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Defenseman Ronnie Attard Scores Four to Lead Storm Shutout

By Tom Robinson, 02/14/19, 11:00AM MST

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In EHL, Avalanche clinch North Division in overtime win

Ronnie Attard of the Tri-City Storm produced the first four-goal game by a United States Hockey League defenseman in more than three years.

Attard’s scoring outburst came on a night when the Storm also handled the defensive end, posting a 7-0 shutout of the Green Bay Gamblers.

The last four-goal game by a USHL defenseman came from Quinn Hughes for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program on Dec. 30, 2015.

Attard had a goal and two assists Saturday when Tri-City completed the weekend series sweep with a 5-2 victory. He went plus-6 for the weekend.

This has been a successful season for Attard, a 6-foot-3, 208-pounder.

The 19-year-old from White Lake, Minnesota, won the World Junior A Challenge as captain of Team USA in Bonnyville, Alberta. Attard leads the Storm and ranks second among USHL defensemen in scoring with 18 points and 19 assists. His 1.23 points per game average from the blue line is the best in the league.

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This is Attard’s third, and most productive, season with the Storm.

Tri-City took over first place when the USHL February Power Rankings came out last week. The Storm has the league’s best record (31-9-1-1) and has allowed the fewest goals (95).

DIVISION CHAMPS: The New Hampshire Avalanche became the second Eastern Hockey League team to clinch a division title and first-round playoff bye.

New Hampshire (31-5-0) won twice to lock up the North Division.

The clincher came Saturday when the Avalanche let a two-goal lead get away in the last six minutes of regulation, but recovered to beat the Boston Jr. Rangers, 3-2, on a Jake Adkins goal at 3:30 of overtime.

The Philadelphia Little Flyers won the South Division earlier and continued to roll behind the play of goalie Brendahn Brawley.

The Little Flyers are 35-3-1 while Brawley has six shutouts, a 1.91 goals against average and .936 save percentage.

Brawley and Nathan Pickett from New Hampshire lead the statistical categories for goalies.

TOP PROSPECT: Carson Briere continued to show why he will be one of the players to watch in next week’s North American Hockey League Top Prospects Tournament.

Briere had five goals, including two game-winners, and three assists in three wins by the Johnstown Tomahawks.

Johnstown, the only team that has clinched a Robertson Cup Playoff berth, is closing in on the East Division title.

Briere is third in the league with 70 points in 45 games.

The Top Prospects Tournament is Feb. 18-19 at the New England Sports Village in Attleboro, Massachusetts. Six teams will take part consisting of 108 of the NAHL’s top players. Each team will play two games.

ONE-TIMERS: Kyle McClellan, a 19-year-old from Manchester, Missouri, who ranks fifth in the NAHL in goals against average as a rookie with the Austin Bruins, has committed to play at Mercyhurst University. … Nick Abuzzese from the Chicago Steel leads the USHL in scoring with 18 goals and 36 assists in 41 games after scoring two goals in Friday’s 8-6 loss to the Sioux Falls Stampede and getting three assists in Saturday’s 5-3 win over the Sioux City Musketeers. … The West Division-leading Granite City Lumberjacks clinched a North American 3 Hockey League playoff berth when Brad Amundson scored twice in Friday’s 5-1 win over the Rochester Grizzlies.

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

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