SPRINGFIELD – For the fourth consecutive meeting, the outcome between the Thunderbirds and Bruins was decided by one goal.

The only problem, though, is that Springfield finished on the wrong side of a 2-1 outcome against Providence on Wednesday night at the MassMutual Center.

“There were a lot of details, but there were more than one or two turnovers,” Thunderbirds coach Steve Ott said. “And (the Bruins) are a team that makes you beat yourself. And I thought for the most part, they did that to us.

“We became unpredictable throughout the game, and it just makes it a real hard game to gain any traction in it. So you know, hats off to them. We knew that we’d get their best tonight, and I thought we did.”

Wednesday was more than a late regular-season game between rivals, as the Thunderbirds entered action only two points behind Lehigh Valley for the sixth and final postseason spot in the Atlantic Division with 11 games left on the schedule.

Springfield, though, was unable to seize the opportunity as the Thunderbirds suffered their sixth-season loss against first-place Providence. But the bright spot is that Springfield (25-29-6-2, 58 points) is still ahead of Hartford (24-32-4-2, 54 points) for seventh place in the division with 10 regular-season games left.

The Boston Bruins also announced earlier this week that former Boston College men’s hockey star and their top prospect, James Hagens, signed an amateur tryout agreement with Providence. The result ensured that Hagens made his professional debut for the P-Bruins on Wednesday against Springfield.

• Bruins sign James Hagens: Top prospect leaves BC to turn pro

Hagensattempted three shotsand also gained some crucial experience. The 19-year-old, for example, participated on the Bruins’ top power-play unit in the second and third period, where he executed an unsuccessful sneak preview of his future one-timer attempt. The two-way center also won multiple faceoffs in the offensive zone.

Through 11-plus minutes of action, the Thunderbirds failed to score on back-to-back power-play attempts, and Providence made them pay. As the Bruins regained possession in their zone, Matthew Poitras connected with Matěj Blümel at the beginning of the crease.

Blümel then attempted an unsuccessful spin-move shot attempt as Springfield netminder Will Cranley made one of his game-high 39 saves with his blocker. But the momentum was short-lived, as Riley Tufte recovered the rebound along the left side of the crease and poked it home to move the Bruins ahead 1-0 with 8:08 left in the first period.

That marked Tufte’s team-leading 28th-season goal for Providence, while Blümel and Poitras each recorded their 28th helpers on the drive.

The Bruins nearly doubled their lead during the 19th minute, as the road team earned a 2-on-1 breakaway attempt. But as Jake Schmaltz approached the opposing net, Cranley’s foot denied the center behind one of his 17 first-period saves to keep it a one-goal deficit for Springfield through one intermission.

“Will was great,” said Ott of Cranley’s performance. “I mean, he faced way too many chances against, let alone shots against. So we have to do a better job in front of our goalies.”

The opposing festivities continued into the second, as Victor Söderström appeared to have scored his ninth-season goal on a rebounder outside the crease for Providence.

But after official review, it was declared that Cranley made a successful diving glove stop before the puck crossed the goal line to keep it a one-goal difference with 15:34 left on the clock.

That outcome proved essential, as Dylan Peterson connected with Julien Gauthier along the left board once both players crossed the blue line. As Springfield earned its own 2-on-1 breakaway attempt near the opposing crease, Ty Gallagher attempted to spoil the fun with a head-first dive.

It wasn’t enough, though, as Gauthier maneuvered around the defenseman and scored a backhanded wrister to help the Thunderbirds even the score at 1-1 with 6:03 left in the second. The goal marked Gauthier’s seventh of the season, while Peterson earned his 11th assist.

Springfield and Providence remained in a stalemate through 40 minutes of action, despite the Bruins maintaining a 26-15 shots-on-goal advantage.

That previously-mentioned statistic wasn’t a surprise, especially since four of the nine previous season games between the Thunderbirds and Bruins have been decided by one goal. And that figure also included three consecutive earlier outcomes, where Springfield had won two of those three games.

But momentum wasn’t on the Thunderbirds’ side to begin the third period, as the home team failed to clear possession near the blue line and Providence attacked. Once Joey Abate secured the loose puck, the left-winger connected with Schmaltz ahead of the pack for the go-ahead breakaway goal to move the Bruins ahead 2-1 with 16:04 left in regulation.

Though the Thunderbirds were down in the final period, they weren’t out. And Cranley ensured that statement, as the 24-year-old made an impressive diving save along his left against Matěj Blümel to help Springfield keep it a one-possession deficit with 8:46 left on the clock.

But during the 57th minute of action, the Thunderbirds earned their fourth power-play attempt as Patrick Brown was whistled for tripping. Now with just over two minutes left on the clock, Zach Dean earned a cross pass and attempted to even the score with a one-timer.

It wasn’t enough, though, as Providence netminder Michael DiPietro made one of his 25 saves to help the Bruins earn their league-best 48th season win. The outcome also ensured DiPietro earned his AHL-best 30th win between the pipes.

Springfield will look to keep its postseason hopes alive as they complete the week with a mini road trip. The first of two games will start against the Phantoms on Friday inside the PPL Center at 7:05 p.m.

“The message is a playoff push,” Ott said. “I don’t think that it kind of speaks for itself. They know where we are in the standings, and we know where we are in the standings. So for us, it’s doing the right things.

“We have to travel there and make sure we’re ready to go for a strong playoff-type atmosphere game. Obviously, Lehigh Valley is going to take this game very seriously, and so are we. It’s going to be a good one.”

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