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April 1, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL)
St. John's IceCaps News Release


The IceCaps closed out their five-game road trip with wins over Albany and Worcester this past week to extend their season-high winning streak to four games, reminiscent of last season's road dominance. Wednesday, St. John's defeated Albany 4-2 on the strength of Aaron Gagnon's two goals and some solid goaltending from Mark Dekanich. Saturday, the IceCaps trailed 4-2 late in the third but scored twice in the final 2:44, then won it on Ben Maxwell's goal 23 seconds into overtime. St. John's remains in the playoff hunt, having won six of its last seven games to put themselves 10 points out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The club returns home for its final home stand of the regular season beginning Friday and Saturday against the Toronto Marlies.

WEEK IN REVIEW:

Wednesday, March 27 - St. John's IceCaps 4 Albany Devils 2 Times Union Center - Albany, NY St. John's Goals: Jaffray (24), O'Dell (25), Gagnon (9, 10) Albany Goals: Whitney (23), Burlon (1) Goaltending: STJ - Dekanich (W - 23 shots, 21 saves) / ALB - Frazee (L - 21 shots, 17 saves) Power Play: STJ 2/7 | ALB 1/6 Three Stars: 1) STJ - Aaron Gagnon 2) STJ - Jason Jaffray 3) ALB - Brian Burlon Mary Brown's HWP: Ben Maxwell Attendance: 2,209

Aaron Gagnon scored twice to lead the St. John's IceCaps to a 4-2 triumph over the Albany Devils Wednesday night at Times Union Center in Albany, NY.

Gagnon notched shorthanded and power play markers - extending his point streak to a franchise record 11 games - including the game-winner, while Jason Jaffray picked up three points, scoring a goal and adding two assists.

Eric O'Dell had a goal and an assist, finding the back of the net for the sixth consecutive game, also a new club record. Ben Maxwell picked up a pair of assists and was given the nod as the Mary Brown's Hardest Working Player. Mark Dekanich made 21 saves for his fifth win in his last six starts.

Saturday, March 30 - St. John's IceCaps 5 Worcester Sharks 4 (OT) DCU Center - Worcester, MA St. John's Goals: Gregoire (10), Gagnon (11), O'Neill (2), Maxwell (8, 9) Worcester Goals: Sivak (3), Kearns (18, 19), Matsumoto (14) Goaltending: STJ - Pasquale (W - 34 shots, 30 saves) / WOR - Greiss (L - 27 shots, 22 saves), Sateri (0 shots, 0 saves) Power Play: STJ 0/3 | WOR 0/3 Three Stars: 1) WOR - Bracken Kearns 2) STJ - Ben Maxwell 3) STJ - Will O'Neill Mary Brown's HWP: Norm Ezekiel Attendance: 4,143

The St. John's IceCaps snatched victory from the jaws of defeat Saturday night in Worcester, coming back from a two- goal deficit to win 5-4 in overtime over the Sharks.

Ben Maxwell, celebrating his 25th birthday, scored the tying goal with 53 seconds left in regulation and notched the game-winner just 23 seconds into the extra frame. Maxwell finished the night with two goals and an assist, while Will O'Neill and Aaron Gagnon each had a goal and an assist.

Eddie Pasquale made 30 saves in the victory, the fourth in a row for St. John's and sixth in its last seven.

ICE-CAPSules

March Madness: After a rough start to the month, the IceCaps rebounded to finish at 6-3-0-2 and find themselves still alive in the Eastern Conference playoff race with nine games to play. Leading the charge was Aaron Gagnon, who notched a point in each of the club's 11 contests and finished with 18 points (9G, 9A), including three game-winning goals, two shorthanded markers, and five multi-point efforts.

Get Shorty: The IceCaps notched a shorthanded goal in each of their two games last week. The aforementioned Gagnon converted on Wednesday night with the IceCaps down a man while Jason Gregoire scored on a shorthanded breakaway Saturday vs. Worcester. St. John's has a shorthanded goal in three of its last four outings and four in the month of March.

Supercharged Special Teams:

During the last seven games, the special teams units have been a huge factor in the club's 6-1 record. The power play is 9-for-41 (22.0%) while the penalty kill is 23-for-25 (92.0%), numbers that would put them at the top of the league over the course of a full season.

OT Magic:

The IceCaps improved to 5-1 in games decided in overtime this season with Saturday's comeback effort, the best record of any AHL team in the extra frame.

Jets Update: The Jets took a slight step back last week, dropping two-of-three games with losses to the Penguins on the road and the Hurricanes at home. Their lone win was also against Carolina and keeps them four points up on the Hurricanes for first in the Southeast Division and third in the Eastern Conference with 12 games left to play.

Injury Report: Injured: Jason King (head), Hunter Tremblay (head), Ivan Telegin (head), Ryan Schnell (lower body), John Albert (hand), and Josh Godfrey (undisclosed).

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

March 28

St. John's (AHL) releases G Scott Greenham from PTO

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.

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