PORTLAND — Zach Trotman scored the game-winning goal late in the third period as the Providence Bruins defeated the Portland Pirates 5-2 before 4,307 at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Saturday night.

The first half of the opening period was mostly rough sailing for Portland, but the Pirates struck twice late in the frame to swing the momentum back in their favor.

Providence drew first blood 5:35 into the first. Jordan Caron shot the puck from a low-percentage angle and it deflected off of a skate and into the net for a 1-0 lead.

David Rundblad notched the equalizer at 15:15 with a big slapshot from the point. The power play goal was Rundblad’s fourth goal in as many games and was assisted by Andy Miele and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

A minute and 30 seconds later, a fortuitous bounce gave Portland its only lead of the night. Brendan Shinnimin took the original shot, and some contact with Providence goalie Michael Hutchinson led to a vacated net, just long enough for Ethan Werek to collect the puck and stuff it home.

Nearly a quarter of the way through the regular season, the Pirates have done their best work from a goal differential perspective in the second period.

Saturday, Providence turned the tables.

At 9:04 of the middle frame, Torey Krug misfired on a slapshot from the point, which resulted in a change-up. The puck arrived on Jamie Tardif’s stick at the side of the net and Portland keeper Mark Visentin had

no chance to get into proper position.

Portland nearly scored with 30 seconds left in the second period. The puck slipped through Michael Hutchinson and bobbled around on the goal line before officials whistled the play dead.

More than 16 minutes into the third period, minutes after Providence had a goal of their own waived off, the Bruins grabbed their second lead of the night. Zach Trotman maneuvered into the slot and sent a hard, low shot past Visentin for his first goal of the season.

Ryan Spooner and Christian Hanson padded the Bruin’s lead with empty net goals in the final minutes.

Noticeably absent tonight was the Pirates leading point and goal scorer, Alexandre Bolduc. He has been a catalyst for Portland on both sides of the puck.

“Bolduc touches the game in a lot of ways,” Portland coach Ray Edwards said. “We needed other guys to step up tonight and we didn’t get enough of that.”

Despite the loss, Portland continued its upward trend with the man advantage, finishing 1-for-3. Providence went 1-for-2. The Pirates have been performing much better on home ice with the man advantage, entering Saturday with a 21.6% success rate on Maine ice and a 10.4% mark on the road.

Hutchinson turned away 24 shots en route to his first victory of the season. Visentin stopped 29-of-32 shots in the loss.

Portland will finish off their stretch of three games in three days on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. in Manchester against the Monarchs.

NOTES: Saturday night was Kent Hulst bobblehead night in Portland. Hulst played with the Pirates from the team’s inaugural season in Portland, Maine in 1993 until leaving the team for the Providence Bruins in 2001, where he finished his AHL career. Hulst racked up 561 points (226 goals, 335 assists) in 735 AHL games. In 2002, Hulst was inducted into the Portland Pirates Hall of Fame.

PORTLAND — Zach Trotman scored the game-winning goal late in the third period as the Providence Bruins defeated the Portland Pirates 5-2 before 4,307 at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Saturday night.

The first half of the opening period was mostly rough sailing for Portland, but the Pirates struck twice late in the frame to swing the momentum back in their favor.

Providence drew first blood 5:35 into the first. Jordan Caron shot the puck from a low-percentage angle and it deflected off of a skate and into the net for a 1-0 lead.

David Rundblad notched the equalizer at 15:15 with a big slapshot from the point. The power play goal was Rundblad’s fourth goal in as many games and was assisted by Andy Miele and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

A minute and 30 seconds later, a fortuitous bounce gave Portland its only lead of the night. Brendan Shinnimin took the original shot, and some contact with Providence goalie Michael Hutchinson led to a vacated net, just long enough for Ethan Werek to collect the puck and stuff it home.

Nearly a quarter of the way through the regular season, the Pirates have done their best work from a goal differential perspective in the second period.

Saturday, Providence turned the tables.

At 9:04 of the middle frame, Torey Krug misfired on a slapshot from the point, which resulted in a change-up. The puck arrived on Jamie Tardif’s stick at the side of the net and Portland keeper Mark Visentin had

no chance to get into proper position.

Portland nearly scored with 30 seconds left in the second period. The puck slipped through Michael Hutchinson and bobbled around on the goal line before officials whistled the play dead.

More than 16 minutes into the third period, minutes after Providence had a goal of their own waived off, the Bruins grabbed their second lead of the night. Zach Trotman maneuvered into the slot and sent a hard, low shot past Visentin for his first goal of the season.

Ryan Spooner and Christian Hanson padded the Bruin’s lead with empty net goals in the final minutes.

Noticeably absent tonight was the Pirates leading point and goal scorer, Alexandre Bolduc. He has been a catalyst for Portland on both sides of the puck.

“Bolduc touches the game in a lot of ways,” Portland coach Ray Edwards said. “We needed other guys to step up tonight and we didn’t get enough of that.”

Despite the loss, Portland continued its upward trend with the man advantage, finishing 1-for-3. Providence went 1-for-2. The Pirates have been performing much better on home ice with the man advantage, entering Saturday with a 21.6% success rate on Maine ice and a 10.4% mark on the road.

Hutchinson turned away 24 shots en route to his first victory of the season. Visentin stopped 29-of-32 shots in the loss.

Portland will finish off their stretch of three games in three days on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. in Manchester against the Monarchs.

NOTES: Saturday night was Kent Hulst bobblehead night in Portland. Hulst played with the Pirates from the team’s inaugural season in Portland, Maine in 1993 until leaving the team for the Providence Bruins in 2001, where he finished his AHL career. Hulst racked up 561 points (226 goals, 335 assists) in 735 AHL games. In 2002, Hulst was inducted into the Portland Pirates Hall of Fame.