Concerns about the Newfoundland Growlers’ goaltending might well have been alleviated over the weekend. And on Saturday, Zach O’Brien went out of his way to prove recent offensive woes for the Growlers’ were just another short-term issue.
O’Brien had a hat trick while netminder Eric Levine made 28 saves in his first appearance for Newfoundland as the Growlers downed the Jacksonville Icemen in ECHL play Saturday night at Mile One Centre.
The Growlers’ first home-ice win of 2019 gave Newfoundland (21-11-1) a split of its two-game weekend series against the visiting Icemen, who had edged the Growlers 2-1 Friday night.
In that one, Newfoundland had another goaltender made a solid debut with the team; Brad Barone had 26 saves for the Growlers, although it wasn’t enough to keep the visitors from claiming victory, especially with the home side continuing to have a harder time scoring that it had for most of its inaugural ECHL season.
Heading into Saturday, Newfoundland had scored just six goals in four games since the Christmas break. However, in their rematch with the Icemen, the Growlers put up more markers than they had in any outing since the second week of December, with O’Brien leading the way. The 26-year-old from St. John’s had a goal in each of the three periods Saturday, including the game-opener just two minutes in.
Max Mizyurin, playing in just his third game of the 2018-19 campaign, added his first goal for Newfoundland, while Marcus Power got his 10th of the season and second in as many games for the Growlers; Power, also from St. John’s, had his team’s lone goal Friday.
The Saturday result also gave the Growlers’ their home first win in eight weeks with head coach Ryane Clowe behind the bench. Because of medical issues, Clowe had been sidelined since Dec. 10 before returning to his normal duties Dec. 28 in Reading, Pa., after the Growlers’ 12-day holiday break.
Maxime Fortier, a former standout with the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads, replied for Jacksonville (19-14-1) Saturday. In fact, Fortier did all the scoring for the Icemen over the weekend, having registered both his team’s goals in its Friday win.
Barone and Levine comprise the new-look netminding tandem for the Growlers, who saw Mario Culina leave the team over the Christmas break in order to return to university and Michael Garteig recalled to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies last week as the parent Maple Leafs organization scrambled to address goaltending vacancies higher up the chain.
Barone was brought in from Roanoke of the Southern Professional league after the holidays and backed up Garteig for three road games. Levine was claimed on waivers from the Fort Wayne Komets on Thursday and only made it to St. John’s after the Friday game-day skate.
It remains to be seen whether there will be any more adjustments to Newfoundland’s goaltending situation before the team resumes its six-game homestand Tuesday night against the Maine Mariners. On Sunday, the Marlies had three goalies on the roster — Garteig, Eamon McAdam and Kasimir Kaskisuo — with Kaskisuo, who had been the backup to Michael Hutchinson with the parent Leafs before being returned to the AHL, getting the start against the visiting Charlotte Checkers.
But don’t be surprised if Kaskisuo, who has been on a Marlies-Leafs shuttle recently, is back up with the big club this week, especially with the Maple Leafs’ normal netminders, Freddie Andersen and Garret Sparks, both day-to-day with injuries.
Let’s put it this way, when Kaskisuo was sent down (actually just a few Toronto city blocks over) to the Marlies on Sunday, there was no immediate corresponding move to return Garteig to the Growlers.
Dog Bites
A Jacksonville transaction last week meant local hockey fans didn’t get to see Icemen leading scorer Kris Newbury in either game. Newbury, one of the few former members of the AHL’s St. John’s Maple Leafs still playing, was placed on Jacksonville’s reserve list Friday … The three games stars Saturday were all from the Growlers: 1. Zach O’Brien, 2. Alex Levine 3. Kristians Rubins. On Friday, the selections were Maxime Fortier and goaltender Mikhail Berdin of Jacksonville sandwiched around second star J.J. Piccinich of Newfoundland … Average attendance for the two games was just above 4,000, with announced crowds of 3,928 Friday and 4,159 on Saturday … The Icemen and Growlers won’t face each other again this regular season, with Jacksonville prevailing in two of the three get-togethers. The Icemen won 2-0 in a November game in Florida …
brendan.mccarthy@thetelegram.com
Twitter: @telybrendan
