Scratches: Mac Bennett, Jeremy Gregoire, John Scott, Connor Crisp (undisclosed)
Game Report
The IceCaps needed a win. They needed their goaltender to stand strong. They needed their offense to get pucks to the net. They needed their defense to keep the opponent at bay. Finally, on the sixth and last game of the St. John’s homestand, the team got what they needed.
Zach Fucale got the start this afternoon, and it looked like history might repeat itself again when Nikita Soshnikov potted the first goal less than six minutes into the game. But this time, the IceCaps responded in force. Morgan Ellis tied things up with a power play goal, followed by Daniel Carr who also scored on the man advantage.
The Marlies found their way to the net equally as well, though, and kept the game close. Then Markus Eisenschmid scored his first AHL goal in style: shorthanded. Ellis found the back of the net again, this time with the help of Michael McCarron and Darren Dietz. Lucas Lessio added to the tally and Gabriel Dumont slid in an empty netter to put the seal on Toronto.
In addition to Eisenschmid notching his first goal, Ryan Johnston earned his first pro point with a secondary assist on Carr’s goal. John Scott participated in both the morning skate and in pre-game warmups, but did not play.
The IceCaps now hit the road for a six-game trip before the All-Star break, beginning with a tilt against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Wednesday.
▲ Sven Andrighetto, Morgan Ellis, Darren Dietz, Michael McCarron, Markus Eisenschmid, Ryan Johnston
Scratches: Mac Bennett, Jeremy Gregoire, John Scott, Connor Crisp (undisclosed)
Game Report
The IceCaps haven’t had a good run of things at home this week, losing all four games they’ve played at Mile One Centre since returning from their last road trip. Tonight’s game needed to be successful, especially given the roster and line combo upheaval the IceCaps and their parent team, the Montreal Canadiens, had experienced during the previous 24 hours.
To recap the roster moves and trades, Jacob de la Rose was recalled to the Montreal Canadiens, Daniel Carr and Sven Andrighetto were reassigned to the IceCaps, Brandon McNally was reassigned to the Brampton Beast, the Canadiens traded Jarred Tinordi and Stefan Fournier to Arizona in exchange for John Scott and Victor Bartley, and Eric Neilson was released from his PTO. Bartley stayed with Montreal, but Scott is due to report to the IceCaps on Sunday. Nikita Scherbak came back from injury for this game, and Ryan Johnston made his pro debut coming off IR from back surgery.
Less than a minute into the game Eddie Pasquale gave up a goal on the the Marlies’ first shot on goal, by Brendan Leipsic. It was soon followed by another one and St. John’s found themselves down 2-0. The reunited first line of Carr, Michael McCarron, and Bud Holloway rediscovered their chemistry pretty quickly, though, and connected to give Holloway the first IceCaps goal of the night. Less than 60 seconds later Charles Hudon fires a laser through Antoine Bibeau and the game was tied 2-2.
But before the end of the first period, Leipsic would find the back of the net again, as would Nikita Soshnikov. Pasquale was pulled from net again, and the IceCaps looked to find an answer that simply wouldn’t surface. Discipline proved to be a problem as the game wore on, with St. John’s taking six consecutive minor penalties through the first and second periods alone.
Leipsic would add insult to injury in the second period by earning himself a hat trick. Another Toronto goal after that proved to be an insurmountable comeback for the IceCaps even with a late game goal by Carr. The IceCaps face the Marlies again on Sunday for a matinee game at Mile One.
▲ Daniel Carr, Sven Andrighetto, Bud Holloway, Michael McCarron
Andrighetto and Carr reassigned to IceCaps, de la Rose recalled to Canadiens
SVEN ANDRIGHETTO AND DANIEL CARR RETURN TO ST. JOHN’S
St. John’s IceCaps Media Release
ST. JOHN’S, NL — Forwards Sven Andrighetto and Daniel Carr have been reassigned to the IceCaps and forward Jacob de la Rose recalled to the Montreal Canadiens.
Carr played 17 games with Canadiens collecting five goals – including his first NHL goal on the first shift of his first NHL game, on December 5 – and two assists over 17 outings. The 24-year-old had eight goals and 17 points in 21 games with the IceCaps.
Andrighetto has played 17 games in Montreal this season, scoring four goals with one assist. The 22-year-old sniped seven goals and nine assists in 18 games with the IceCaps earlier this season.
In 24 games with St. John’s this season, de la Rose registered two goals and seven assists.
Scratches: Darren Dietz, Mark Barberio (undisclosed), Eric Neilson, Connor Crisp (undisclosed), Jacob De la Rose (lower-body), Nikita Scherbak (undisclosed), Markus Eisenschmid (undisclosed) Injured reserve: Ryan Johnston (back surgery)
Game Report
The IceCaps and Marlies got off to a really eventful first period in the second game of their back-to-back. Zach Hyman took an early penalty for closing his hand on the puck, allowing Morgan Ellis to give his team a 1-0 lead on the power play. Penalties ran high in this game, and about halfway through the first period the IceCaps found themselves with a 5-on-3. Daniel Carr fanned on an open net, but then took the puck around behind and slotted it past Bibeau to extend the lead.
Frustrations started showing for the Marlies as Rich Clune started throwing punches at Gabriel Dumont, for which Brett Lernout stepped in to defend. Clune and Lernout each earned a minor penalty and a ten minute misconduct, while Clune also picked up an extra five for fighting. Charles Hudon fired a shot at Bibeau during a subsequent 4-on-4, which Bud Holloway buried on the rebound.
The third period started with the IceCaps on another 5-on-3, the 5 on 3 which didn’t last long as Hudon sniped home his 10th of the season. Mark MacMillan ripped one over Bibeau’s shoulder to nab his first goal and give St. John’s a 5-1 lead. Shortly after MacMillan’s goal, Rich Clune and Dalton Thrower dropped the gloves in a very spirted tilt that ended in a draw.
Zach Fucale’s 37 saves backstopped the IceCaps to a huge 5-1 win over the Marlies at Ricoh today for a weekend sweep of Toronto.
Game notes by Chris Hatzitolios
▲ Daniel Carr, Charles Hudon, Morgan Ellis, Mark MacMillan, Bud Holloway
“We didn’t spend too much time in our zone, there was maybe one or two shifts where we spent a little too much time there.”
“I’m really hapy, I’m thrilled, when you start the weekend like this with 3 in 3, if you can take that many points, I mean, you will take them for sure.”
Post-game interview with Sylvain Lefebvre
Post-game interview with Gabriel Dumont
Audio from interviews conducted by Chris Hatzitolios for IceCaps Hockey Report | Rocket Sports Media.
Scratches: Darren Dietz, Mark Barberio (undisclosed), Eric Neilson, Connor Crisp (undisclosed), Jacob De la Rose (lower-body), Nikita Scherbak (undisclosed), Markus Eisenschmid (undisclosed) Injured reserve: Ryan Johnston (back surgery)
Game Report
The St. John’s IceCaps had a strong start to this game, with Charles Hudon streaking down the left wing past the Marlies’ defenseman to rip a shot high on Antoine Bibeau. The Marlies goalie made a strong glove save, and not too long after that, stood tall once again when Gabriel Dumont got close.
Just over two minutes into the game Josiah Didier took an interference penalty, which was successfully killed off. As the period rolled on, Didier became more engaged, playing well defensively and jumping in on the rush. On a hooking penalty by Brendan Leipsic, Stefan Fournier took advantage of a William Nylander turnover and roofed a shot over Bibeau’s shoulder to give the IceCaps a 1-o lead.
Penalties came back to haunt the IceCaps once again. Mac Bennett got called for high sticking and the Marlies took advantage as Leipsic roofed a shot over Eddie Pasquale to tie the game.
Late in the second period, Dumont pulled a nice toe drag around Stuart Percy and shot the puck from a tight angle on Bibeau to give his team a 2-1 lead. The lead lasted just over a minute as Sam Carrick passed it back to Andrew Campbell at the blueline, whose shot was tipped in the high slot by Matt Frattin. Stefan Fournier gave his team a 3-2 lead before the period expired.
Hudon ripped a slapshot home just 52 seconds into the third period while on the power play. With Pasquale standing tall in the St. John’s net, the goal scoring continued to open up for the visiting team. Carr made a fantastic backhand feed to Hudon, and finally, with 25 seconds left on the clock, Michael McCarron passed to Dumont who got the puck to Carr for an empty net goal, sealing a fairly dominant 6-2 win over the Marlies.
Game notes by Chris Hatzitolios
▲ Daniel Carr, Mike McCarron, Charles Hudon, Gabriel Dumont, Eddie Pasquale
“I thought we played great, we played a really good team game, we played sound defensively, it was a big team effort.”
“Obviously there were some things we needed to be better at, keeping the lead in the third period was a big thing for us, we didn’t last night, they scored with 17 seconds.”
Post-game interview with Sylvain Lefebvre
Post-game interview with Jarred Tinordi
Audio from interviews conducted by Chris Hatzitolios for IceCaps Hockey Report | Rocket Sports Media.
BRAMPTON, ON — The first year AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, the St.John’s IceCaps are off to a good start through their first 14 games of the season. They are currently third in the Eastern Conference’s North Division with a 7-5-1-1 record for 16 points. Part of the IceCaps early success this season has largely been in part to some of the new faces that either made the jump to the professional ranks or signed this past summer with the Canadiens or the IceCaps organization.
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons for the IceCaps early success is goalie Zach Fucale who is 5-2-0 so far in his seven games, helping his team pick up 10 out of a possible 14 points. Fucale has been mostly solid in his first professional season, although has a middling goals against average of 3.10 and a save percentage of .906 so far. Meanwhile he even chipped in offensively with one assist. The Canadiens 2013 2nd round draft pick has shown his ability to match up to the professional game so far, he will likely only get better as the season moves along.
George “Bud” Holloway, the 27-year-old former third round pick of the Los Angeles Kings, who is back playing in North America for the first time since the 2010-11 season, is the current leader in assists with 11 and points with 15 through the first 14 games. Holloway really impressed while playing overseas in Europe for four seasons signing a one-year, two-way deal with the Canadiens on July 1st.
Holloway was given a chance to crack the deep Canadiens lineup in training camp, however he was unsuccessful in doing so and was sent to the AHL where he has taken on a bit of a veteran role for the young IceCaps team. Holloway brings a ton of leadership to the IceCaps lineup and overall makes them a much better team. Holloway could be a call up later in the season for the Canadiens if injuries occur, however for now, the leading scorer of the IceCaps remains put.
Two first year professionals in Michael McCarron coming out of the Oshawa Generals organization and Nikita Scherbak out of the Everett Silvertips organization are proving that not everyone’s adjustment to the professional game is a difficult one. Big Michael McCarron is in a tie for third in IceCaps scoring with 11 points in 14 games, including six goals so far on the year while being tied for 18th in AHL scoring on the season. Big Mac is a very intimidating presence when he is on the ice, so far this season he has shown he is not afraid to shoot the puck or play his style which is great news.
Nikita Scherbak on the other hand has had a pretty pedestrian start to the season. In eight games he has three points and is a minus-5. For Scherbak, the adjustment to the professional game, speed and play hasn’t been the issue, it has been some injuries have kept him out. Once he gets back to being fully healthy, he will find it easier to play his skilled game and the points will start to come.
Daniel Carr, Sven Andrighetto and Charles Hudon were pegged as players who could have a shot to crack the Canadiens roster out of training camp as well, with two of them being full second year professionals. The trio are all off to good starts this season.
Daniel Carr who had 24 goals last season for the Hamilton Bulldogs is second in team scoring with 12 points in 14 games. Charles Hudon, who was named to the AHL’s all-rookie team last season with 57 points in 75 games, is off to a solid start with 10 points in 14 games.
Lastly, there is diminutive Swiss forward, Sven Andrighetto, who is now playing in his third professional season. In his first season, Andrighetto registered 44 points; last season he tallied 43 points in 40 games. Andrighetto has started this season with nine points in 14 games.
For the IceCaps, these three – two of which were Captain and Assistant Captain at the Rookie Tournament in September – are all being watched closely by the Canadiens and their fans. They figure to be among the top call-ups for the Canadiens if there are any injuries. These young leaders are at the forefront of a, so far, successful St. John’s team in it’s first year as the Habs AHL affliliate.
The IceCaps boast prospects that the Canadiens can afford to wait on. The fact that the Canadiens can afford to let these prospects play together for a long period of time, to grow and learn together, is huge. It also gives the Canadiens management time to really see what type of players they have in the AHL and even in the ECHL with their ECHL affiliate, the Brampton Beast. With the talent the Canadiens organization boasts, the IceCaps figure to be competitive this season. A young, hungry team that can really do some damage this season, the Canadiens know success is paramount in the AHL and ECHL to create a winning environment for these prospects to grow from and translate into success at the next level.
The St.John’s IceCaps next play the Toronto Marlies on Friday, November 13th at home and the Brampton Beast with the likes of Angelo Miceli, Tim Bozon, Mark MacMillan and more next play the Saturday, November 14th vs the Elmira Jackals.
Scratches: Josiah Didier, Ryan Johnston (hernia), Joel Hanley, Nikita Scherbak (undisclosed), Connor Crisp, Tim Bozon (shoulder), Dalton Thrower, Stefan Fournier Injured reserve:
Game Report
St. John’s came into this game needing a win. They had lost four of the five previous games on this six-day road trip through Pennsylvania. Despite playing well for the majority of games, the IceCaps were having difficulty mustering a consistent effort for 60 minutes.
Saturday night’s game didn’t start well.
Just over two minutes in, Bears centre Carter Camper carried the puck into the St. John’s zone then found the trailer, Stanislev Galiev, who wristed a shot past Zach Fucale.
A short time later, Gabriel Dumont took the first of his two minor penalties. The early goal and a power-play provided momentum for Hershey who led 9-3 in shots before the halfway mark of the period.
Hershey centre Sean Collins out-muscled Sven Andrighetto for the puck chipping it ahead to send Galiev on a breakaway. The former Saint John Sea Dogs forward put it high over Fucale for his second goal of the period. Hershey led 2-0.
Just over a minute later, with Erik Neilson off for boarding, IceCaps penalty-killer Mile McCarron grabbed the puck in his own zone and skated an end-to-end rush. McCarron went around the Bears defenseman and fired a shot past goaltender Justin Peters.
The puck went in and out quickly seeming to bulge the twine on the inside of the post. McCarron celebrated with his arms outstretched but play continued. With just a single referee in the game, Pierre Lambert wasn’t in an ideal position to make the call but signaled no goal.
Hershey carried the puck into the IceCaps zone. Collins redirected Camper’s shot past Fucale and it was 3-0.
At the stoppage, coach Sylvain Lefebvre requested a review. Referee Lambert informed the IceCaps that there was technical problem with the video equipment. There would be no review.
The officials were aware of the problem. The system failure required a reboot and the referee decided to proceed with the game rather than cause a stop in play. With the extended delay during the discussions, the system was rebooted but too late to review the McCarron goal.
The decision by the referee caused a two goal swing. Rather than a 2-1 game, it was 3-0 with 5:07 remaining in the first period.
Shots on goal were 16-9 for the Bears after one period of play. The IceCaps regrouped in the intermission.
Zach Fucale made a big glove just moments into the second period. St. John’s came out a very determined bunch. Brett Lernout scored his first goal as a pro with a blast from the point to put the IceCaps on the board.
At 13:38 of the second, Morgan Ellis’ point shot beat Peters top-shelf and it was a one-goal game. Assists went to McCarron and Daniel Carr.
Shots on goal in the second period were 15-11 for the IceCaps.
St. John’s continued their pace in the third period holding a shot advantage. With 2:56 left, Daniel Carr willed the puck into the net banging a Peter’s rebound across the line following a shot from Mac Bennett. The IceCaps had tied it 3-3.
After an exciting, scoreless 3-on-3 overtime, the teams went on to a shootout. Gabriel Dumont got the game-deciding goal and Fucale made a final save on Collins for the victory.
It truly was a character win for the IceCaps.
The team will fly out of Philadelphia on Sunday heading back to St. John’s. The IceCaps will have a few days of practice to prepare for a four-game homestand starting with two-game series against the Toronto Marlies next weekend.
▲ Daniel Carr, Mike McCarron, Brett Lernout, Zach Fucale, Morgan Ellis
▼ Mark Barberio, Sven Andrighetto, Charles Hudon
Statistics
ICECAPS
BEARS
38
Shots
38
0 for 2
Power Play
0 for 3
10
Penalty Minutes
8
Scoring
FINAL
1
2
3
OT
SO
T
IceCaps (7-3-1-1)
0
2
1
0
1
4
Bears (4-3-o-1)
3
0
0
0
0
3
Scorers
Goalies
STJ: Lernout (1), Ellis (2), Carr (5)
HER: Galiev (2), Galiev (3), Collins (2)
STJ: Fucale (W) 5-2-0
HER: Peters (L) 3-1-2
AHL Three Stars
Stanislav Galiev HER
Carter Camper HER
Daniel Carr STJ
Video highlights
Post-game interview
Coach Sylvain Lefebvre
“I’m really proud of my team, the adversity that we faced in the first period. It was a two goal swing there with that goal disallowed. It was kinda a weird thing and I’m proud of the way they reacted. To come up with the win like that at the end of the road trip, to me it was the TSN turning point.”
“Sometimes when a team is struggling a little bit, we had one win in the last four games, sometimes you need a spark somewhere, you need a turning point and I think that was it.”
“The one that that we mentioned is that we can’t let that get to us. We have to use that to motivate ourselves and get back in the game.”
“I didn’t watch (the 3-on-3 overtime.) I just sent the players out and I didn’t want to watch. Sometimes you get caught out there for a long shift and even though we had a 2-on-1 the two guys looked liked they were in wheelchairs, they were so tired.”
“All-in-all, the effort that the guys gave out was something to be proud of.”
Post-game interview with Sylvain Lefebvre
Post-game interview with Eric Neilson
Audio from interviews conducted by Amy Johnson for IceCaps Hockey Report | Rocket Sports Media.
Scratches: Josiah Didier, Dalton Thrower, Joel Hanley, Ryan Johnston (hernia), Nikita Scherbak (undisclosed), Connor Crisp, Tim Bozon (shoulder) Injured reserve:
Game Report
For the first time on the road trip, coach Sylvain Lefebvre made changes to his top-6 forwards, In order to get more scoring from Daniel Carr, playmaker Bud Holloway was added to the Mike McCarron line. Jacob De La Rose was moved up to center the second line with Charles Hudon and Sven Andrighetto having a quiet road trip so far.
Just over eight minutes into the game, the strategy paid off with Carr picking up his fourth of the year assisted by McCarron and Holloway.
Less than a minute later, Andrighetto took a hooking penalty. A 10-minute misconduct was tacked on for abuse of officials.
It was a strong first period for the IceCaps using their speed and being physical while outshooting the Penguins 11-6. After 20 minutes, St. John’s enjoyed a 1-0 lead.
With seconds left in the first period, Darren Dietz was clipped by a stick. He headed down the tunnel to the dressing room for repairs. Dietz sat at the end of the bench missing a couple of shifts to begin the second period after getting a few stitches during the first intermission.
Wilkes-Barre / Scranton pushed back in the second period going on to outshoot the IceCaps 12-5. But it wasn’t as one-sided as it sounds with the IceCaps skating well and being physical. The McCarron line was the best on the ice for St. John’s.
With 1:11 remaining in the period, a Penguins player fell into goaltender Matt Murray after a scrum in the crease. Former Canadiens forward Tom Kostopoulos took exception engaging Mike McCarron. The two dropped the gloves with McCarron landing a few solid rights.
The pair received five minutes each for fighting with McCarron getting an extra two for roughing. The league’s best power-play tied the game with 9.1 seconds left in the second.
With new life, the Penguins started to take control in the third period. Almost seven minutes into the frame, Stefan Fournier took a penalty for cross-checking. The IceCaps killed off the penalty but momentum had fully turned.
Wilkes-Barre / Scranton had extended periods in the St. John’s zone dominating play. With just over five minutes left, goaltender Eddie Pasquale was guilty of over-playing the puck. The Penguins Tim Erixon banked a shot off the skate of Morgan Ellis and into an open net.
The Penguins scored two more times, including an empty-netter, with the three goals coming in a span of just 2:22. The 4-1 final did not reflect the tightness of the game.
The IceCaps have just one win in five games in Pennsylvania. The will play their final game of the road trip on Saturday against the Hershey Bears. Nikita Scherbak is not yet ready to return and will not play on Saturday.
We learned that Greg Pateryn will be heading back to Montreal on Sunday after playing three games with the IceCaps for conditioning.
▲ Daniel Carr, Brett Lernout, Mike McCarron, Brandon McNally, Matt Bennett
▼ Gabriel Dumont, Mark Barberio, Charles Hudon, Christian Thomas
Statistics
ICECAPS
PENGUINS
21
Shots
30
0 for 3
Power Play
1 for 3
23
Penalty Minutes
13
Scoring
FINAL
1
2
3
OT
SO
T
IceCaps (6-5-1-1)
1
0
0
–
–
1
Penguins (9-1-o-0)
0
1
3
–
–
4
Scorers
Goalies
STJ: Carr (4)
WBS: Simon (4), Erixon (1), Rowney (4), Pouliot (2)
STJ: Pasquale (L) 0-1-0
WBS: Murray (W) 7-1-0
AHL Three Stars
Carter Rowney WBS
Dominik Simon WBS
Tim Erixon WBS
Video highlights
Post-game interview
Coach Sylvain Lefebvre
“Not just the first period, I thought that for the most part, we played a strong game. What hurt us in the second period was offensive zone blue line turnovers and then McCarron’s penalty at the end of the period hurt us pretty bad. Obviously if you kill that one, it’s different. But when you get scored on in the last minute of a period, it’s tough to recover. Having said that I though we played really well and you have to give them credit because their third period was something. They have a good team.”
“What I want is for the players to still feel good about their game. It was a 4-1 final but the empty-netter. When they scored the second goal we had a bad change, then they scored the third goal. You can’t give them too much, too many chances because they have skills and they connect on their plays. They are not 8-0 in the last eight (games) for nothing. They’re a really good team. Speed-wise and skill-wise, it’s one of the best teams we have seen so far.”
Post-game interview with Sylvain Lefebvre
Post-game interview with Greg Pateryn
Audio from interviews conducted by Amy Johnson for IceCaps Hockey Report | Rocket Sports Media.
Zach Fucale (Photo by Amy Johnson | Rocket Sports Media)
Zach Fucale (Photo by Amy Johnson | Rocket Sports Media)
WILKES-BARRE, PA. — After an impressive start to the season, the St. John’s IceCaps have been brought back to earth with just one win in their past four games, all on the road. The six-game road trip through Pennsylvania wraps up with a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday with games in Wilkes-Barre and Hershey.
While playing well for periods of each game, the IceCaps are learning that a sixty-minute effort from the full lineup is required to be successful on a consistent basis. You can find comprehensive game reports for each game of the road trip here.
The line of Mike McCarron, Daniel Carr and Christian Thomas has led the way. With six goals, McCarron has taken over the team lead with six goals. Bud Holloway has a share of the lead in AHL scoring with four goals and 10 assists for 14 points.
Zach Fucale has made three straight starts. Eddie Pasquale played the better part of two period against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Wednesday after Fucale was lifted for giving up three goals on three shots early in the second period.
Mark Barberio has picked up at least a point in each of the last four road games. Greg Pateryn has been added to the defensive corps being assigned to the IceCaps for a conditioning stint.
Daniel Carr (Photo by Rick Stephens | Rocket Sports Media)
ALLENTOWN, PA. — The Montreal Canadiens AHL affiliate, the St. John’s IceCaps are currently on a six-game road trip through Pennsylvania. The IceCaps Hockey Report | All Habs Hockey Magazine team was onsite in Allentown for two games against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The IceCaps split the series with a 3-2 win on Friday night. You can read our full game report here.
Our IceCaps Hockey Report team also attended practice. IceCaps forward Daniel Carr kindly spent a few minutes with our video producer, Amy Johnson.
