Scratches: Dalton Thrower, Mac Bennett, John Scott, Travis Brown, Cory Ward, Tom Parisi, Ben Scrivens, Brandon McNally, Angelo Miceli, Alexandre Ranger, Markus Eisenschmid (undisclosed) Injured Reserve: Connor Crisp (undisclosed), Michael Bournival (concussion)
Game Report
For the final game of the season, the IceCaps did not disappoint their fans. After a quickly played first period which again did not see any goals or penalties, the Wolf Pack struck first in the second period.
After that, it was Jacob de la Rose who stormed into the second frame with a beautiful shot from the high slot to tie the game. Both goaltenders, Eddie Pasquale and Mackenzie Skapski, were lights out stopping shot after shot from either team.
In the third period Tim Bozon got the go-ahead goal and the IceCaps kept the Wolf Pack at bay for the rest of the game. It was a tremendous way for the team to end their season as they saluted their St. John’s fans from center ice.
Prior to the game, awards were given out by the team to some of its players. Michael McCarron was named Rookie of the Year, Zach Fucale was named Community Man of the Year, Josiah Dider was awarded the Hardest Working Player, Morgan Ellis won Top Defenceman, and captain Gabriel Dumont earned the MVP award for the season.
▲ Eddie Pasquale, Tim Bozon, Morgan Ellis, Michael McCarron, Charles Hudon, Daniel Audette, Max Friberg, Jacob de la Rose
ST. JOHN’s, NL — Every Tuesday, IceCaps Hockey Report’s lead contributor, Amy Johnson, reviews the most recent action involving prospects of the Montreal Canadiens and what to expect from the St. John’s IceCaps in the week ahead.
Scratches: Dalton Thrower, Mac Bennett, John Scott, Travis Brown, Cory Ward, Simon Bourque, Ben Scrivens, Brandon McNally, Angelo Miceli, Alexandre Ranger, Eddie Pasquale, Markus Eisenschmid (undisclosed) Injured Reserve: Connor Crisp (undisclosed), Michael Bournival (concussion)
Game Report
It wasn’t a fluke. Last night’s OT win wasn’t just a flash in the pan for the IceCaps, as they took to their home ice this afternoon with another energetic and determined 60 minutes of play.
Jacob de la Rose stood out yet again, potting the first goal just over a minute into the game. He was soon followed by Morgan Ellis scoring his 16th of the season, with an assist by Bud Holloway.
Next it was Mike McCarron’s turn, handling a pass right out of the penalty box and skating it in for a backhander into the net. He was assisted by Holloway, who set a new single-season points record for the franchise with 60 points, and Tom Parisi who earned his first pro point.
The second period brought more of the onslaught. Tim Bozon wristed one past the goaltender right off the bat, and then Nikita Scherbak found mesh after a series of clean passes from McCarron and Charles Hudon.
The Comets managed to get on the board, but the IceCaps and Eddie Pasquale kept them out of the net for the rest of the period – despite Utica coming at the net hard and peppering Pasquale with shot attempts.
In the third period, the ice continued to tilt in favor of the IceCaps as Hudon potted two goals of his own. The second one came after McCarron dropped the gloves with Joseph LaBate and earned himself his first AHL Gordie Howe hat trick.
(Photo courtesy of the St. John’s IceCaps)
The St. John’s team seemed to get a bit undisciplined late in the third, giving up a series of penalties that allowed plenty of man-advantage time for the Comets, but Pasquale kept the Utica skaters at bay for an outstanding finish to the weekend.
The IceCaps close out their season by hosting the Hartford Wolfpack on Friday and Saturday nights at Mile One Centre.
▲ Jacob de la Rose, Michael McCarron, Morgan Ellis, Bud Holloway, Tom Parisi, Nikita Scherbak, Charles Hudon
▼
Statistics
ICECAPS
COMETS
39
Shots
31
0 for 4
Power Play
0 for 6
21
Penalty Minutes
17
Scoring
FINAL
1
2
3
OT
SO
T
IceCaps (31-32-8-3)
3
2
2
–
–
7
Comets (36-25-8-4)
0
1
0
–
–
1
Scorers
Goalies
STJ: de la Rose (6), Ellis (16), McCarron (16), Bozon (4), Scherbak (7), Hudon (27), Hudon (28)
Scratches: Shane Bakker, Alexandre Ranger, Ben Scrivens, Angelo Miceli, Markus Eisenschmid (undisclosed) Injured Reserve: Connor Crisp (undisclosed), Michael Bournival (concussion)
Game Report
The last road trip of the season didn’t go well for the IceCaps. They probably were relieved to get back to St. John’s this week and take to their own home ice for the remainder of the year. Their first visitors? The Lehigh Valley Phantoms, whom they hadn’t faced since October in Allentown. The Phantoms didn’t make the IceCaps homecoming too sweet, however.
The first period looked good, with both teams getting a fairly even amount of shots, and no penalties. Goaltenders Zach Fucale and Martin Ouellette looked strong in net and turned aside more than a few good shot attempts.
Charles Hudon was the recipient of a cross-check that sent him awkwardly into the boards and he had to be helped off the ice by a trainer and a teammate, looking woozy and unsteady. He did not return to the bench.
In the second period, Taylor Leier put a puck past Fucale in the first minute and things went downhill from there for the home team. Tim Bozon managed to get the IceCaps on the board, thanks to a helper by Cory Ward, but the Phantoms kept coming and finding ways to get the puck into the net.
The IceCaps only took two penalties in the game, but allowed a power play goal, while the Phantoms took six penalties and blanked the St. John’s power play units. A late period empty netter by Lehigh Valley put the IceCaps away for good.
Brett Lernout was missing from the lineup as he was called up to the Montreal Canadiens on emergency status due to Nathan Beaulieu sustaining a thumb injury. Ben Scrivens cleared waivers and arrived in St. John’s earlier in the afternoon, but did not dress for this matchup.
The series continues tomorrow night as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms return to Mile One for the fourth and final game between these two teams.
▲ Morgan Ellis, Andrew Yogan, Zach Fucale, Tom Parisi, Cory Ward
Nikita Scherbak (Photo by Rick Stephens | Rocket Sports Media)
TORONTO, ON — Promising Montreal Canadiens prospect, Nikita Scherbak has some ideas about who he would put in his NHL starting lineup, and they might surprise you!
(Photo by Taylor McIlwaine | Rocket Sports Media)
For the St. John’s IceCaps, the 2016 Easter long weekend was spent rounding off a 14-day road trip, their last of the regular season. The team came to Toronto to face off against the Marlies in two games of good ol’ fashioned rivalry hockey. While they lost both games in the big city, 20-year-old Nikita Scherbak continued to show promising strides in his career, showing off some of that signature stick work and posting an assist.
The first round draft pick continues to clock big time minutes with the IceCaps, showcasing impressive puck handling and sly pivots, all the while, improving on his defensive play. His potential keeps growing in tandem with his determination and passion to be a top NHL forward.
After taking to Twitter and Facebook to collect some of your questions, I caught up with the Moscow-native in Toronto to get you some answers, and they definitely did not disappoint.
On Saturday afternoon, you played at the ACC and on Monday night you went to an NBA game at the ACC. How did you like watching the Raptors? Did you have good seats? — Jason (Markham, ON.) via Facebook
Scherbak: I was excited, really, I like basketball a lot! It’s one of my favourite sports, because my mom used to play. So, about seats…[laughs] it wasn’t really good seats, I mean, it was on top, in the 300s. So, the guys made jokes on me in the morning, saying I watched from the CN tower, but I mean, that was my first experience, so I was really excited, and I [got the chance] to see Durant and Westbrook, they [are some] of my favourite players in the NBA, so it was really nice.
Scherbak: My music, actually, I put my music. Last couple of games, the boys give me a chance […] I don’t like, I’m not a big fan of country, so I like more techno and rap so yeah we’re listening to rap and techno before we go on the ice.
Describe the atmosphere of the dressing room: after a win and after a loss.
Scherbak: Well, it’s always tough, I mean, like when you lose the game and no one [is] happy, right? Because, obviously you’re trying, you put effort and something doesn’t go well so a bit more quiet after games. We try and just, I don’t know, try and forget right away that game, what happened on the ice.
And, obviously, when we win the game we’re all happy and we’re all smiling and it’s fun, you know, it’s fun to win!
What is your favorite thing to do when you are on the bus/plane? Play cards? Listen to music? Read? Sleep? — Amanda (Seattle, WA.) via Facebook
Scherbak: That’s a tough one, I don’t know. Try and get sleep maybe, but usually I can’t sleep on the bus or plane. I can’t sleep when I am sitting down so I try to play games on my iPhone or iPad or wherever. Watch a movie on the plane and listening to music.
Scherbak: A lot! I miss junior, I miss my junior career a lot, because it was so much fun. All the guys and the fans too, you know, it was crazy, especially in Everett. We had a good team, good year and uh, the crowd was good at those games so I was excited to play there, especially games against Seattle, it was sold out so it was awesome, I miss it a lot!
2/2 #Habs Pacioretty jokes that 6'6" Mike McCarron probably has never shaved in his life. @MacAttackUSA93 confirms he shaves every 3 weeks.
Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty recently joked that, “(Mike) McCarron probably has never shaved in his life.” When asked McCarron said that he shaves every three weeks. So Bobby, from Montreal, had to know..
Scherbak: I’m not a huge beard guy [laughs], so I don’t know, probably like same, yeah three weeks, maybe a month. I am not mustache guy, or not crazy beard guy so yeah, around three weeks too.
Scherbak: That’s a really tough one. I don’t know, if I were to be coach, I would, well first of all, I would take [Carey] Price in net, for sure, that’s 100 per cent. On defense, I would put Erik Karlsson and let’s say, Drew Doughty and forward would be [Sidney] Crosby, Jamie Benn and, uh, let’s take a Russian… let’s take [Pavel] Datsyuk!
Scherbak: I’ll be honest, it doesn’t…it’s a tough one. I played a lot on the wing, basically all my career and this year, I start centre and I like it alot. I don’t know, I think I rather play centre now, like after a couple games playing centre, I would like to play centre.
Scherbak: Oh, I don’t know that’s tough. I mean all guys talented, to play on this team, in this league, you have to be talented and you have to be, you have to work hard. […] Obviously, the older guys, but maybe most talented, I would say Charles Hudon. I really like how he plays and the way, the skill he has, so I really like him.
— stanley cup champion lars eller (@whatadani) March 28, 2016
Scherbak: Everything! I dont know, my parents, my friends. Just the atmosphere and my culture and just the city. I mean, I am born there, and I [haven’t] been there in a long time so I’m really excited to go back. [I miss] my parents a lot, I didn’t see them for awhile.
#AskAnIceCap Least favorite exercise during workouts/training?
— stanley cup champion lars eller (@whatadani) March 28, 2016
Scherbak: [Laughs] Probably, no, I like to jump, jumping, maybe over something, on something. I don’t know, maybe bench press [laughs]. Let’s say bench press, I am not good at that any way, so…
What is your plan/schedule for the off-season? Randy (Waterloo, Ontario) via Facebook
Scherbak: So I will go home, back [to] Moscow, right away, I think, and we’ll see from that. I need to make a new Visa and stuff so we’ll see. Ill go home first and I’ll decide after that. Go and hang out with my parents a lot, try and see all of my friends, which is a lot of friends, I didn’t see them for 3 years and maybe go for a vacation somewhere, we will see, we will figure [it out]!
Thank you for sending us your questions! Missed out? Be sure to follow along with us on social media @IceCapsReport, @AllHabs and @TaylorOliviaMc so it never happens again. Meanwhile, we can’t wait to see what the future holds for the promising career of Nikita Scherbak!
~~~
Listen to Nikita Scherbak answer fan questions here:
[one_half_last]Didier – Lernout
Joyaux – Ellis
Scott – Johnston[/one_half_last]
Goaltenders:
Fucale
Pasquale
Scratches: Shane Bakker, Mac Bennett, Angelo Miceli, Travis Brown, Markus Eisenschmid (undisclosed) Injured Reserve: Connor Crisp (undisclosed), Michael Bournival (concussion)
Game Report
After riding a high from last night’s hard-fought team win, the IceCaps then rode a bus across the border to Toronto, Ontario and arrived in the early morning hours at their hotel only to wake up early and hit the ice for an afternoon matinee. They faced a rested, refreshed Marlies team at the Air Canada Centre and their fatigue showed.
Brett Lernout actually got things started on a positive note with his second goal of the season, assisted by Nikita Scherbak and Charles Hudon. And then St. John’s reverted to slow, sloppy, tired play and unsteady goaltending and found themselves down 3-1 by the end of the first period.
Adding insult to injury, the IceCaps then began taking penalty after penalty in the second frame. Thankfully the penalty killers stood strong yet again and denied the Marlies on every man advantage. Bud Holloway got his team one goal closer to a comeback by banking in a wide open rebound. He was assisted by Gabriel Dumont and Brandon McNally.
Hudon then scored his 26th goal of the season about halfway through the third period to bring St. John’s to within one goal of the Marlies. But Brendan Leipsic deflated any hope the IceCaps had with a late-period goal against Zach Fucale to seal a victory for Toronto.
The IceCaps have some rest and practice to look forward to over the next couple of days before they visit Ricoh Coliseum on Tuesday for their last tilt against the Marlies for this season.
▲ Brett Lernout, Charles Hudon, Nikita Scherbak, Bud Holloway, Max Friberg, Josiah Didier
[one_half_last]Joyaux – Ellis
Didier – Lernout
Scott – Johnston[/one_half_last]
Goaltenders:
Pasquale
Fucale
Scratches: Shane Bakker, Mac Bennett, Angelo Miceli, Markus Eisenschmid (undisclosed) Injured Reserve: Connor Crisp (undisclosed), Michael Bournival (concussion)
Game Report
IceCaps fans watching tonight’s game may have thought they were experiencing deja vu. Charles Hudon scored first for St. John’s again, assisted by Nikita Scherbak, tying the game early in the first period at 1-1.
In the second period, the IceCaps once again opened up the scoring with two goals by Brandon McNally, and a goal by Morgan Ellis. Cory Ward added two more assists to his season tally. Penalties came and went, but the penalty killing unit stood tall and denied every Rochester attempt to put pucks through Eddie Pasquale.
Then, in the final frame, Max Friberg put the IceCaps up 5-1 – just like they started the period on Wednesday night. And just like the previous game, that’s when the Americans started to mount a comeback, scoring two quick goals. But Pasquale stood his ground, despite being peppered with 28 shots in the 3rd period, and the IceCaps took this one decisively 5-3.
It was a valiant team win by a group of hockey players who have faced some devastating losses over the last week of the season. The win should give them a much-needed boost of confidence going into Saturday’s afternoon matinee against the Toronto Marlies at the Air Canada Centre.
▲ Morgan Ellis, Mark MacMillan, Cory Ward, Eddie Pasquale, Brandon McNally, Max Friberg
[one_half_last]Didier – Lernout
Joyaux – Ellis
Brown – Johnston[/one_half_last]
Goaltenders:
Pasquale
Fucale
Scratches: Shane Bakker, Mac Bennett, Angelo Miceli, Markus Eisenschmid (undisclosed) Injured Reserve: Connor Crisp (undisclosed), Michael Bournival (concussion)
Game Report
Devastating. That’s the word that best sums up how this game ended. A complete collapse in the third period took what was a thrilling, energetic game from the IceCaps and turned it into an astounding loss.
Charles Hudon bagged two goals back to back in the first and second periods, and got the IceCaps started with determination. St. John’s opened up the scoring in the second period, with goals being tallied by Jeremy Gregoire and Gabriel Dumont. Dan Catenacci got one back for Rochester, but the IceCaps began the third period enjoying a 4-1 lead.
Just four minutes into the third, the IceCaps extended their lead to 5-1 when Morgan Ellis had a goal awarded after review.
It all started to come unraveled with 11:06 left. The Amerks Matt Donovan scored a power-play goal with Gabriel Dumont in the box for tripping. Puck after puck found its way past Eddie Pasquale and, with less than five minutes remaining in the game, the IceCaps found themselves tied 5-5 with the Americans.
It was a terrible breakdown, and the icing on the cake was a goal by Chad Ruhwedel with four seconds left in regulation which proved to be the winner. The Amerks scored five unanswered goals in an eleven minute span in the third period to gut the IceCaps.
The loss pretty much determines that St. John’s won’t make the playoffs this year, but they still have plenty of hockey to play – especially on this road trip. They face the Rochester Americans once again on Friday night before heading to Toronto for two games against the league-leading Marlies.
[one_half_last]Didier – Lernout
Joyaux – Ellis
Brown – Johnston[/one_half_last]
Goaltenders:
Fucale
Pasquale
Scratches: Shane Bakker, Mac Bennett, Joel Hanley, Alexandre Ranger, Angelo Miceli, Dalton Thrower, Markus Eisenschmid (undisclosed) Injured Reserve: Connor Crisp (undisclosed), Michael Bournival (concussion)
Game Report
The IceCaps meant business at the start of this game. After a close game the previous night which was physical, at times nasty, and closely played, the St. John’s team looked renewed as they blazed down the ice. They were forechecking hard, skating well, passing cleanly – and got rewarded with a quick goal by Charles Hudon, assisted by Bud Holloway and Mark MacMillan.
Emotions were still running high and it wasn’t long before Jeremy Gregoire dropped the gloves with Jake Dotchin. Minutes later a massive scrum started after Josiah Didier took on his own fighting bout and many of his teammates joined in with the nearest Crunch players. Brett Lernout earned a game misconduct for his part in the scrap.
By the end of the first period, the IceCaps started to lose energy – and the lead. Syracuse scored two consecutive goals in the opening frame and were outshooting the visiting team once again.
Then the game turned truly ugly in the second period when Syracuse scored four more goals, with only one more goal by Hudon coming for the IceCaps. It was not Zach Fucale’s best night and he did not return in the third period.
Eddie Pasquale kept the Crunch from adding to their tally in the third period, but St. John’s played mostly a dump-and-chase game for the final 20 minutes and couldn’t mount any sort of offensive pressure or scoring. It was deflating back-to-back loss, making the playoff run that much harder to reach.
Joel Hanley was recalled by Montreal on emergency status earlier in the day, putting Travis Brown back in the lineup. The IceCaps continue their road trip on Wednesday night with a game in Rochester against the Amerks.
▲ Morgan Ellis, Josiah Didier, Jeremy Gregoire, Charles Hudon, Bud Holloway
Hudon assigned to IceCaps
FORWARD CHARLES HUDON RETURNS TO ST. JOHN’S
Charles Hudon (Photo by Jeff Parsons)
St. John’s IceCaps Media Release
ST. JOHN’S, NL — Left-winger Charles Hudon has been assigned to the IceCaps by the Montreal Canadiens.
The 21-year-old registered two assists in two games with the Canadiens. When he was recalled to Montreal on December 8th, Hudon was second among IceCaps and 12th in AHL scoring with 20 points (10 G, 10 A) and was named AHL Player of the Week for the week ending November 29th.
The Alma, Quebec native collected 57 points as a rookie last season which placed him second in scoring among Hamilton Bulldogs and second among all AHL freshmen.
