Coming on the heels of a hard fought 3-2 overtime win on Friday night, the IceCaps were looking to make it a clean sweep of their rivals. The Marlies had different plans as they overcame a four goal deficit to claim a 9-8 win in overtime. Yes, you read that correctly; there were seventeen goals scored.
Rookie Michael McCarron led the way for St. John’s with five points (two goals, three assists), while Bud Holloway, Charles Hudon, and Morgan Ellis all had three points. McCarron’s big night also set an IceCaps record for most points in a single game, and rocketed him to the top of the rookie scoring race.
Despite Hudon opening the scoring early in the first period, it was the Marlies who jumped out to a 3-1 lead with goals from T.J. Brennan, Mark Arcobello and Nikita Soshnikov. From there it was a barn burner in every sense of the word as McCarron poked home his first goal just 60 seconds into the second period. Morgan Ellis tied the game at three apiece with a bullet off the post and in. Following that Christian Thomas showed off great patience and skill as he roofed a puck past Antoine Bibeau to give St. John’s the lead.
The lead was short lived as Zach Hyman beat Zachary Fucale and knotted the game at four midway through the second period. From there the IceCaps offense kicked into overdrive with four straight goals to go up 8-4 early in the third frame.
Morgan Ellis jumped back into the action with a gorgeous rush and toe drag leading to the IceCaps fifth goal. The goal lifted Ellis into the top 15 among scoring defensemen in the AHL; six points off the overall leader Brandon Montour.
Not to be outdone, Charles Hudon finished off a piece of brilliant playmaking by Bud Holloway to notch his seventh goal of the season and further increase the IceCaps’ lead.
However, in the world of hockey no lead is ever safe, even if it was 8-4 early in the third period. Behind goals from Arcobello, Sam Carrick, and a pair from Josh Leivo, the Marlies managed to erase a four-goal deficit to force overtime.
William Nylander then completed the miraculous comeback in extra time to give Toronto a 9-8 win and left the IceCaps searching for answers on how they let a four-goal lead slip away.
The seventeen goals set a new franchise record for St. John’s and tied an AHL record for the highest scoring regulation tie. It was also the second-highest-scoring game in the league since 1998, so even in defeat records were set all over the place.
The IceCaps will be back home on Friday the 20th and Saturday the 21st as they square off against the Syracuse Crunch.
