Keith Aucoin, sidelined for a chunk of the 2010-11 season by knee nerve damage, can only max out at 63 games.

That still may not prevent the Hershey Bears centerman from defending his 2009-10 AHL scoring title.

Aucoin ran his point streak to 13 games with a three-point effort in Friday night’s

over the Providence Bruins at Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, R.I.

Aucoin, whose short-handed goal with 5.5 seconds left in the second period stood as the game-winner, moved into a fourth-place tie with Charlotte’s Jerome Samson in the league scoring race (53 points) and within 12 points of No. 1 Corey Locke of Binghamton (65). Samson has played 18 more games than Aucoin, and Locke has played 12 more.

Boyd Kane, continuing his own offensive rampage, scored two goals as Hershey extended its point streak to 11 games (10-0-0-1). The winger has produced six goals and eight assists in the last dozen games.

Goalie Jared DeMichiel made 28 saves to win his AHL debut. Hershey produced a season-low 13 shots, but former Bears goalie Nolan Schaefer only stopped nine of them.

Kyle Greentree, reaching the 20-goal plateau for the fourth time, also scored for Hershey.

Maxime Sauve, Brian McGrattan and Kirk MacDonald (power play) scored for Providence.

NOTEBOOK



Touted Washington Capitals prospect Dmitri Orlov has told Russian news outlets he’d like to join the Bears when his KHL season is done. For that to happen, a league determination would have to be made that the defenseman meets exemption criteria to Bylaw 26, which requires players who start in Europe to return by mid-December to be eligible for the AHL, as an entry-level or tryout player. An exemption might also apply to 2010 Washington first-rounder Evgeny Kuznetsov.

Hershey’s Trevor Bruess suffered a lower-body injury during a first-period fight with Antoine Roussel and didn’t return.

Brian Fahey was sidelined by an injury suffered Wednesday at Manchester.

With Greentree serving a delay of game penalty and Schaefer pulled for an extra attacker, Providence played the final 1:13 with a 6-on-4 advantage but failed to tie the game.

Hershey went 1-1-0-0 in the two-game season series against the P-Bruins.