The Rock Report

January 15, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL)
St. John's IceCaps News Release


Heading into a weekend series with the North Division leading Toronto Marlies, the IceCaps managed a split of the two games to snap their franchise-high seven-game home losing streak. After dropping a 6-2 decision Saturday night, St. John's rebounded with a terrific effort in a 4-2 win Sunday afternoon on the strength of Kevin Clark's two-goal performance, in a game that was originally scheduled for Friday but was postponed due to blizzard conditions in St. John's. The IceCaps begin their six-game road trip with a pair of contests versus the Admirals at The Scope in Norfolk, VA.

WEEK IN REVIEW:

Saturday, January 12 - Toronto Marlies 6 St John's IceCaps 2 Mile One Centre - St. John's, NL St John's Goals O'Dell (6, 7) Toronto Goals: Aucoin (10), bbott (3), Scott (3), Colborne (5), D' migo (5), shton (8) Goaltending: STJ - Pasquale (L - 23 shots, 18 saves) / TOR - Rynnas (W - 21 shots, 19 saves) Power Play: STJ 0/2 | TOR 3/5 Three Stars: 1) TOR - Joe Colborne 2) STJ - Eric O'Dell 3) TOR - Paul Ranger Mary Brown's HWP Ben Chiarot Attendance: 6,287

The Toronto Marlies defeated the St. John's IceCaps 6-2 Saturday night in the first of two games between the teams this weekend at Mile One Centre.

Joe Colborne had a goal and two assists while Keith Aucoin and Spencer Abbott each had a goal and an assist. Jussi Rynnas made 19 saves for the win.

For St. John's, Eric O'Dell scored both goals, his sixth and seventh of the season, in the loss. Eddie Pasquale stopped 18 shots.

Toronto received a solid performance from their special teams units, going 3-for-5 on the power play and adding a shorthanded goal from Greg Scott. St. John's went 0-for-2 with the man advantage in losing their seventh consecutive home game and fourth straight overall.

Sunday, January 13 - St John's IceCaps 4 Toronto Marlies 2 Mile One Centre - St. John's, NL St John's Goals O'Dell (8), Jaffray (6), Clark (3, 4) 2 Toronto Goals: Ranger (6), Hamilton (17) Goaltending: STJ - Pasquale (W - 23 shots, 21 saves) / TOR - Rynnas (L - 34 shots, 31 saves) Power Play: STJ 1/4 | TOR 2/7 Three Stars: 1) STJ - Jason Jaffray 2) TOR - Ryan Hamilton 3) STJ - Kevin Clark Mary Brown's HWP Josh Lunden Attendance: 6,287

The St. John's IceCaps ended a seven-game home losing streak with a big 4-2 win over the North Division leading Toronto Marlies Sunday afternoon at Mile One Centre.

Kevin Clark scored the game-winner at 10:26 of the third period and added an empty-netter to seal the victory. Jason Jaffray, the game's first star, and Eric O'Dell both notched a goal and an assist, while Ray Sawada picked up a pair of helpers. Eddie Pasquale stopped 21-of-23 shots for his ninth win of the season.

The IceCaps' penalty killing unit was sharp Sunday afternoon, killing off five-of-seven Marlies power plays after allowing three goals on five chances Saturday night. St. John's also went 1-for-4 on the power play to end a three-game drought with the man advantage.

ICE-CAPSules

Flying with the Jets: With NHL training camps underway, the IceCaps (like every AHL team) have lost a handful of their top players to their parent club in Winnipeg. Forwards Max Macenauer, Spencer Machacek and Alex Burmistrov join defencemen Paul Postma, Zach Redmond and Derek Meech in a battle for roster spots this week with the Jets.

O'Dell is Swell F Eric O'Dell has scored in consecutive games and has five points (3G, 2 ) and a +4 rating in his last three contests. The sophomore centre is tied for the team lead in goals with eight.

Roster Moves:

The IceCaps were forced to make a trio of roster moves last week after losing six players to Winnipeg and goaltender Mark Dekanich to injury. F Josh Lunden and D Richard Petiot were signed to PTOs while G Chris Carrozzi was recalled from Ontario (ECHL). Lunden suited up for both games against Toronto this past weekend and was selected as the Mary Brown's Hardest Working Player in the IceCaps' 4-2 victory Sunday.

After sitting Saturday, Petiot was inserted into the lineup Sunday and was tied for the team-high in plus/minus (+2) while also assisting on Kevin Clark's game-winning goal. Before Sunday, the veteran defencemen had not played since November 2011, when he suffered a season-ending knee injury while playing for the Norfolk Admirals.

Injury Report:

G Mark Dekanich joined the injured list after suffering a hamstring injury during practice early last week. Also currently injured: F Jason King (head), Aaron Gagnon (undisclosed), Shawn Weller (finger) and Hunter Tremblay (concussion-like symptoms). Defencemen Travis Ramsey and Julian Melchiori returned to the lineup Saturday from various hand injuries while F John Albert (upper body) took the pre-game skate Sunday and appears set for a return to the lineup sometime during the team's upcoming six-game road trip.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

None

LISTEN TO EVERY ICECAPS GAME LIVE

Listen to every IceCaps game this season online at www.stjohnsicecaps.com by clicking the 'Listen Live' link on the homepage. Play-by-play broadcaster Brian Rogers brings you all the action on the ice, including a pregame show that starts 30 minutes before the drop of the puck. Fans can also listen on the radio at 930AM This Is Newfoundland Labrador. And, watch all the games streaming live online at www.ahllive.com.



American Hockey League Stories from January 15, 2013


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