span. Brown extended his point streak to three games. Jones posted his first multi-goal game of the season. DiPietro’s shutout was his third of the season. DiPietro stopped all 26 shots. The P-Bruins totaled 34 shots. The power play went 1-for-3 and the penalty kill was 5-for-5. The Providence Bruins improve to 20-13-3-1. Up Next The Providence Bruins host the Springfield Thunderbirds on Sunday, January 19 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Puck drop is set for 3:05 p.m.   Categories: Sports