The Newfoundland Growlers are similar to those adult children still living rent-free in their parents’ basement bedroom and enjoying Mom’s cooking.
They’ve been having it so good at home, they’re probably going to have a hard time leaving.
The Growlers wrapped up their latest homestand with a 3-2 overtime win over the Adirondack Thunder Saturday night, their 14th consecutive victory at Mile One Centre and third straight in OT.
On Saturday, before a crowd of just over 4,400, Zach O’Brien scored his second goal of the game and second overtime winner of the week for Newfoundland (24-10-0). The Growlers had downed the Thunder by the same 3-2 score Friday at Mile One after having defeated the Worcester Railers 4-3 on Wednesday, when O’Brien took his first turn as an extra-time hero.
Newfoundland now has swept three straight home stands, a couple of four-game sets and the just-completed stay of a half-dozen games split by a 12-day holiday break. They have also won all seven of their games that have gone beyond regulation this season, and in each case, have done it in overtime.
Rookie Colt Conrad had the other Growlers goal on Saturday.
Jake Linhart and Mike Szmatula, the latter with a game-tying tally in the third period, replied for Adirondack (13-15-10), which has lost more games in overtime or shootouts than any other team in the ECHL.
O’Brien was the first star Saturday, while goaltender Angus Redmond, who made 29 saves, was second star as he won his seventh game in as many starts with Newfoundland.
Adirondack goaltender Evan Cormier, who faced 36 shots, was the game’s third star.
Saturday’s result continued another Newfoundland trend — winning close games.
Since the start of December, the Growlers are 11-2. Of their wins in that five-week stretch, five have come in overtime, another was by one goal and four other saw Newfoundland score an empty-netter to pad the winning margin.
That leaves just one win of the 11 in which they won by more than a single goal and didn’t score empty-netter.
Which means the Growlers have been finding ways to win. And they have done so despite what has been regular drains on the roster.
Newfoundland won Saturday without defencemen Joseph Duszak and Mac Hollowell, on recall to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies; captain James Melindy, who has now missed the last 16 games with an injury; and Mike Kapla, who was returned by the Marlies earlier in the week, but who was hurt in Friday’s game.
As well, winger Scott Pooley, who had seen his 14-game ECHL point-scoring streak end on Friday, was in Toronto, after also having been called up by the Growlers’ AHL affiliate,
Kapla’s injury and Pooley’s recall meant forward Todd Skirving and defenceman Phil Johansson drew into the Newfoundland lineup for the homestand finale.
Dog Bites
The Growlers leave later in the week for a three games-in-three days road trip that begins Friday night in Portland, Me., against the Maine Mariners, continues with a game against Worcester on Saturday and finishes with a rematch versus the Mariners on Sunday evening … Newfoundland leading scorer Giorgio Estephan was held off the scoresheet Saturday after having recorded points — including the game-winning goal on Friday — in five straight outings …
Twitter: @telybrendan
