IceCaps Weekly Forecast | Road Trip Continues vs Crunch, Amerks

Danielle Barnes

March 6, 2017

IceCaps Weekly Forecast | Road Trip Continues vs Crunch, Amerks — (Photo by Douglas Browne | Rocket Sports Media)

IceCaps Weekly Forecast gives a first look of the week ahead for your St. John’s IceCaps. Staff writer Danielle Barnes maps out the schedule, provides a statistical comparison of each matchup, identifies players to watch, as well as goaltenders and notes for each team. Refer to this page as your guide for each game in the IceCaps schedule this week.

by Danielle Barnes, Staff Writer, AHL Report

(Photo by Douglas Browne | Rocket Sports Media)

ST JOHN’S, NL. — The St. John’s IceCaps remain on the road playing three games against the Syracuse Crunch and the Rochester Americans. The ‘Caps will head to New York to face the Crunch on the 8^th and 11^th, and the Americans on the 10^th.

Calendar: March 6 – March 12
MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN

		AWAY		AWAY	AWAY

~~~

St. John’s IceCaps
Following two rough months for the IceCaps, the team moves down one spot in the North division ranking at 5th. Despite their struggles, the IceCaps had two shutouts last week. The first by Charlie Lindgren against the Rochester Americans with a score of 3-0, following another from Yann Danis against the Toronto Marlies with a score of 3-0. The IceCaps left-winger Chris Terry also had a successful week, as he was named the AHL’s player of the month for February and signed a contract extension with the Montreal Canadiens.
Players to Watch
Nikita Scherbak – Scherbak is the third leading scorer of the team with 34 points in 50 games played. His efforts in the IceCaps game against the Toronto Marlies last week earned him the second star of the game. Keegan Lowe – The newly-acquired Lowe has played five games with the IceCaps this season, scoring his first goal for St. John’s against the Marlies on Saturday.
Notes	Goaltenders
The Montreal Canadiens announced on March 3^rd that they have given a one-year contract extension to Chris Terry.	Lindgren 18-15-5 \| 2.68 GAA \| .912 Sv% Danis 9-6-3 \| 2.99 GAA \| .903 Sv%

~~~

Wednesday, Saturday March 8th, 11th

Syracuse Crunch

The Syracuse Crunch (29-18-5-5) continue to dominate the North division ranking at 1st,and taking the 12^thspot in the league overall. The ‘Caps and the Crunch have been evenly matched when facing each other this season, resulting in three wins for the ‘Caps and three wins for the Crunch. While the Crunch may have the home team advantage this week, the IceCaps remain ahead of them in the special teams power-play, which may give them an edge in their two games this week.

Players to Watch

Yanni Gourde – Gourde is first in the league for game-winning goals, with 6 so far this season.
Cody Conacher – Conacher is one of the top ten players in the league with 47 points this season.

Notes

Goaltenders

According to the Syracuse Crunch on Twitter, the team has assigned John Kurtz to a PTO contract.

Gudlevskis 11-8-6 | 2.71 GAA | .892 Sv%
McKenna 9-12-7 | 2.97 GAA | .902 Sv%

Matchup

March 8, 11 | Syracuse, NY.

CRUNCH	(stats as of Mar.5, 2017)	ICECAPS
68 (1st)	Points (Div. Rank)	62 (5th)
29-18-5-5	Record	27-24-7-1
17-7-1-2 (home)	Home/Away Record	15-12-3-1 (away)
.596	Winning Percentage	.525
176	Goals For	168
179	Goals Against	177
15.1%	Power-play	18.6%
81.8%	Penalty-kill	78.9%

Season Series – Recap

November 29, 2016 | SYR v STJ |Crunch – IceCaps: Penalty Parade Hands Syracuse a Win
November 30, 2016 | SYR v STJ | Crunch – IceCaps: Another Shootout, Another Win
December 31, 2016 | STJ v SYR | IceCaps – Crunch: Emotions Run High in Syracuse
January 7, 2016 | STJ v SYR | IceCaps – Crunch: Heading Home on a High Note
February 18, 2016 | SYR v STJ | IceCaps: ‘Caps Offence Wakes Up Against Division Leaders
February 19, 2016 |SYR v STJ | Crunch – IceCaps: Terry Scores Twice, Reaches 20 Goal Mark
March 8, 2016 | STJ v SYR |
March 11, 2016 | STJ v SYR |

~~~

Friday March 10th

Rochester Americans

The Rochester Americans (23-32-0-2) rank at 7^th in the north division and 28^th in the league overall. Following a loss to the ‘Caps last week, the Rochester Americans will likely be looking for redemption when facing the ‘Caps on Friday.