The Newfoundland Growlers got widespread contributions from newcomers as they posted their first road win of the 2019-20 ECHL season Saturday night in Portland, Me.
Defenceman Joseph Duszak scored his first pro goal, rookie goaltender Maksim Zhukov made 24 saves, and Colt Conrad and Aaron Luchuk moved into a share of the team scoring lead as the Growlers downed the Maine Mariners 5-2.
Riley Woods, another rookie, scored an empty-netter for Newfoundland (4-3-0), while defenceman Evan Neugold was the lone player from last year’s Kelly Cup-winning team to register a goal on the night.
Luchuk, who came over to the parent Toronto Maple Leafs organization in an off-season trade with Ottawa, was first star with a goal and two assists. That gives him 12 points through seven games, the same as rookie forward Conrad; both have three goals and nine assists.
Duszak, who also had a goal and two helpers, was the second star. He, Luchuk, rookie Reid Jackman and rearguard Michael Kapla, yet another player in his first year with the Growlers, each finished with plus-two ratings.
It was the first-ever pro game for Jackman, who had started the season on Newfoundland’s reserve list, but was activated after the Growlers lost 5-2 to the Mariners on Friday. The York University product collected two assists in his debut contest.
On Friday, the Growlers scored twice in the first 72 seconds, but still lost to Maine, the ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers. In Saturday’s rematch, Newfoundland again got the game’s first goal, but even though the Mariners tied things up before the end of the first period, the Growlers bounced back with two tallies in the middle frame, a power-play goal by Conrad, and Duszak’s marker, which would stand as the game-winner.
Newfoundland continues what will be a five-game road trip when it takes on the Reading Royals on Halloween night.
Dog Bites
Terrence Wallin, who scored both of Maine’s goals Saturday, was named the game’s third star … After Friday’s loss to the Mariners, Growlers’ rookie defencemen Tommy Panico and Sergei Sapego were replaced in the lineup by second-year Growlers Neugold and Garrett Johnston … St. John’s native Zach O’Brien, recalled from the Growlers to the Toronto Marlies just before the start of Newfoundland’s road trip, scored one of the Marlies’ goals and assisted on another in Toronto’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Binghamton Devils on Saturday. Kristan Rubins, a rookie defenceman for the Growlers last season, had assists on both tallies …
