Growlers Advance to the Eastern Conference Finals with 5-1 Victory
May 6, 2019 - ECHL (ECHL)
Newfoundland Growlers News Release
The Newfoundland Growlers punched their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals in style Monday night at Mile One Centre with a commanding 5-1 victory over the Manchester Monarchs to take the North Division Finals series 4-2.
Zach O'Brien opened the scoring 4:52 into the game, cutting across the front of the net and sliding the puck past Charles Williams to continue his hot streak and to give the Growlers an early 1-0 lead.
O'Brien added his second of the period with 2:40 remaining in the first, re-directing a Garrett Johnston shot in the back of the Monarchs net, and just 21 seconds later Matt Bradley added another to give the Growlers a 3-0 lead after the opening 20 minutes of play.
Garrett Johnston continued the offensive rout at the 5:14 mark of the second period, roofing a wrister glove-side marking his first career playoff goal, and Zach O'Brien completed the hat-trick just under two minutes later on the powerplay, giving the Growlers a 5-0 lead. O'Brien's tally marked the end of Charles Williams' night, as he was replaced by Cole Kehler after allowing five goals on 16 shots.
Manchester got on the board at 5:42 of the third period after Tony Cameranesi cleaned up a mad scramble in Michael Garteig's crease for a 5-1 score, but that's as close as the visitors would come as the Growlers would hang on for the 5-1 win and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Quick Hits
Hudson Elynuik returned to the lineup after missing the last five games with an injury
Zach O'Brien finished the series with 13 points
The three stars were 3 - M. Power (NFL), 2 - M. Garteig (NFL) and 1 - Z. O'Brien (NFL)
What's Next?
The Newfoundland Growlers begin round three Friday night in Estero, Florida against the reigning Eastern Conference Champions, the Florida Everblades. Puck drop is 9 p.m. Newfoundland time. Fans can tune into Chris Ballard's call of the game on mixlr.com/nlgrowlers.
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