After a tough start, dropping their first three games, much improvement was seen from the St. John’s IceCaps during the second half of the season-opening road trip.
First off, Charlie Lindgren made his AHL debut on Friday, October 21. And what a debut it was. He kept his team in the game, stopping 50 out of the 51 shots he faced, recording a 4-1 victory during the rematch with the Providence Bruins; their first win of the season.
This seemed to spark something in the team as they faced the Springfield Thunderbirds the following evening. Going into the final frame up 3-1, they were aiming for their second consecutive win, but in the last half of the third they fell apart. They managed to hold on long enough to get the game into overtime, but were unable to grab the win.
The IceCaps wrapped up the road trip the way it began the week before: visiting the Hartford Wolf Pack. Like the previous evening, the IceCaps headed into the third with the lead. Despite allowing the Wolf Pack to spend the majority of the period on the man advantage, thanks to an impressive penalty kill and Lindgren backing them, St. John’s head home on a 5-2 victory high.
A very special guest will be joining the IceCaps at Mile One Centre on opening night. Five-time Stanley Cup champion, Guy Lafleur, will be taking part in a special opening ceremony before puck drop.
Up Next: Rochester Americans – Friday, Oct 28 and Saturday, Oct 29
NHL affliate: Buffalo Sabres
Last time they met – Wednesday, March, 23 and Friday, March 25
The meeting against the Americans on March 23 is sure to be one the IceCaps would rather forget.
After dominating for the first two periods, the IceCaps headed into the third with a 4-1 lead. Jeremy Grégoire and Gabriel Dumont each notched a goal with Charles Hudon picking up a pair.
Early in the third, after a review on a goal, Morgan Ellis bumped it up to a four-goal lead. The IceCaps were sitting pretty. Until the final half of the game.
Eddie Pasquale seemed to lose his groove and started to feel the sunburn on his neck. With just five minutes left before the final buzzer, the Amerks had made it a tie game. Then, with just four seconds left in regulation, Chad Ruhwedel slipped the game-winning goal past the IceCaps goaltender.
St. John’s had one night in between games to regroup. And regroup they did.
Surprisingly, after completely coming unglued during the final minutes of the previous night, Pasquale got the start between the pipes. This time he stood tall, allowing just three goals on 46 shots and earning the IceCaps’ Hardest Working Player shout-out.
The Amerks were first on the board, but just over two minutes later, Hudon stepped up once again to tie it up. Heading into the second period on an even keel, the IceCaps kicked it up a notch. Brandon McNally got two past Linus Ullmark, with Morgan Ellis joining in on the fun.
Just 25 seconds into the third, Max Friberg gave the IceCaps an even healthier lead, making it 5-1. The Amerks answered with two quick goals and fans hoped it wasn’t a repeat of their earlier matchup, but being peppered with 28 shots didn’t faze Pasquale this time around. It was a victorious rematch for the IceCaps, topping the Amerks 5-3.
Next opponent: Utica Comets
The IceCaps will still be on home ice when they face the Utica Comets in back-to-back games on Tuesday, November 1 and Wednesday, November 2. The last time these two teams met was towards the end of last season where the IceCaps came out on top for both games.
