Fall River goalie turns away 38 of 39 shots in half game of play in loss to Titan
FALL RIVER: Nolan Boyd’s solid play made the coaching staff for the Charlottetown Islanders think long and hard with his two recent games in the pre-season with the QMJHL club.
Boyd, a Fall River product, was strong between the pipes stopping 38 of 39 shots sent his way in the second half of a 5-2 loss to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Aug. 22. The outing was good enough for the fans to give him a standing ovation.
“Once the ball started rolling I felt more comfortable as the minutes went on,” said Boyd. “I was confident in my game tonight.”
The Lockview High School graduate is in his third camp with the P.E.I. squad, and said he’s using that experience at this camp.
“I had a really big summer,” he said. “I was training in Montreal for two weeks with my goalie coach Jack Hartigan, and Bobby Pederson training.”
Boyd was among the cuts announced Aug. 24 by the Islanders.
He will now battle for the number one role with Grand Rapids in the Maritime Junior A Hockey League after they traded starter Andrew Rose.
Meanwhile, at the Cape Breton Eagles camp, Beaver Bank’s Ryan Francis has made the team out of training camp to date (as of Aug. 26). He played in one pre-season game with the squad.
Kian Bell of Fall River, invited to the Eagles camp, was among the first cuts made by the team. He played last year with the Basin Armada of the N.S. Minor Midget AAA Hockey League.
With the Halifax Mooseheads, Fall River goalie Jonathan Pickrem was among the last cuts from the team. The team told him they were happy with his performance during camp and pre-season action.
He managed a 2.07 Goals Against Average in 58 minutes of play, appearing in two games. Pickrem stopped 25 of 27 shots.
Cole Foston of Beaver Bank also was in Moose camp, and when the team was announced he is on the roster for the upcoming season as a 16-year-old.
He suited up for three pre-season games, but did not record any points.
Andrew Coxhead of Fall River appears to be one of the lone mainstays of an offseason of changeover in Quebec with the Remparts. The team has made a plethora of moves, bringing back new bodies or prospects and draft picks for the future.
According to the QMJHL website, Coxhead has yet to play in a pre-season game as of Aug. 26.
