#10 Providence Pulls Away from Merrimack

Cal Kiefiuk, Chase Yoder and Brady Berard all recorded a goal and an assist each as the No. 10 Providence College men’s hockey team defeated Merrimack, 4-2, on Thursday night (Feb. 29) at Schneider Arena.

RECORDS

Merrimack (12-19-1, 5-16-1 HEA) | No. 10 Providence (18-10-3, 11-7-3 HEA)

SCORE

Merrimack – 2 | Providence – 4

VENUE

Schneider Arena – Providence, R.I.

GOALIES

Philip Svedebäck (PC) – 26 saves, 2 goals against

Hugo Ollas (MC) – 28 saves, 3 goals against

NOTES

– Providence opened the scoring late in the first period, as Cal Kiefiuk pocketed a Craig Needham rebound to tally his second score of the season. Brady Berard earned the second assist on the score.

– Merrimack knotted the game early in the second period, as Mark Gallant found Ty Daneault in the slot from behind the net.

– Just under two minutes later, Chase Yoder cashed in on centering pass from Kiefiuk to re-gain the lead, putting the Friars ahead 2-1. Clint Levens also earned an assist on Yoder’s team-high 10th goal of the season.

– The Friars extended their lead midway through the third period on the power-play, as Bennett Schimek slipped the puck through Ollas’ pads to extend the lead 3-1. Graham Gamache and Hudson Malinoski were both credited assists on Schimek’s eighth goal of the season.

– With just 48 seconds to go in the third period, Merrimack’s Mark Hillier snapped a backhanded shot top corner to pull the Warriors within a score.

– The Friars re-gained their two goal advantage with 4.4 seconds to go, as Brady Berard scored on the empty net from the neutral zone, bringing about the final 4-2 score. Guillaume Richard and Chase Yoder fed Berard on the empty-net goal.

– Nine different Friars registered points in the win, headlined by two-point performances from Brady Berard (1-1-2), Cal Kiefiuk (1-1-2), and Chase Yoder (1-1-2). Four different Friars finished with a goal while eight different Friars notched an assist.

– Providence outshot Merrimack 32-18. Riley Duran, Chase Yoder, and Jaroslav Chmelar led the way for the Friars with three attempts on net apiece.

– Philip Svedebäck finished the night denying 26-of-28 shots on net, good for a .929 save percentage.

– With the victory, the Friars move into third place in the Hockey East standings with 36 points.

PC GAME HIGHS

Goals: Berard, Kiefiuk, Yoder, B. Schimek (1)

Assists: Richard, Malinoski, Berard, Gamache, Needham, Kiefiuk, Yoder, Levens (1)

Points: Berard, Kiefiuk, Yoder (2)

Shots: Duran, Yoder, Chmelar (3)

POWER PLAYS

Merrimack – 0/2

Providence – 1/1

SHOTS

Merrimack – 28

Providence – 32

UP NEXT

The Friars return to action tomorrow night to take on Merrimack at Lawler Rink in North Andover, Mass. with a 7 PM puck drop.