The Rock Report: IceCaps head home on a winning note

Tuesday, November 13^th, 2012      

                                                 Photo by JustSports Photography

ICECAPS HEAD HOME ON A WINNING NOTE

St. John’s splits final two games on road trip; Albany visits this weekend at Mile One

 The IceCaps had just two games on the schedule this past week, dropping a 4-1 decision to the Monarchs in Manchester on Wednesday and rebounding with a 2-1 victory on Saturday against the Bears in Hershey. St. John’s concluded its five-game, 11-day road trip with a 2-3-0-0 record and returns home for a six-game home stand beginning Friday night against the Albany Devils.

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WEEK IN REVIEW:

Wednesday, November 7 – Manchester Monarchs 4 St. John’s IceCaps 1
Verizon Wireless Arena – Manchester, NH
St. John’s Goals:               Burmistrov (2)
Manchester Goals:         Voynov (3), Kozun (3, 4), Toffoli (4)
Goaltending:                     STJ – Dekanich (L – 31 shots, 28 saves) / MCH – Mannino (W – 27 shots, 26 saves)
Power Play:                        STJ 0/6 | MCH 3/9
Three Stars:                        1) MCH – Brandon Kozun 2) MCH – Peter Mannino 3) MCH – Nicolas Deslauriers
Mary Brown’s HWP:       Derek Whitmore
Attendance:                       2,253

Special teams play was the story in Manchester Wednesday night, as the hometown Monarchs downed the struggling St. John’s IceCaps 4-1 in AHL action at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Brandon Kozun scored twice with the man advantage and Manchester scored three goals on the power play in getting the win. St. John’s couldn’t solve former teammate Peter Mannino in the Monarchs net until very late in the contest. Mannino stopped 25 of 26 shots in picking up the win in his first start of the season.

For St. John’s, it was another frustrating night, as the offence sputtered, going 0-6 with the man advantage, including a 5-on-3 in the second period. Alex Burmistrov scored the IceCaps only marker, redirecting a Paul Postma shot at 18:46 of the final frame. That goal kept St. John’s from being shut out for the third time in four games on this road trip.

Full Recap | Box Score | Highlights

Saturday, November 10 – St. John’s IceCaps 2 Hershey Bears 1

Giant Center – Hershey, PA
St. John’s Goals:               O’Dell (4), Meech (1)
Hershey Goals:                 Almeida (2)
Goaltending:                     STJ –Dekanich (W – 19 shots, 18 saves) / HER – Sabourin (L – 27 shots, 25 saves)
Power Play:                        STJ 1/6 | HER 0/2
Three Stars:                        1) STJ – Ray Sawada 2) STJ – Derek Meech 3) HER – Barry Almeida
Mary Brown’s HWP:       Max Macenauer
Attendance:                       8,726

Derek Meech scored a power play goal in the third period to lift the St. John’s IceCaps to an important 2-1 win over the Hershey Bears Saturday night at the Giant Center.

Meech’s slapshot from the point, on a nice passing play with Ray Sawada and John Albert, gave the IceCaps the lead at 6:56 of the final period. Perhaps more importantly, from a psychological point of view, Meech’s goal came on the power play, breaking a 1-for-42 slump.

Mark Dekanich was not busy but was solid when called upon, making 18 saves on 19 shots to record his fourth win of the season. The loss snapped a two-game losing streak for St. John’s and sends the team back home with a 2-3-0-0 record on their five-game road trip. Dany Sabourin made 25 saves for Hershey in the loss.

Full Recap | Box Score | Highlights

ST. JOHN’S ICECAPS UPCOMING SCHEDULE:  All Times NL (practices not open to the public)
Tuesday, November 12^th              Practice: 10:00 a.m.  – 12:00 noon (Mile One Centre)
Wednesday, November 13^th       Practice: 10:00 a.m.  – 12:00 noon (Mile One Centre)
Thursday, November 14^th             Practice: 10:00 a.m.  – 12:00 noon (Mile One Centre)
Friday, November 15^th                   Pre-game skate: 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
                                                                St. John’s IceCaps vs. Albany Devils: 7:30 p.m. (Mile One Centre)
Saturday, November 16^th             Pre-game skate: 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
                                                                St. John’s IceCaps vs. Albany Devils: 7:30 p.m. (Mile One Centre)
 

ATLANTIC DIVISION STANDINGS
(As of Tuesday, November 13, 2012)

ICE-CAPSules
No Support: Neither Mark Dekanich nor Eddie Pasquale has received much offensive support thus far, but former All-Rookie Pasquale has especially fallen victim to the recent lack of firepower. The IceCaps have been shut out in Pasquale’s last four starts, dating back to a 4-0 blanking on Oct. 24 at the hands of the Portland Pirates.

Snapping a Skid: St. John’s finally ended its power play drought with a third period tally in Saturday night’s 2-1 win at Hershey. Derek Meech scored on a slap shot – the eventual game-winner – at 6:56 of the third period to break an 0-for-29 slump and end a stretch that saw the club score just one power play goal in its previous 43 chances.

Home Sweet Home: After a lengthy five-game, 11-day road trip, the IceCaps return to Mile One where they posted a 3-3-0-0 record, but perhaps more importantly have been a much different club on special teams. St. John’s has allowed just three goals on 23 chances on the penalty kill, a success rate of 87.0% that places them 11th in the AHL, compared to a 75.0% success rate on the road. The team’s power play percentage is slightly better at home as well (13.8% compared to 9.8% away from home).

Trouble in the Middle: Through the first 13 games, St. John’s has allowed 20 goals combined in the first and third periods. In the second period alone, the IceCaps have allowed 19 goals while scoring just seven.

One-Goal Affairs: St. John’s shares the AHL lead in one-goal victories (six) with the Lake Erie Monsters. All six of the IceCaps’ wins have been by one goal.

Meech Heating Up: Having missed two of the first three games on the team’s recent five-game road trip with the flu, D Derek Meech has returned to the lineup with a bang, playing his best stretch of hockey of the young season. Meech’s game-winner Saturday was his first goal of the season and he now has points in two straight games (1G, 2A). The rearguard’s seven points (1G, 6A) are good for a share of the team lead with C Alex Burmistrov.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
None

ICECAPS SEASON LEADERS

COORS LIGHT THREE STARS LEADERBOARD

(1^st Star – 3 points, 2^nd Star – 2 points, 3^rd Star – 1 point)

MARY BROWN’S HARDEST WORKING PLAYER STANDINGS:

(1 point each win – Hardest working St. John’s IceCaps player)

LISTEN TO EVERY ICECAPS GAME LIVE
Listen to every IceCaps game this season online at www.stjohnsicecaps.com by clicking the ‘Listen Live’ link on the homepage. Play-by-play broadcaster Brian Rogers brings you all the action on the ice, including a pregame show that starts 30 minutes before the drop of the puck. Fans can also listen on the radio at 930AM This Is Newfoundland Labrador. And, watch all the games streaming live online at www.ahllive.com!

NEXT HOME ACTION:
Friday, November 16, 7:30 PM                   St. John’s IceCaps vs. Albany Devils
Saturday, November 17, 7:30 PM             St. John’s IceCaps vs. Albany Devils
Tuesday, November 20, 7:30 PM              St. John’s IceCaps vs. Hamilton Bulldogs
Wednesday, November 21, 7:30 PM       St. John’s IceCaps vs. Hamilton Bulldogs