ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Maybe it’s because they’re too young to know any differently, these Newfoundland Growlers, who are short on professional experience, especially professional post-season experience, but who have nevertheless found a way to come up with gritty, one goal-wins in their first three playoff game — twice in overtime — to put them on the verge of sweeping the Brampton Beast.
But if you think that way, Newfoundland head coach John Snowden might argue with you, although he might have to put off the debate since he is busy preparing his team for tonight’s Game 4 of an opening-round Kelly Cup ECHL playoff series in Brampton, Ont.
Oh, they’re young all right. Other than goalies Michael Garteig and Eric Levine, leading scorer Zach O’Brien and former NHL defenceman Adam Pardy, the rest of the players who suited up for the Growlers in a 3-2 double overtime win over the Beast Tuesday night in Brampton, Ont., are 25 and younger. Eight of Newfoundland’s 10 forwards who played in that contest are rookies. And with 34-year-old Pardy balanced out by 18-year-old Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, the average age of the roster, as of today, is just over 24 and a half.
“...we have 20 or so players on roster who have been competitive all season, who’ve kept improving all season and I had no expectations for them to slip at all. In fact, I expected them to elevate their games and that’s what’s happened.” — John Snowden
However, Snowden said he was never concerned about all those young players crumbling under the increased pressure of the playoffs.
“To be truthful, I never worried about that, probably because I’ve never really thought of our team in that way,” said Snowden
“I know our team is young in general. But we have 20 or so players on roster who have been competitive all season, who’ve kept improving all season and I had no expectations for them to slip at all.
“In fact, I expected them to elevate their games and that’s what’s happened”
The drama has also been elevated through the first three games with Brampton, beginning with Newfoundland’s 2-1 win in the series opener at Mile One Centre in St. John’s, followed by another 2-1 win in a quickly decided overtime in Game 2 Sunday at Mile One, and then Tuesday’s mini marathon, which saw O’Brien score the game-winner 3:34 into the second extra frame on Newfoundland’s 58th shot at Beast netminder Etienne Marcoux.
That the Growlers battled back from a 2-0 third-period deficit and refused to be defeated by frustration liberally handed out by Marcoux, who was the first star in both overtime losses, would seem to offer proof to Snowden’s contention the Growlers are a pack with plenty of would-be lead dogs.
“That’s not something that’s developing now, I think it showed up much earlier in the season, maybe from the first game,” said Snowden. “We have a lot of leaders, some of them are experienced leaders … you’ve got Adam Pardy, Zach O’Brien, our captain James Melindy and (Alex) Gudbranson, guys who will speak up when something needs to be said.
“But we have young leaders as well, and they’re guys who will show the way, too.”
It has also helped that the Growlers have received solid netminding from Garteig, who has been somewhat overshadowed by Marcoux, but has still managed to shine with sparkling numbers:
a 1.18 goals-against average and .955 save percentage.
Interestingly, prior to this past week, the 27-year-old Garteig has never played a playoff game during his three-year pro career.
Then again, there isn’t a whole lot of post-season experience on the roster, even among the non-rookies.
Melindy, for example, has appeared in 21 playoff games as a pro, but they all came in one post-season, in 2015-16 with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers. Even Pardy, a professional since 2005-06, has only a total of 27 playoff games to his credit.
But none of it, the predominant youth and the relative playoff inexperience, has seemed to matter so far.
“It’s the sign of a real team. You’ve got young guys who have adapted to different roles than what they were used to, but you’ve got older guys who have done the same, and sometimes accepting a different role is leadership in itself,” said Snowden.
“You’ve seen it all year. It’s helped make this a tight-knit group and sometimes that is just as important, maybe more than important, than experience.
“When you have that, you have guys playing for each other.”
Twitter: @telybrendan
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