IceCaps Player of the Week: Lucas Lessio
In his first few games, Lessio is doing everything he can to make an impact, and so far he’s accomplishing just that. In a pair of games against one of the AHL’s elite teams — the Toronto Marlies — he notched a goal and an assist, and was the catalyst in a comeback win on Sunday.
In Saturday’s 5-2 loss, Lessio recorded his eighth goal of the year (first as an IceCap), with an assist going to Bud Holloway. In a Sunday-afternoon rematch in Toronto, Lessio set up Holloway for the game-tying goal and triggered an offensive landslide for St. John’s.
Weekly Stats
| Player | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | SOG |
| Bud Holloway | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 2 | 2 |
| Michael McCarron | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 2 | 3 |
| Charles Hudon | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 0 | 6 |
| Mark Barberio | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 1 |
| Daniel Carr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gabriel Dumont | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +0 | 0 | 5 |
| Morgan Ellis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 3 |
| Sven Andrighetto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lucas Lessio | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 5 |
| Darren Dietz | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +0 | 2 | 12 |
| Joel Hanley | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +0 | 0 | 3 |
| Mark MacMillan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jeremy Gregoire | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 1 |
| Brett Lernout | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jacob de la Rose | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 | 3 |
| Nikita Scherbak | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mac Bennett | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 4 | 0 |
| Michael Bournival | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 2 | 5 |
| Tim Bozon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 1 |
| Connor Crisp | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | W | L | OTL | SO | GAA | SV% |
| Dustin Tokarski | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | .00% |
| Zachary Fucale | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.00 | .889% |
Charles Hudon: In his return to the AHL, Hudon stepped right back into a leading role for the IceCaps, this time at centre. In two games he recorded just one assist, however.
Michael McCarron: After a solid set of games in the NHL, the gargantuan forward returned to the IceCaps. Much like Hudon he struggled to get his offensive game going, but grabbed an assist on a Gabriel Dumont goal against Toronto.
Daniel Carr: The sophomore forward is the only player capable of scoring for the Montreal Canadiens as of late. He notched another two goals for the Habs this past week and is seeing plenty of power play time as a result.
Sven Andrighetto: The dynamic sniper was incomprehensibly scratched for several recent Habs games, but had an assist in his returnlast night in Tampa Bay.
Mark Barberio: The anchor of the IceCaps defensive corps played just one game this weekend against Toronto and recorded no points. He was recalled to the Canadiens Sunday evening in response to an injury to Tom Gilbert and took Alexei Emelin’s place in the lineup versus the Lightning.
Mac Bennett: The second-year blue-liner continues to struggle this season for St. John’s. He was a scratch on Saturday then struggled with top-pairing minutes on Sunday in a rematch against the Marlies.
Bud Holloway: The veteran forward was back to his old ways against Toronto this weekend. Holloway notched a goal and two assists in two games played and was responsible for the game-tying goal in Sunday’s comeback win.
Gabriel Dumont: The captain came up clutch when it counted during Sunday’s game against the rival Marlies. Dumont notched an assist on Michael Bournival’s first goal of the year, then tallied his seventh in the final 35 seconds to secure a regulation win.
Joel Hanley: Hanley’s offensive outburst kept up its momentum, as the young defenseman notched his third goal of the season in a 5-4 win over Toronto.
Brett Lernout: The rookie blue-liner continues a steady rookie season, grabbing his fifth assist of the year on Bud Holloway’s eighth goal.
Connor Crisp: The young forward is currently shelved with an injury.
Darren Dietz: With Ellis and Barberio struggling as of late, Dietz has stepped his game up big time. He scored his fourth goal of the season on Saturday and grabbed an assist on Bournival’s first.
Morgan Ellis: Just like the previous week, Ellis’ production mirrors Mark Barberio’s, with both players failing to record a point.
Jacob de la Rose: After a short stint back on the injured list, the young Swede drew back into the IceCaps lineup. He notched his second goal and is showing little sign of his early-season struggles.
Nikita Scherbak: The rookie forward is still on the injured list, but is expected back in January.
Jeremy Grégoire: The two-way forward was held off the scoresheet in two games played while in his usual spot in St. John’s bottom six.
Mark MacMillan: It was a tough week for the bottom-six forwards in terms of production, MacMillan included.
Markus Eisenschmid: The German rookie finally drew back into the lineup after an extensive stay on the IR, though he did not record any points.
Tim Bozon: The rookie forward played Saturday for St. John’s and was demoted to the Brampton Beast early on Sunday.
Michael Bournival: You would never have guessed that Bournival spent most of the past year recovering from an injury given his play as of late. During Sunday’s game he recorded his first goal as an IceCap then set up Gabriel Dumont’s game-winner late in the third period.
Dustin Tokarski: The veteran netminder was up with the Montreal Canadiens during the two games versus the Marlies. He was re-assigned to St. John’s after yesterday’s acquisition of Ben Scrivens.
Zachary Fucale: The IceCaps rookie goalie continues to split back-to-back games with Eddie Pasquale, and gave up four goals in his start: a 5-2 loss to the Marlies on Saturday.
Year to Date Stats
| Player | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | SOG |
| Bud Holloway | 28 | 8 | 20 | 28 | +3 | 6 | 73 |
| Michael McCarron | 30 | 13 | 12 | 25 | -2 | 50 | 65 |
| Charles Hudon | 26 | 10 | 11 | 21 | +4 | 24 | 71 |
| Mark Barberio | 26 | 2 | 18 | 20 | +0 | 25 | 51 |
| Gabriel Dumont | 30 | 7 | 12 | 19 | -7 | 29 | 66 |
| Daniel Carr | 21 | 8 | 9 | 17 | +7 | 10 | 59 |
| Morgan Ellis | 30 | 6 | 10 | 16 | +8 | 33 | 61 |
| Sven Andrighetto | 17 | 6 | 9 | 15 | +6 | 20 | 45 |
| Lucas Lessio | 27 | 8 | 7 | 15 | -9 | 25 | 63 |
| Darren Dietz | 27 | 4 | 7 | 11 | -2 | 12 | 48 |
| Joel Hanley | 26 | 3 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 2 | 23 |
| Brett Lernout | 29 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -5 | 28 | 20 |
| Mark MacMillan | 16 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -4 | 4 | 12 |
| Jacob de la Rose | 17 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -7 | 12 | 22 |
| Jeremy Gregoire | 30 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -1 | 32 | 39 |
| Michael Bournival | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -3 | 6 | 18 |
| Nikita Scherbak | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -5 | 8 | 13 |
| Mac Bennett | 20 | 1 | 2 | 3 | +1 | 10 | 13 |
| Tim Bozon | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +2 | 0 | 16 |
| Connor Crisp | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6 | 25 | 8 |
| Player | W | L | OTL | SO | GAA | SV% |
| Dustin Tokarski | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3.20 | .900% |
| Zach Fucale | 9 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3.12 | .908% |
Weekly Record
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2. |
A split versus one of the AHL’s top team was great result to achieve this week, although several of the Marlies players were in Finland competing in the World Junior Hockey Championship.
Record to Date
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | Conference | Divsion |
| 28 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 37 | 4th | 3rd |
The IceCaps will make stops in Rochester, Binghamton, and Utica this week looking to gain more ground on the North Division-leading Toronto Marlies.
