Chris Brown scored just two minutes into extra time to give the Hartford Wolf Pack a 2-1 win over IceCaps, spoiling the start of an eight-game homestand at Mile One Centre for the IceCaps.
Related
Road gets a little smoother for IceCaps' Eisenschmid
The Wolf Pack (14-20-3) arrived with the worst record in the American Hockey League’s Eastern Conference, but the New York Rangers’ farm team turned in a pretty tidy road effort, getting a game-tying power-play goal in the third period from leading scorer Nicklas Jensen, a four-for-four success rate on the penalty kill, a 29-save performance from big goalie Magnus Hellberg and Brown’s winner in an overtime session mostly controlled by the visitors.
Bobby Farnham, just-arrived from the NHL, scored the only goal for the IceCaps (18-14-5), getting behind the Hartford defence in the second period, taking a pass from Daniel Audette and then firing a shot high to the glove side past Hellberg.
Farnham and fellow forward Nikita Scherbak, who had been assigned to St. John’s by Montreal after the Canadiens’ 7-1 road loss to the Minnesota Wild Thursday, arrived at St. John’s airport at suppertime Friday, just a couple of hours before game time.
The IceCaps had gone 8-4 in games decided in OT or by shootouts before Friday. But on this night, and outside of a Hellberg save on Audette, they couldn’t generate much in the way of offence in the extra session.
The Wolf Pack, on the other hand, were able to maintain pressure, and although IceCaps’ goalie Charlie Lindgren was able to make a couple of good pad saves on close-in opportunities — including one on Brown — the Hartford forward immediately recollected the puck, skated to the front of the net around a Mat Bodie pick and fired a shot from between the hashmarks that Lindgren could not stop.
The teams will meet up again Saturday (7:30 p.m.) at Mile One, with veteran goalie Yann Danis set to get the start for St. John’s. It will be the 400th career AHL game appearance for the 35-year-old Danis, who has 199 wins in the league.
Notes
St. John’s now has points in 16 of the 17 games in which it has scored the first goal (12-1-4) … Both teams had four power-play opportunities … Hellberg’s save total doesn’t include two shots by St. John’s captain Max Friberg that rang off the post … The game’s three stars: 1. Brown 2. Hellberg 3. Lindgren … The choice as the IceCaps’ hardest-working player: defenceman Brett Lernout … Announced attendance Friday was 3,706 … Saturday’s rematch will be the 38th game of the season for St. John’s, marking the halfway point of the regular season for the IceCaps … Audette drew a second-period misconduct for delay of game after being cited for throwing the puck into the stands. There was much discussion after the call, apparently because the IceCaps insisted that if there had been a transgression, Audette wasn’t the perpetrator. In other words, they say the officials got the wrong man … Friday’s game marked the return of former IceCaps head coach Keith McCambridge, now an assistant coach for the Wolf Pack, to Mile One Centre. McCambridge who spent four years in St. John’s when the Winnipeg Jets were the IceCaps’ parent team, drew a healthy ovation when he was saluted on the video scoreboard …
[email protected]
