IceCaps Player of the Week: Morgan Ellis
It’s been a breakout season for the IceCaps defenseman, and his name was all over the scoresheet in the four games this week. With three goals and an assist, Ellis was a driving force behind the IceCaps offensive resurgence, with the team scoring fourteen goals over four games.
Ellis kicked things off with his seventh goal of the year and an assist in a 6-4 loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He was held off the scoresheet in a 6-3 loss to the Toronto Marlies, but made his presence felt in the second half of the back-to-back with a pair of goals in a 6-4 win.
Ellis now has nine goals on the season, already the second-highest total of his professional career after he put up 13 with the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL). He has stepped into the role opened up by Mark Barberio’s recall to the Montreal Canadiens, and has delivered.
Weekly Stats
| Player | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | SOG |
| Bud Holloway | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -1 | 2 | 11 |
| Michael McCarron | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +2 | 2 | 9 |
| Charles Hudon | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -2 | 16 | 7 |
| Mark Barberio | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daniel Carr | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -1 | 0 | 5 |
| Gabriel Dumont | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | +0 | 2 | 12 |
| Morgan Ellis | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | +4 | 2 | 15 |
| Sven Andrighetto | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 0 | 6 |
| Lucas Lessio | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +0 | 6 | 13 |
| Darren Dietz | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | +3 | 4 | 6 |
| Joel Hanley | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 4 | 7 |
| Mark MacMillan | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 2 | 6 |
| Jeremy Gregoire | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 2 |
| Brett Lernout | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 2 | 4 |
| Jacob de la Rose | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +1 | 0 | 3 |
| Nikita Scherbak | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 2 |
| Mac Bennett | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 5 | 0 |
| Michael Bournival | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 2 | 8 |
| Max Friberg | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 2 | 8 |
| Ryan Johnston | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 4 | 4 |
| Connor Crisp | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | W | L | OTL | SO | GAA | SV% |
| Eddie Pasquale | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13.33 | .750% |
| Zachary Fucale | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .4.25 | .817% |
Bud Holloway: After a disappointing stretch of games, the IceCaps’ leading scorer bounced back in a big way. He led all St. John’s forwards with four points: two goals and two assists. Holloway is now up to 35 points in 37 games played, sits fifth overall in the AHL scoring race, three points back of leader Chris Bourque.
Charles Hudon: Not one to be held off the scoresheet for long, the sophomore forward registered three points in four games. With the IceCaps finally healthy and reloaded at forward, we can expect to see a rise in Hudon’s production as he plays alongside Holloway and Nikita Scherbak.
Michael McCarron: The IceCaps leading goal scorer went without a goal, but still managed to register a pair of assists. McCarron still sits sixth overall in the rookie scoring race, six points behind the leader, Matt Lorito.
Daniel Carr: Last year’s leading goal scorer isn’t letting a demotion to the AHL slow down his play. in two games Carr grabbed two goals and an assist.
Sven Andrighetto: Sent down to St. John’s alongside Carr, the Swiss sniper registered one assist in two games played against the Toronto Marlies.
Mark Barberio: The veteran defenseman is currently playing with the Canadiens on the third pairing alongside Nathan Beaulieu.
Mac Bennett: The defenseman played in two games for the IceCaps this week and then was demoted to the ECHL’s Brampton Beast..
Lucas Lessio: The speedy winger continues to make an impact in St. John’s, adding another goal and an assist to his totals. His goal against the Marlies was a thing of beauty as he stripped Rinat Valiev of the puck, and fired a no-look shot on net in the same motion for his tenth goal of the year.
Gabriel Dumont: The IceCaps captain has been a consistent performer all season long, and added a pair of goals and an assist.
Joel Hanley: It was a quiet week for the St. John’s defenseman who notched just a single assist in four games played.
Brett Lernout: Lernout recorded no points and came away with a -5 rating in four games played.
Connor Crisp: Still out with an injury.
Darren Dietz: Dietz played one of his best weeks as an IceCap, with three assists and the return of his physical game that has been lacking lately. With fifteen points this year, Dietz is only two points from tying his career high and will likely surpass that with ease.
Jacob de la Rose: The young Swede grabbed a pair of assists against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before earning a recall to the NHL, where he is currently playing fourth-line minutes.
Nikita Scherbak: After an extended stay on the injured list the rookie forward returned for two games against Toronto, where he was held without a point.
Jeremy Grégoire: The influx of talent from the NHL this weekend saw Gregoire limited to just two games where he failed to record a point.
Mark MacMillan: After missing the scoresheet in previous weeks, the rookie center found the back of the net for his fourth goal of the year against the Penguins.
Markus Eisenschmid: The German rookie scored his first professional goal on a beautiful solo short-handed effort against the Marlies.
Tim Bozon: Bozon is finding his scoring touch with the Brampton Beast in the ECHL, recording one goal and two assists this past week.
Michael Bournival: It was another solid week for the young forward, as he grabbed two assists in four games.
Max Friberg: It didn’t take long for Friberg to make an impression in St. John’s as he scored his first goal and added an assist for the team in a 6-4 loss to the Penguins.
Zachary Fucale: The rough stretch continues for the rookie netminder who managed only a single win this past week. Fucale also failed to record a start with a SV% over .900 after a strong stretch the previous month.
Year to Date Stats
| Player | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | SOG |
| Bud Holloway | 37 | 11 | 24 | 35 | +2 | 10 | 100 |
| Michael McCarron | 37 | 13 | 14 | 27 | -2 | 57 | 82 |
| Charles Hudon | 35 | 12 | 14 | 26 | +2 | 50 | 93 |
| Gabriel Dumont | 39 | 11 | 13 | 24 | -11 | 36 | 91 |
| Morgan Ellis | 39 | 9 | 13 | 22 | +12 | 37 | 81 |
| Daniel Carr | 23 | 10 | 10 | 20 | +6 | 10 | 64 |
| Lucas Lessio | 36 | 10 | 10 | 20 | -12 | 37 | 90 |
| Mark Barberio | 26 | 2 | 18 | 20 | +0 | 25 | 51 |
| Max Friberg | 30 | 6 | 13 | 19 | -7 | 4 | 67 |
| Sven Andrighetto | 20 | 7 | 10 | 17 | +5 | 20 | 55 |
| Darren Dietz | 36 | 4 | 11 | 15 | +1 | 16 | 63 |
| Jacob de la Rose | 24 | 2 | 7 | 9 | -7 | 14 | 30 |
| Joel Hanley | 35 | 3 | 5 | 8 | -4 | 13 | 35 |
| Michael Bournival | 15 | 1 | 6 | 7 | -6 | 8 | 39 |
| Mark MacMilan | 25 | 4 | 2 | 6 | -8 | 10 | 20 |
| Jeremy Gregoire | 37 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -2 | 37 | 46 |
| Brett Lernout | 38 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -8 | 34 | 30 |
| Nikita Scherbak | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -5 | 8 | 15 |
| Mac Bennett | 27 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -5 | 23 | 17 |
| Ryan Johnston | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 4 | 4 |
| Connor Crisp | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6 | 25 | 8 |
| Player | W | L | OTL | SO | GAA | SV% |
| Eddie Pasquale | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3.09 | .905% |
| Zach Fucale | 9 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 3.19 | .903% |
Weekly Record
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS |
| 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
A tough month continued for the IceCaps who had lost five straight before registering a 6-4 win over the Toronto Marlies on Sunday.
Record to Date
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | Conference | Divsion |
| 39 | 17 | 14 | 8 | 42 | 67h | 4th |
The IceCaps kick off their week on Wednesday against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers before travelling to Albany for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday. After their recent slide, a winning record would go a long way towards locking down a top position in the conference heading into the All-Star break.
