Berard's Goal Not Enough To Save Friars

Brett Berard (Providence Friars)

Brett Berard must have read our call for him to shoot the puck more as he took a game-high six shots which led to his scoring his 13th goal of the season. It wasn't enough as his Providence Friars dropped their second straight to the Merrimack Warriors 2-1.

For Berard, it was a power-play goal coming at 16:46 of the first period after Merrimack had taken an early 2-0 lead. It was Berard's team-leading seventh power-play goal as he improves to a team-leading 13-13-26.

Talyn Boyko really had an easy night as his Kelowna Rockets blew out the Victoria Royals 9-1. To give you an idea of how easy a night it was, Boyko didn't face his first shot of the night until there were just seven minutes left in the first period. 

By that time the Rockets were up 4-0 as they finished the period up 5-0 as Boyko faced just six shots. It was 6-0 before Boyko surrender a goal as he stopped nine out of ten in the second period as Kelowna had an 8-1 lead after two. 

The third period saw Boyko facing just seven shots and he stopped them all. For Boyko, the win improved his season record to 13-11-1-1 with a 3.24 goals against and a 0.908.

Defenseman Hank Kempf earned his sixth assist of the season as his 10th-ranked Cornell Big Red had little trouble with Yale earning a 3-0 win. Kempf was more active in this game than he has been in any of the previous 15 games during his freshman season. 

Kempf got the primary assist on Cornell's third goal of the game as he faked a point shot and hit Jack Malone with a perfect pass as Malone converted for the goal. Kempf had a game-high six shots and was a +3 on the night. 

Kempf is still looking for his first NCAA goal but is 0-6-6 after 15 games in the NCAA.

Matthew Rempe was scoreless on two shots as his Seattle Thunderbirds defeated their archrivals the Everett Silvertips 5-1. Watching Rempe was interesting as he has one heavy shot and it looks like if it hits you then it is really going to hurt. 

While I wish the numbers were better, Rempe's game isn't bad-looking. One does not want to get hit by the 6'9 245 center as it seems Rempe has found a way to play a physical game without getting called for a penalty every time he throws a body check.

It is also clear that Rempe is going to be much more effective as a professional than he has been as a junior mainly because the professional players are older and more are bigger than the average junior player. That said Rempe is going to still be a bit of a project as a young professional, hard to see him remaining at center as his hand speed isn't that fast.

Brennan Othmann was scoreless as his Flint Firebirds shut out the Saginaw Spirit 1-0. It was a very quiet night for Othmann as he only took two shots and was 0-1 on faceoffs.

Ryder Korczak and his Moose Jaw Warriors were no match for the Winnipeg Ice as they got beaten 5-1. Korczak had a quiet night, scoreless on just three shots with a -1, and was 7-6 on his faceoffs.

Brody Lamb was scoreless on just two shots with a -1 as his Green Bay Gamblers fell in overtime to the Muskegon Lumberjacks 4-3. Lamb's scoring touch appears to have cooled off now that he is no longer starting the games for the Gamblers.

Evan Vierling returned from a two-game suspension as his Barrie Colts were dominated by the Mississauga Steelheads 3-1. Vierling had a secondary assist on the Colt's only goal which came at 18:10 of the third period after the Steelheads had already built a 3-0 lead.

Vierling was 0-1-1 on three shots and was 3-7 on his faceoffs.

Did Not Play

Hugo Ollas was the backup goalie for his Merrimack Warriors in their 2-1 win over Providence.

Dylan Garand was the backup as his Kamloops Blazers faced the Spokane Chiefs on the road. 

Riley Hughes and his ninth-ranked Northeastern Huskies saw their game against Vermont postponed due to Covid protocols. No make-up day has been announced.