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Providence

Goaltending was the story of the weekend in the Providence Bruins’ two-game weekend series at home against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Brandon Bussi recorded a 30-save shutout on Friday night, bolstering the P-Bruins to a 3-0 victory over the Phantoms. The Sound Beach, New York, native earned his first shutout of the season and the fourth of his career.

Bussi was thrilled with his overall game in the team’s victory.

“I just competed really hard,” Bussi said immediately following Friday’s win. “These kinds of games, you have to bring your lunchbox and get to work. They [Lehigh Valley] are a good team, and they make it hard on you. You’ve got to compete.”

Michael DiPietro got the start between the pipes on Saturday and backboned the P-Bruins to a 2-1 overtime victory over the Phantoms. The Windsor, Ontario, native stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced to earn his sixth win of the season. The netminder improved his numbers to a 2.08 goals against average and a .924 save percentage to start the season.

Georgii Merkulov, fresh off a three-game stretch with Boston, returned to Providence in style over the weekend, netting the winning goal in Saturday’s overtime victory over the Phantoms.

The Ryazan, Russia, native caught a stretch pass from Ian Mitchell to send him on a breakaway, where he deked and flipped the puck past the Phantoms netminder to win the game for Providence. With 13 points early in the season, the forward has at least one point in his last seven AHL games, with nine total in that span.

Merkulov believes the key to keep the team’s momentum going starts with how the team practices.

“We have to be good in practice,” said Merkulov following Saturday’s win. “It starts with practice. We have to chip away every day. I’m looking forward to next week.”

The Pittsburgh Steelers have put their plan to increase quarterback Justin Fields’ involvement in motion, though it’s not yet a completely ironed-out component of the offense.

Per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo, Fields stated that the Steelers have a package in place for him every week, though it isn’t always clear how or when he’ll be utilized.

“I have a set package each and every week,” Fields said. “I think the play-calling is random to be honest with you. It’s kind of a feel thing with Arthur [Smith]. How I’m going to be used is a question for him honestly.”

After logging three snaps and rushing for 17 yards in Pittsburgh’s Week 11 win over the Baltimore Ravens, Fields saw his reps more than doubled to seven in a Week 12 loss to the Cleveland Browns.

The highlight of the 25-year-old’s day was a 30-yard run in the fourth quarter that advanced the Steelers into Cleveland territory, with the drive resulting in a Jaylen Warren touchdown. Fields’ two other attempts on the ground went for a combined -4 yards.

Pittsburgh also put their trust in him through the air on a 3rd-and-4 play while up 19-18 with 3:34 left in the contest. On his first throw since Week 6, Fields targeted George Pickens down the field but couldn’t complete the connection, which brought on the punt unit.

The Browns scored on their ensuing possession before thwarting the Steelers’ final scoring attempt of the night to clinch the victory.

Russell Wilson, who went 21-for-28 with 270 yards and a touchdown, also shared his uncertainty as to how and when Fields would be inserted into games moving forward.

“I don’t know when it’s going to happen,” Wilson said. “Whenever it does, all I want us to do is win. When Justin gets in there I’m rooting for Justin to do great and make a big play. When I go back in, it’s vice versa. We’re always rooting for each other.”

The Steelers haven’t been quiet about their intentions to continue featuring Fields. While things didn’t shake their way against the Browns as they perfect those arrangements, it’s fair to assume they’ll continue to ramp up his participation as the season continues on.

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It was announced on Monday that $7 million will come to western Connecticut to help combat the ongoing opioid epidemic.

The money will go to Winsted, Watertown, Torrington, Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk, and Bridgeport.

It will be used to intervene and help people immediately when they are released from prison.

“What we know is that when people get out of jail, that is often when they are at the highest risk of overdose because they don’t immediately get connected to community health providers and don’t continue their medication assisted therapy,” said Sen. Chris Murphy.

The money will also be used to reach out to children whose parents suffer from addiction or have overdosed, as well as funding things like Narcan, drug test strips, and counseling services.