The St. John’s IceCaps season opener was fast, aggressive, and full of determination, but even with Charles Hudon’s two-point night, it just wasn’t enough for the victory.
The IceCaps said hello to the 2016-17 season with a new captain, Max Friberg, who is backed by Mark Barberio and Jacob de la Rose as the alternates. Sounds like a pretty good start to me.
Stefan Matteau was busy serving a two-game suspension, for what was deemed an illegal check to the head, during his lone AHL game late last season.
The game immediately got off to an intense start. Just 1:56 into the first, David Broll failed to clear the puck, causing a trickle effect. Adam Tambellini scooped up the puck and took a shot that bounced off Joel Hanley’s skate and right past Zach Fucale, making it 1-0 Hartford.
Not long after, we saw another turnover, but this time it was advantage IceCaps. Charles Hudon got his hands on the puck and scored the first goal for the 2016-17 IceCaps to even the game.
Charles Hudon gets the #IceCaps first goal of the season. Dominant shift by Hudon-McCarron-Scherbak. pic.twitter.com/hApSJwplMR
— Mitch Brown (@MitchLBrown) October 14, 2016
But, alas, just a mere 15 seconds later, the Wolf Pack took the lead once again.
During a rush to the net, Markus Eisenschmid was hauled down by Chris Summers and, surprisingly, wasn’t awarded a penalty shot. Instead, the IceCaps headed to their third power play of the period.
It turned out a penalty shot wasn’t needed. With just over five minutes left and help from Barberio and Hudon, Chris Terry tickled the twine and grabbed his first goal wearing an IceCaps jersey.
Michael McCarron started the second period in the box with a double minor thanks to a high-sticking call. The IceCaps managed to kill it off but once back to five-on-five, Robin Kovacs brought the Wolf Pack back into the lead for the third time with just 12 minutes left.
The IceCaps picked up the pace and went full speed ahead on the pressure during the second half. Both Hudon and Nikita Scherbak found the post, while Jacob de la Rose buzzed around the net, making Hellberg’s life difficult, but getting nothing past him.
The third period opened with the IceCaps down by just one goal … until 27 seconds into the period. The puck took a weird twist past Fucale, hit the post, and before he could find it, Christoval “Boo“ Nieves poked it through.
Minutes later, Broll and Ryan Graves had offsetting minors, making it four-on-four. Captain Friberg took advantage of the open space, shaking off a defenceman to score his first goal, giving the IceCaps a fighting chance with just a one-goal deficit.
The captain! Max Friberg with a nice goal (Check out that pass reception). Friberg has played well tonight. pic.twitter.com/JhxWE7X9sm
— Mitch Brown (@MitchLBrown) October 15, 2016
While still battling four-on-four, the Wolf Pack quickly took back the two-goal lead. After that, the frustration began to show, causing the IceCaps to spend most of the final period on the penalty kill.
In the dying seconds, Fucale headed to the bench for the extra attacker, but Marek Hrivik put the final nail in the coffin with just three seconds left, wrapping up the game at 6-3 for the Wolf Pack.
The IceCaps continue their road trip tomorrow against the Albany Devils at 5:00 PM EDT.
