Michael McCarron and Chris Terry were back from lengthy stints with the parent Canadiens. Charles Hudon was returning after missing 11 games to injury. And the IceCaps were coming off a 4-2 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack last Saturday night, a game in which they scored a pair of late goals to win it.
And then, at Mile One Centre Tuesday evening, the puck was dropped.
It started with a strange goal, by the Comets just over two minutes in, and got progressively worse as the IceCaps sleepwalked their way through a 5-2 loss.
Certainly, McCarron, Terry and Hudon didn’t disappoint as the trio combined for five points — Terry with a goal and an assist, Hudon with one tally and McCarron with a pair of helpers.
But there wasn’t much to talk about after that as the Comets won their fourth straight game, drawing to within five points of the third-place IceCaps (19-15–5) in the American Hockey League’s North Division.
Pascal Pelletier led the Comets with two goals and as assist. Pelletier, the 33-year-old, 13-year pro hockey veteran, was enjoying a homecoming, of sorts. He was born in Labrador City, but grew up across the Quebec border in Fermont.
Tuesday’s game was Pelletier’s first in St. John’s as a pro.
Cody Kunyk also scored twice for the winners, and Evan McEneny had a goal and a couple of assists for Utica.
Pelletier was credited with the Comets’ first goal, 2:10 after the opening whistle. The play developed behind the net with the puck bounding up and over the goal and Charlie Lindgren, landing in front of the IceCaps’ goaltender.
St. John’s defenceman Philip Samuelsson, in a desperate effort to clear the loose puck, knocked it past Lindgren.
That set the tone for a raggedy affair, one in which the IceCaps failed to capitalize on the return of their No. 1 line of McCarron, Terry and Hudon.
St. John’s managed 28 shots at Richard Bachman, but the Utica netminder barely broke a sweat registering his seventh win. Lindgren was merely average in the IceCaps’ goal, stopping 28 pucks.
The team go at it again 7:30 tonight at Mile One.
ICECHIPS
With his goal and assist, Chris Terry has recorded a point in his last eight games as an IceCap, picking up 15 points in total … Despite Anthony Camara scoring a goal and adding an assist last Saturday night in a 4-2 win over Hartford, and Alexandre Ranger scoring once and doing his usual thing blocking shots, both were scratches Tuesday. That’s because the two are on tryouts, and Michael McCarron, Chris Terry and Charles Hudon were back in the IceCaps’ lineup … The Molson three stars: 1. Pascal Pelletier 2. Evan McEneny 3. Michael McCarron … Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin told Chris Nilan on the latter’s TSN 690 radio show Tuesday that McCarron was sent back to St. John’s to get a little quicker and get lots of ice time. “He is quicker than he was, but he has more to go. As a big man — and he is a tall kid — it will take a while before he catches up with the growth of his body.” McCarron had one goal in 15 games in Montreal, but he was a scratch in the Canadiens’ game in Detroit Monday. “For me, when I look at Michael McCarron, it’s not will he ever be in Montreal? It’s when he’ll be in Montreal. Because he’s right at the door now, but he needs a role. And right now when we’re healthy, I don’t want a Mike McCarron playing seven minutes a night. He’s too young, he has too much to learn just to play seven minutes or be in and out of the lineup. So that’s why he went back. For me, for all of us here, it’s a matter of time before he’s here for good, and going down to St. John’s and working on his skills and confidence and other aspects of his game is only going to make him better when he’s
