Special teams proved to be the difference, Friday night, in Providence, Rhode Island as the Portland Pirates had its point-streak snapped at five games.

Josh Hennessey and Carter Camper each scored a power-play goal, leading the Providence Bruins past the Pirates, 4-1, before 10,076 at the Dunkin Donuts Center.

The Pirates, entering the weekend, in which they will play three games-in-three days for only the third time this season, have earned a point in their last five games, going 3-0-1-1.

No thanks, of course, can be given to the penalty kill, which sits 19th in the American Hockey League at 80.8 percent.

The penalty kill in the last six games has given up eight goals on 29 power plays for the opposition, which would ranked them below the last place team in special teams – Rockford – at 72.4 percent.

The Bruins finished the night 2-for-4 on the power play, improving to 6-for-27 (22.2%) against the Pirates with the man advantage this season.

Josh Hennessy started the scoring in the first period with a power-play goal, beating goalie Curtis McElhinney with 2:38 remaining the period just as Pirates’ rookie Andy Miele left the penalty box, giving the Bruins a 1-0 lead.

Carter Camper made 2-0 in the second period with the Bruins second power-play goal of the game, this time a five-on-three goal, for his ninth goal of the season. Hennessy and David Warsofsky were credited with assists on the play.

The Pirates were down 3-0 for the second consecutive game as Kyle MacKinnon beat McElhinney at the 15:36 mark of the second period for the game’s only even-strength goal.

Bruins’ defenseman Colby Cohen was whistled for tripping with less than two seconds remaining the period, giving the Pirates a carryover into the third period and they made sure to capitalize.

Brett MacLean, who was recently named AHL Player of the Month, scored his 15th goal of the season with 21 seconds left on the power play, tipping shot by Tyler Eckford from the point past Bruins’ goalie Anton Khudobin, snapping his shutout bid just 1:37 into the second period.

The Pirates were outshot in the first two periods of the game 29-16, but outshot the Bruins 6-3 in the final stanza, ringing a pair of shots off the post late in the game.

McElhinney was between the pipes for the first time since being re-assigned to Portland by the Phoenix Coyotes.