The IceCaps started their six-game road trip on Friday, November 11 but were unable to pick up any points. They faced the Springfield Thunderbirds on Friday, falling 3-1 and dropped 4-3 the following evening to the Albany Devils. After having two days to regroup, they managed a 4-1 victory against the Binghamton Senators on Tuesday.
Now they’re facing a grueling three-day weekend of back-to-back games before heading back home.
Tip of the Iceberg Notes:
- The IceCaps point leader, Chris Terry, got the call-up to the Montreal Canadiens on Monday making his debut with the Habs Tuesday night against the Florida Panthers.
- Connor Crisp was reassigned to the Brampton Beast on November 9, and was called back up to the IceCaps on November 14 to join them on the road.
- Charles Hudon added another goal to his tally during the Senators game and now leads the AHL with nine goals. Nikita Scherbak is second in the AHL, with eight goals.
- David Broll potted his first goal of the season, and the game winner, against the Senators on Tuesday. /
▶️ @brolldozer1993 potted his first of the season, which just happened to be the game-winner last night! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/SdtkcDf8pY
— St. John’s IceCaps (@IceCapsAHL) November 16, 2016
Rochester Americans – Friday, November 18
NHL affiliate: Buffalo Sabres
Last time they met: October 28 and 29
The IceCaps split the opening weekend series with the Amerks coming out strong during the Friday Home Opener to top the Americans 5-3.
Rochester were up by two just eight minutes into the opening period but the IceCaps rallied from behind. Nikita Scherbak got the IceCaps within one goal with a little over five minutes left in the first. Late in the middle period, Jeremy Gregoire tied it up.
The IceCaps were down by one leading into the third period, and they came out fighting. They fired 20 shots on net during the final frame and came out on the winning end.
At 4:04, Philip Samuelsson picked up his first goal of the season to make it a tie game. Just over two minutes later, Sven Andrighetto potted the game winning goal- his fourth goal in four games – with Stefan Matteau throwing an empty-netter in for good measure to make it a 5-3 victory.
Daniel Audette tallied his first pro point with an assist on Andrighetto’s goal and Mark MacMillan was named IceCaps Hardest Working Player after picking up two helpers during the contest.
The following evening, they weren’t so lucky, dropping the contest 5-2. The special teams weren’t on top of their game on Saturday, allowing a short-handed goal and two power-play goals.
After tallying his first pro point the previous night, Audette upped his game and netted his first pro goal on Saturday. The Americans opened the scoring once again with Audette tying it up ten minutes later. The 1-1 score didn’t last long with Cole Schneider giving the Americans the lead 1:03 into the second period and William Carrier potting his second of the night to give them a two goal lead.
With less than three minutes remaining in the middle frame, Scherbak gave the IceCaps a fighting chance, with the help of Audette and netminder Yann Danis, with a beautiful wrist shot over the glove of John Muse.
The IceCaps weren’t trailing by one for long thanks to Nick Baptiste pulling Rochester further into the lead once again less than a minute later.
Like the previous night, the IceCaps came out hard during the final frame, out-shooting the visitors 14-8, but it was too little, too late. An empty-netter gave the Americans the insurance they needed to grab the win.
| TEAM | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Marlies | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 17 | |
| Syracuse Crunch | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 15 | |
| Albany Devils | 12 | 8 | 4 | 16 | ||
| Rochster Americans | 13 | 7 | 6 | 14 | ||
| St. John’s IceCaps | 15 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 15 | |
| Binghamton Senators | 12 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 7 | |
| Utica Comets | 12 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 7 |
Up next: The IceCaps will conclude their road trip with a weekend series against the Toronto Marlies on Saturday, November 19 and Sunday, November 20.
