IceCaps Player of the Week: Zach Fucale
It’s been a roller-coaster rookie season for Zach Fucale, and despite a rough start to February, he came back strong with three outstanding performances. Tuesday night against the Syracuse Crunch, Fucale turned away all 39 shots he faced and collected the first shutout of his professional career. He followed that up with a 36-save overtime win the following night against the Crunch, then capped off the week with 32 saves in a 3-1 victory against the AHL-leading Toronto Marlies.
Fucale now ranks in the top 20 in the AHL in wins, all while making the seventh-most saves in the league.
Weekly Stats
| Player | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | SOG |
| Bud Holloway | 4 | 2 | 5 | 7 | +2 | 2 | 11 |
| Michael McCarron | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | +2 | 12 | 4 |
| Charles Hudon | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | +0 | 2 | 6 |
| Mark Barberio | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daniel Carr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gabriel Dumont | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | +2 | 6 | 5 |
| Morgan Ellis | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | +3 | 2 | 9 |
| Sven Andrighetto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lucas Lessio | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| Darren Dietz | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 5 | 5 |
| Joel Hanley | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 2 | 2 |
| Mark MacMillan | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 6 | 6 |
| Jeremy Gregoire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brett Lernout | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 4 |
| Jacob de la Rose | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 2 |
| Nikita Scherbak | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 9 |
| Mac Bennett | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Bournival | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 0 | 0 |
| Max Friberg | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 2 | 2 |
| Ryan Johnston | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 2 | 2 |
| Victor Bartley | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | +3 | 2 | 10 |
| Tim Bozon | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 5 |
| John Scott | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 0 |
| Connor Crisp | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | W | L | OTL | SO | GAA | SV% |
| Eddie Pasquale | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.06 | .957% |
| Zachary Fucale | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.30 | .946% |
Bud Holloway: A close second in the player of the week conversation, the veteran forward collected a pair of goals and five assists in four games played against divisional rivals. Holloway has moved into a tie with Mark Arcobello for fifth place in the AHL scoring race with 44 points.
Charles Hudon: After an extended period with little production, the IceCaps star forward exploded for four points in four games. He registered not one, but two game-winning goals: one against the Marlies, and another on an overtime breakaway against the Syracuse Crunch.
Michael McCarron: Perhaps the biggest beneficiary of the IceCaps’ offensive resurgence was rookie McCarron, who broke a 17-game goalless drought in the opening 4-0 win over Syracuse. The behemoth forward also registered two assists, and now sits eighth overall in rookie scoring.
Daniel Carr: The scoring forward will be on the shelf for up to three months with a major knee injury sustained on January 26.
Sven Andrighetto: The Swiss Superman is making a major impact at the NHL level in his most recent call-up. Against the Buffalo Sabres, he grabbed a pair of goals and was one of the best players on the ice for the Montreal Canadiens in a 6-4 loss.
Morgan Ellis: There appears to be no end in sight for the hot streak Ellis is currently riding, as he registered another multi-point performance for the IceCaps. He scored his 11th goal of the year in a 4-0 win over Syracuse and grabbed an assist in the same game. Ellis contributed a helper the following night in a 4-3 OT win and capped things off with his third assist, and fourth point, in a 2-1 loss to the Marlies on Sunday.
Mark Barberio: Despite a run of strong play during his time in the NHL, Barberio was a healthy scratch in last night’s game against the Arizona Coyotes.
Mac Bennett: The former Michigan Wolverine did not see any games.
Lucas Lessio: The speedy winger is nursing a lower-body injury after a low hit by Radko Gudas, but has resumed skating exercises with the Habs.
Gabriel Dumont: The captain continues to lead by example, registering three points in the first three games before being sidelined with an undisclosed injury.
Jacob de la Rose: The defensive forward played in only one game before being recalled to the NHL.
Joel Hanley: The versatile blue-liner failed to record any points for the third straight week.
Victor Bartley: The defenceman circuitously obtained for Jarred Tinordi scored his first goal an an IceCap on Wednesday, then added his second in St. John’s following contest. He has had triple the production in seven games with the IceCaps as he had through 14 games with the Milwaukee Admirals.
Brett Lernout: The struggle to produce continues for Lernout, unable to find the back of the net, but is playing a steady overall game.
Connor Crisp: Crisp is still out with an injury, having only seen action in 10 games so far in 2015-16.
Darren Dietz: Much like his fellow blue-liners, Dietz is playing hard on the defensive side of the puck, but not generating any offence to match.
Nikita Scherbak: The IceCaps rookie forward is slowly coming into his own on the top line, and had a pair of goals to show for his efforts. It looks as though Scherbak will stay as St. John’s top center despite his lack of experience at the position.
Jeremy Grégoire: The rookie forward has found himself amongst the growing list of injuries in St. John’s and played no games.
Mark MacMillan: The NCAA product recorded his sixth goal of the year, and was rewarded with some power-play time by head coach Sylvain Lefebvre, who praised his great two-way game.
Tim Bozon: Bozon was finally rewarded for his hard work in the bottom six for St. John’s as he recorded an assist on MacMillan’s sixth goal of the year.
Michaël Bournival: The veteran forward is on the shelf with an undisclosed injury.
Max Friberg: The young Swede has been thrust into a major role with the IceCaps by the injuries decimating both the NHL and AHL lineups. He has responded with a strong two-way game alongside Michael McCarron and Gabriel Dumont on the second line.
Ryan Johnston: The one-man dynamo has sparked the IceCaps power play into one of the league’s best of late. Johnston’s puck-moving skill and zone entry ability helped the St. John’s man advantage score six goals this week, grabbing two assists in the process.
John Scott: After a short paternity leave, John Scott finally made his IceCaps debut on Saturday versus the Marlies. He was a -1 in two games, with two penalty minutes, though did get some power-play time from Lefebvre.
Year to Date Stats
| Player | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | SOG |
| Bud Holloway | 45 | 15 | 29 | 44 | -1 | 12 | 124 |
| Charles Hudon | 47 | 16 | 19 | 35 | -2 | 60 | 121 |
| Gabriel Dumont | 50 | 14 | 20 | 34 | -10 | 58 | 115 |
| Michael McCarron | 49 | 14 | 18 | 32 | -3 | 77 | 103 |
| Morgan Ellis | 51 | 11 | 18 | 29 | +12 | 43 | 112 |
| Max Friberg | 42 | 7 | 17 | 24 | -5 | 6 | 80 |
| Sven Andrighetto | 26 | 10 | 13 | 23 | +6 | 22 | 74 |
| 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 | 48 | 4 | 11 | 15 | +0 | 33 | 83 |
| Jacob de la Rose | 30 | 4 | 7 | 11 | -8 | 16 | 44 |
| Joel Hanley | 47 | 3 | 7 | 10 | -8 | 19 | 44 |
| Mark MacMillan | 37 | 6 | 2 | 8 | -8 | 16 | 31 |
| Nikita Scherbak | 23 | 5 | 3 | 8 | -12 | 10 | 39 |
| Michael Bournival | 20 | 1 | 7 | 8 | -7 | 12 | 55 |
| Jeremy Gregoire | 40 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 37 | 46 |
| Brett Lernout | 50 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -9 | 39 | 42 |
| Ryan Johnston | 14 | 0 | 6 | 6 | -9 | 12 | 12 |
| Victor Bartley | 21 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -7 | 14 | 36 |
| Mac Bennett | 29 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -8 | 28 | 19 |
| Tim Bozon | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 2 | 23 |
| John Scott | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 8 | 1 |
| Connor Crisp | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6 | 25 | 8 |
| Player | W | L | OTL | SO | GAA | SV% |
| Eddie Pasquale | 6 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2.84 | .909% |
| Zach Fucale | 13 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 3.05 | .906% |
Weekly Record
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS |
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
After a rough start to the month the IceCaps scored some needed wins this week, and they were against major division rivals in Syracuse and Toronto.
Record to Date
| GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | Conference | Divsion |
| 51 | 22 | 19 | 10 | 54 | 9th | 4th |
The IceCaps kick off a road trip to snowy Central New York this week when they visit the Syracuse Crunch’s barn on Wednesday, February 17, before facing the Binghamton Senators on Friday the 19th and Saturday the 20th. Given the current state of both opponents, anything less than a full six points would be considered a wasted opportunity.
