Providence Bruins facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Providence Bruins
City	Providence, Rhode Island
League	American Hockey League
Conference	Eastern
Division	Atlantic
Founded	1987
Home arena	Amica Mutual Pavilion
Colors	Black, gold, white
Owner(s)	H. Larue Renfroe
General manager	Evan Gold
Head coach	Ryan Mougenel
Captain	Patrick Brown
Media	NESN The Providence Journal AHL.TV (Internet)
Affiliates	Boston Bruins (NHL) Maine Mariners (ECHL)
Franchise history
1987–1992	Maine Mariners
1992–present	Providence Bruins
Championships
Regular season titles	3: (1998–99, 2007–08, 2012–13)
Division Championships	8: (1992–93, 1998–99, 2002–03, 2007–08, 2012–13, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2022–23)
Conference Championships	1: (1998–99)
Calder Cups	1: (1998–99)

The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team. They play in the American Hockey League (AHL). This team helps develop players for the Boston Bruins, which is a famous team in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Providence Bruins play their home games at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island.

History of the Team

The Providence Bruins started playing in the 1992–93 AHL season. The mayor of Providence, Buddy Cianci, helped make a deal to bring the team to the city. Before this, another team called the Providence Reds played in the AHL but left in 1977. So, the Bruins brought AHL hockey back to Providence!

Winning the Calder Cup

In 1999, the Bruins had an amazing season. They won 56 games, which was the best in the league! They were led by their new coach, Peter Laviolette, and a star player named Randy Robitaille. That year, they won their first ever Calder Cup. The Calder Cup is the championship trophy for the AHL. They beat the Rochester Americans four games to one to become champions.

Youngest Organist

Something cool happened in the 2001–02 season. A 13-year-old musician named Ben Schwartz became the official organist for the team's home games. He played music for seven years! This made him the youngest organist to ever work for a professional sports team in North America.

Changes Over Time

In 2006, the team got a new main owner, H. Larue Renfroe. Later, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the team had to play in a temporary home in Marlborough, Massachusetts. This was because their usual arena was being used for pandemic-related activities. They returned to their home arena for the 2021–22 AHL season. In 2022, their home arena was renamed the Amica Mutual Pavilion.

Team Mascot

The Providence Bruins have a fun mascot named "Samboni." He is a bear, just like the Boston Bruins' mascot, "Blades the Bruin." Samboni helps cheer on the team at games!

Team Records and Top Players

The Providence Bruins have had many talented players over the years. Here are some of their best records:

Single Season Records

• Most Goals: Tim Sweeney scored 41 goals in the 1992–93 season.
• Most Assists: Randy Robitaille made 74 assists in the 1998–99 season.
• Most Points: Randy Robitaille also had the most points with 102 in 1998–99.
• Most Penalty Minutes: Aaron Downey had 407 penalty minutes in 1997–98.
• Best Goalie Average (GAA): Tim Thomas had a 1.84 goals-against average in 2003–04.
• Best Goalie Save Percentage (SV%): Tim Thomas also had the best save percentage at .941 in 2003–04.

Career Records

• Most Career Goals: Andy Hilbert scored 101 goals from 2001 to 2005.
• Most Career Assists: Alexander Khokhlachev had 110 assists from 2012 to 2016.
• Most Career Points: Andy Hilbert leads with 210 points from 2001 to 2005.
• Most Career Penalty Minutes: Aaron Downey had 1059 penalty minutes.
• Most Goaltending Wins: Zane McIntyre won 86 games from 2015 to 2019.
• Most Career Shutouts: Zane McIntyre also had 11 shutouts from 2015 to 2019.
• Most Career Games Played: Tommy Cross played 380 games from 2011 to 2021.

Retired Numbers

When a team retires a player's number, it means no other player on that team will ever wear that number again. It's a special honor for players who made a huge impact.

See also

In Spanish: Providence Bruins para niños