Wolf Pack Held Scoreless in St. John's
Feb 10, 2015(Photo by Jeff Parsons)
St. John’s IceCaps goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stopped 21 Wolf Pack shots, for his second straight shutout, Tuesday night at Mile One Centre in St. John's, as the IceCaps blanked the Wolf Pack 3-0, in the first of back-to-back games between the two clubs.
Hellebuyck had also shut out the Portland Pirates, 1-0, in St. John’s’ previous outing Saturday night.
Kyle MacKinnon had a hand in all three St. John’s goals, scoring a third-period empty-netter and assisting on the other two, and Blair Riley and Keaton Ellerby also scored. Yann Danis made 20 saves in the Wolf Pack net.
“They played a solid defensive game, that’s for sure, and I thought their forecheck was pretty good too.” Danis said of the IceCaps. “They didn’t give us much, and they were on top of us pretty much from start to finish. So we’re going to have to be ready tomorrow. Now we know what to expect, and we’re going to have to use our speed, use what’s made us successful the last month.”
The Wolf Pack outshot St. John’s 10-8 in the first period, but came out of it trailing 2-0, courtesy of an even-strength goal by Riley and a shorthanded score by Ellerby.
Riley’s goal was the result of a strong offensive-zone pressuring shift by his line with MacKinnon and Brandon MacLean. MacKinnon passed the puck from below the goal line to Riley in the slot, and he quickly shot it underneath Danis at 6:48.
Ellerby doubled the lead at 10:18, just 11 seconds after Chase Balisy was penalized for hooking.
Dallas Jackson prevented an IceCap clear at the right point but couldn’t get the puck deep, and MacKinnon sent Carl Klingberg away to center ice. Ellerby joined Klingberg on the rush and was able to fire a Klingberg feed just inside the post to Danis’ left.
The score remained 2-0 through a second period that saw the IceCaps outshoot the Wolf Pack 7-2, and all the way until 16.2 seconds remained in the third period. St. John’s was on a power play at that point, due to a hooking penalty to Conor Allen at 18:23, and, with the Wolf Pack having pulled Danis for an extra attacker, MacKinnon hit the open net from just inside his own blue line for a three-goal final margin.
The Wolf Pack and IceCaps go at it again Wednesday night in St. John’s, with faceoff at 6:00 PM Eastern Time. All of the action of that rematch can be heard live on Fox Sports Radio 1410, and on-line at www.foxsportsradio1410.com and iHeartRadio. Video streaming is available at www.ahllive.com.
The next home game for the Wolf Pack is this Saturday, February 14, a 7:30 PM game at the XL Center against the Albany Devils. Tickets for all 2014-15 Wolf Pack home games are now on sale at the XL Center ticket office, on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499. Wolf Pack tickets start as low as $12 for youth 12 years old or younger.
To speak with a Wolf Pack representative about season or group tickets, or any of the Wolf Pack’s many ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451, or click here to request more info.
Hartford Wolf Pack 0 at St. John's IceCaps 3
Tuesday, February 10, 2015 - Mile One Centre
Hartford 0 0 0 - 0
St. John's 2 0 1 - 3
1st Period-1, St. John's, Riley 3 (MacKinnon, MacLean), 6:48. 2, St. John's, Ellerby 3 (MacKinnon, Klingberg), 10:18 (SH). Penalties-McIlrath Hfd (fighting), 3:52; Blanchard Stj (instigating, fighting), 3:52; Balisy Stj (hooking), 10:07; Kristo Hfd (tripping), 16:25.
2nd Period- No Scoring. Penalties-Kristo Hfd (high-sticking), 0:18.
3rd Period-3, St. John's, MacKinnon 6 (Albert), 19:45 (PP EN). Penalties-Allen Hfd (hooking), 18:23.
Shots on Goal-Hartford 10-2-9-21. St. John's 8-7-8-23.
Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 0 / 2; St. John's 1 / 3.
Goalies-Hartford, Danis 9-9-0 (22 shots-20 saves). St. John's, Hellebuyck 21-14-1 (21 shots-21 saves).
A-5,487
Referees-Jon McIsaac (45), Jonathan Alarie (38).
Linesmen-Joe Maynard (24), Jim Vail (75).