PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The No. 10 Providence College men's hockey team took care of business on Thursday (Feb. 29), topping conference opponent Merrimack College with a 4-2 final at Schneider Arena. Providence boasted a balanced attack with four different goal scorers and eight different players tallying assists in the win.
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.
