Game Day: IceCaps vs. Pirates, Oct. 23
ICECAPS vs. PIRATES
The St. John’s IceCaps and Portland Pirates will tangle Tuesday and Wednesday at Mile One Centre, the first meetings between the teams this season. Last season, the IceCaps went 4-3-0-1 against the Pirates, including a 2-2-0-0 mark at Mile One Centre. In their last meeting on April 4, D David Rundblad scored the game-winning goal in a 5-1 Pirates’ victory at St. John’s.
ICECAPS NOTES
CLOSE CALLS
The IceCaps have been no stranger to close games so far this season. Three of the team’s four contests have been decided by one goal, with St. John’s coming out on top in two of those games.
WHO’S HOT
Defenceman Zach Redmond continues to put the puck on net and is seeing results. The All-Star has three points (2G, 1A) in the first four games and leads all IceCaps skaters with 18 shots on goal. Both of Redmond’s goals have come on the power play.
RETURNING WITH A BANG
F John Albert and D Travis Ramsey made their season debuts this past weekend and did so in style. Ramsey, a healthy scratch in the team’s first two games, scored the game-winning goal Friday in the IceCaps 2-1 victory. Albert, who was recovering from an injury sustained in training camp, also debuted in the series vs. Adirondack, scoring the game’s opening goal on Saturday and being selected as the Mary Brown’s Hardest Working Player.
STREAKS AND MILESTONES
F Jason King reached 250 career AHL points with his assist Friday vs. ADK….D Zach Redmond has a three-game point streak (2G, 1A) entering play Tuesday….F Ray Sawada is three points shy of reaching 100 for his AHL career….F Aaron Gagnon is two points away from 150 for his AHL career….Max Macenauer saw his two-game goal scoring streak snapped in Saturday’s loss vs. ADK….Rookie F Ivan Telegin scored his first professional goal in the second period of Saturday’s game vs. ADK.
PIRATES NOTES
RECENT ACTION
The Pirates are coming off a 6-4 loss to the Manchester Monarchs Saturday night at Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester. Chris Conner scored twice for Portland while Alexandre Bolduc had a goal and an assist. Chad Johnson allowed five goals on 35 shots in picking up the loss.
PLENTY OF OFFENCE
Through three games, the Pirates are averaging 4.67 goals per game, good for second in the AHL. Portland is led by veteran Chris Conner, who has six points (4G, 2A) to place him just outside the top-10 in league scoring. The diminutive winger (he’s listed at 5’8”) notched four points (2G, 2A) in Portland’s 7-4 win over Worcester last Friday.
COMING HOME
The coming series between the Pirates and IceCaps marks yet another homecoming for assistant coach and St. John’s native John Slaney. The former AHL All-Star defenceman last played in the AHL in 2006-07 when he captained the Philadelphia Phantoms. Slaney finished his AHL career with 519 points in 631 games and holds records for most goals by a defenceman in a season (30) and in a career (166).
FAMILIAR FACES
Pirates’ assistant coach Mike Minard is a former goaltender for the St. John’s Maple Leafs who spent two seasons playing for the Baby Leafs. Minard posted a 2.42 GAA with the Leafs in the 2000-01 season and also won his second straight AHL Yanik Dupre Award signifying his exceptional work in the community.
PREVIOUS MATCHUPS
AT ST. JOHN’S
IceCaps record: 2-2-0-0
| Date | Result | GWG | Goaltender(s) |
| Oct. 25, 2011 | W 5-1 | Holzapfel | STJ – Pasquale, POR – McElhinney |
| Oct. 26, 2011 | L 5-2 | Beaudoin | STJ – Mannino, POR – McElhinney |
| Apr. 3, 2012 | W 5-2 | O’Neill | STJ – Pasquale, POR – Mannino/Pogge |
| Apr. 4, 2012 | L 5-1 | Rundblad | STJ – Carrozzi, POR – Pogge |
AT PORTLAND
IceCaps record: 2-1-0-1
| Date | Result | GWG | Goaltender(s) |
| Dec. 17, 2011 | L 4-3 (SO) | O’Sullivan (SO) | STJ – Aebischer, POR – McElhinney |
| Dec. 18, 2011 | W 5-2 | Klingberg | STJ – Aebischer, POR – McElhinney |
| Jan. 21, 2012 | L 5-2 | MacLean | STJ – Pasquale, POR – Pogge |
| Jan. 28, 2012 | W 3-0 | Machacek | STJ – Pasquale, POR – Pogge |