IceCaps Player of the Week: Nikita Scherbak
It has been a rough rookie season for the former first-round pick. Between battling injuries and adapting to the pro game, he struggled early in the season. Since coming off the injury list following a massive collision with Toronto Marlies defenceman Viktor Loov, the shifty sniper has re-discovered his offensive flair.
In three games this week, Scherbak registered one goal and one assist, while the IceCaps offense struggled to get into gear. He registered his third goal of the year in a 4-1 loss to the Portland Pirates, with assists going to Charles Hudon and Sven Andrighetto.
He also grabbed the primary assist on Mark MacMillan’s fifth goal of the year in a 4-2 loss to Portland. With Andrighetto and Lucas Lessio on recall with the Canadiens, it is likely the team will rely on more production from the rookie moving forwards.
Weekly Stats
| Player | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | SOG |
| Bud Holloway | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 | 5 |
| Michael McCarron | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 4 | 5 |
| Charles Hudon | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 7 |
| Mark Barberio | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daniel Carr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gabriel Dumont | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 9 | 8 |
| Morgan Ellis | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 0 | 4 |
| Sven Andrighetto | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 12 |
| Lucas Lessio | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 2 | 6 |
| Darren Dietz | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 4 |
| Joel Hanley | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 4 | 2 |
| Mark MacMillan | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 0 | 3 |
| Jeremy Gregoire | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brett Lernout | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jacob de la Rose | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 | 4 |
| Nikita Scherbak | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 5 |
| Mac Bennett | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 0 | 2 |
| Michael Bournival | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 4 | 4 |
| Max Friberg | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 3 |
| Ryan Johnston | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 0 | 1 |
| Connor Crisp | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | W | L | OTL | SO | GAA | SV% |
| Eddie Pasquale | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.00 | .885% |
| Zachary Fucale | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .3.50 | .883% |
Bud Holloway: The IceCaps leading scorer was not immune to the IceCaps offensive stumbles before the All-Star break, registering just a single goal over three games.
Charles Hudon: The IceCaps star sophomore continued his solid run of production, with his team-leading 14th goal of the year, adding an assist as well. With almost half the season left, it seems likely that he will top his 19 goal output from his rookie season.
Michael McCarron: It was rough going for the rookie forward who hasn’t found the back of the net in a few weeks. His defensive play is still outstanding, and in the Rapid Fire event at the AHL All-Star game he went 4 for 5 against Michael Leighton.
Daniel Carr: After earning a recall to the NHL, the young forward suffered a significant knee injury, and will be out up to three months.
Sven Andrighetto: The speedy winger grabbed a pair of assists in three games, and earned a call-up to the NHL. According to practice lines today, he is rotating with Lucas Lessio on the fourth line.
Morgan Ellis: It appears that Ellis is standing tall as the IceCaps number one defenseman right now. He registered one assist, and was named to the AHL All-Star team.
Mark Barberio: The IceCaps standout defenseman has made what looks like a permanent home in the Canadiens lineup. It’s unclear where he’ll be playing this week, as Alexei Emelin missed practice, so the defensive pairs were shuffled.
Mac Bennett: The young rearguard is having a frustrating season. In two games this week, he failed to record a point and was a -3.
Lucas Lessio: Despite failing to find the scoresheet in three games played, he earned a call up to the NHL, where he is rotating in on the fourth line at practice.
Gabriel Dumont: The IceCaps captain provided the lone assist on Charles Hudon’s goal.
Joel Hanley: The versatile blueliner failed to record any points in three games.
Brett Lernout: It’s been tough for the hard-nosed defenseman. He didn’t register any points, and had just one shot on net.
Connor Crisp: Still out with an injury.
Darren Dietz: After the best week of his young career, Dietz couldn’t find the back of the net, or register any assists in three games.
Jacob de la Rose: After a short stint in Montreal, de la Rose was returned to the IceCaps, where he did not record any points.
Jeremy Grégoire: Much like in previous weeks, the large influx of players coming down from the NHL limited Gregoire to just one game, in which he had no points or shots on net.
Mark MacMillan: The former North Dakota standout continues a solid rookie season in the IceCaps bottom six. He registered his fifth goal of the year in a 4-2 loss to Portland.
Markus Eisenschmid: The German rookie was the victim of a vicious dirty hit against Portland, and did not play in Saturday’s game against Hartford.
Tim Bozon: Bozon is still playing in the ECHL with the Brampton Beast, where he put up a goal and an assist this past week.
Michael Bournival: Tough week for Bournival, who like many of his teammates did not record any points.
Max Friberg: The young Swede is proving to be a solid addition for the IceCaps. He grabbed an assist this week on a Mark MacMillan goal in the 4-2 loss to Portland.
Ryan Johnston: After several outstanding weeks following his time on the injury list, Johnston slowed down this week. He did not record any points, and was a -5 over three games.
Zachary Fucale: The IceCaps rookie goaltender will be glad to see January end. He went without a win in two starts this week.
Year to Date Stats
| Player | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | SOG |
| Bud Holloway | 39 | 12 | 24 | 36 | +0 | 10 | 105 |
| Charles Hudon | 41 | 14 | 16 | 30 | +1 | 56 | 105 |
| Gabriel Dumont | 45 | 12 | 17 | 29 | -12 | 47 | 104 |
| Michael McCarron | 43 | 13 | 15 | 28 | -4 | 61 | 91 |
| Morgan Ellis | 45 | 10 | 14 | 24 | +12 | 39 | 93 |
| Sven Andrighetto | 26 | 10 | 13 | 23 | +6 | 22 | 74 |
| Max Friberg | 36 | 7 | 16 | 23 | -6 | 4 | 73 |
| Daniel Carr | 24 | 10 | 11 | 21 | +7 | 10 | 66 |
| Lucas Lessio | 42 | 10 | 11 | 21 | -16 | 41 | 102 |
| Mark Barberio | 26 | 2 | 18 | 20 | +0 | 25 | 51 |
| Darren Dietz | 342 | 4 | 11 | 15 | +2 | 28 | 73 |
| Joel Hanley | 41 | 3 | 6 | 9 | -5 | 17 | 41 |
| Jacob de la Rose | 27 | 2 | 7 | 9 | -9 | 16 | 34 |
| Michael Bournival | 20 | 1 | 7 | 8 | -7 | 12 | 55 |
| Mark MacMilan | 31 | 5 | 2 | 7 | -7 | 10 | 24 |
| Nikita Scherbak | 17 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -7 | 10 | 25 |
| Jeremy Gregoire | 40 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 37 | 46 |
| Brett Lernout | 44 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -7 | 39 | 36 |
| Mac Bennett | 29 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -8 | 28 | 19 |
| Ryan Johnston | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -6 | 8 | 9 |
| Connor Crisp | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6 | 25 | 8 |
| Player | W | L | OTL | SO | GAA | SV% |
| Eddie Pasquale | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2.99 | .910% |
| Zach Fucale | 10 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 3.15 | .902% |
Weekly Record
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS |
| 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
A brutal January came to an end with the IceCaps losing three straight games heading into the AHL All-Star break.
Record to Date
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | Conference | Divsion |
| 35 | 17 | 17 | 8 | 47 | 11th | 5th |
The IceCaps will be back in action for a back-to-back this Friday and Saturday against the Utica Comets. St. John’s will be wearing jerseys honoring the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, who served in World War I.
The team will need to start racking up the wins soon, or they run the risk of another year without postseason hockey.
