Andy Hilbert scored one goal and assisted on three others as the Providence Bruins advanced to the Eastern Conference final with a 5-2 win over Lowell at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center on Saturday night.
The Bruins will face off against the Philadelphia Phantoms for the right to play for the Calder Cup. Game 1 of that series will be Friday night at the Wachovia Center.
Hilbert opened the scoring at the 16:55 mark of the first period, batting a puck out of mid-air and past Cam Ward for his fourth goal of the postseason.
Lowell grabbed a 2-1 lead when Chad Larose and Mike Zigomanis scored early in the second, but the Bruins responded as Hilbert set up goals by David Gove, Brad Boyes and Ben Guite in a span of 6:23 later in the period.
Providence shut down Lowell the rest of the way, with Hannu Toivonen finishing with 29 saves on the night. Guite added an empty-netter with 5.1 seconds remaining.
Hilbert’s third four-point night of the 2005 Calder Cup Playoffs gave him a league-leading 16 points for the postseason.
