Though the P-Bruins made things interesting with less than seven minutes remaining in the contest, the effects of a grinding win to close out a grinder of a series just two nights before would cost Providence as Syracuse would take Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, 6-3, on Friday night at the Dunkin Donuts Center.

A quick turnaround after defeating Hershey in an emotional Game 7 on the road, Providence came out a bit flat to start the game. spotting Syracuse two in the first. Tye McGinn notched his fourth of the postseason, taking advantage of a P-Bruins turnover in their own zone and snapping one past Zane McIntyre just 3:57 into the contest.

Though Providence seemed to have the better scoring opportunities, including a shot that hit the post and Austin Czarnik getting a good look, Syracuse made the most of their chances finished chances. Just past the midway point of the period, Michael Bournival doubled the Syracuse lead with his third of the playoffs. Yanni Gourde would jam the puck loose just before McIntyre could cover it up, knocking it directly to an awaiting Bournival to put the Crunch up 2-0 with 7:40 left in the opening stanza.

Danton Heinen, Alex Grant and Jake DeBrusk each had opportunities to put Providence on the board, but Mike McKenna, whom the P-Bruins have seen plenty of during his time with the Portland Pirates and Springfield Thunderbirds, turned aside all 16 shots he faced in the first.

“I thought some guys who had big minutes looked a bit tired tonight,” P-Bruins coach Kevin Dean said of his fatigued team. “That’s to be expected.”

The second period saw Providence get off to another slow start, with Syracuse getting the better chances. But Providence would settle down and gain some much-needed momentum. After gaining control of a Syracuse turnover at the blue line, Grant blasted a slapper by McKenna’s glove side to cut the Syracuse lead in half at 4:37.

The momentum was short-lived, however. With Tyler Randall off for boarding, the Providence PK unit, which struggled against Hershey, gave up another ill-timed goal. Crisp passing from Matt Taormina and Matt Peca would set up Joel Vermin’s fifth of the playoffs with four seconds left on the power-play to give the Crunch their two-goal lead back.

Things wouldn’t get much better for Providence at the start of the third. Another loose puck that McIntyre could not cover would end up in the back of the net, this time from Gabriel Dumont, his fourth.

“We gave them two goals,” Dean said. “The power-play goal was a good play by them, but the first two goals were unacceptable and the fourth goal was a little bit unacceptable too.”

However, as resilient as they have been all postseason, Providence once again made things interesting.

Jake DeBrusk would take a pass from Matt Grzelcyk on a two-on-one break and wrist it past McKenna for his sixth of the playoffs. That would cut Syracuse’s lead to 4-2. Then, just 13 seconds later, Providence struck again when Heinen’s wrist shot found a home above McKenna’s shoulder to cut the lead to one at 4-3. Wayne Simpson tallied the assist.

Providence continued to buzz around the Syracuse net generating several chances, including one from Tommy Cross, who was robbed by McKenna as he walked in from the right-hand side with 2:12 remaining. That was as close as Providence would come.

Yanni Gourde and Byron Froese added empty-netters in the late stages to put the game out of reach as Syracuse struck first in the series.

Despite being down already in the series, Providence players and coaches alike know that they are far from being out of it. Providence has been here before and they certainly know that there is no need to push the panic button.

“We’ll get some rest and have a light skate [today], come ready to play on Sunday,” Dean said. “We’re a confident group and my message after the game was pretty positive.”

McIntyre is also fairly confident in his team’s ability to shake off the loss and come back strong in Game 2. “We’ve got confidence in our group, in our forwards and in our defensemen, everybody on the ice and our coaching staff as well,” the Providence netminder said. “As a group, we trust each other and hold each other accountable. We’re going to be resilient and keep pushing on.”

Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday night at 7:05 in Providence.