Category Archives: IceCaps News

Calder Cup talk beginning to ramp up

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Raymond Sawada

This weekend the IceCaps finally return home for a six game stand at Mile One Centre. It’s been nearly a month since they last played here on St. John’s ice, and this most recent road swing hasn’t been as kind as most, with the team going just 2-3-1 in their last six.

The time away from home will clue up on Tuesday against W-B Scranton, and things will kick off here in the city on Friday against the Hershey Bears.

The IceCaps now have a stranglehold on the Atlantic Division, and there’s little doubt they’ll end the season in the Conference’s top three seeds. If the playoffs were to start today, the team would face the Albany Devils (New Jersey’s farm club, of course) in the first round — a team that’s 12 points behind the Caps with more games played. Where the IceCaps have their sights set on this upcoming homestand is obviously the top seed in the Conference.

Though the club hasn’t exactly been lights-out on home ice all season, recently they’ve been much better, reeling off five of six at Mile One in early February. The tides have swayed a little, and the IceCaps, who were once almost unbeatable on the road and terribly average at home have been quite the opposite in the last month. Funny how things even out.

I’m seeing this recent flip-flop as a positive for the team. It’s great that they’ve begun hitting their stride on home ice at this point in the season with the playoffs just around the corner. There’s little doubt they will hold home-ice advantage in the postseason for at least a round or two, and if all goes well in this upcoming stretch of games, they could be in position to hold it down for the entirety of a Calder Cup run.

The IceCaps are currently six points behind the Norfolk Admirals for first in the Conference, but also hold four games (or a possible eight points) in hand. If you look through the entire AHL you won’t find a team with as few regulation losses as the IceCaps at fifteen. The Oklahoma City Barons of the Western Conference have 17 right now, and they too are considered contenders.

In the IceCaps’ own backyard, the Eastern Conference, contenders would include Norfolk, of course, who are currently riding a 12 (yes, twelve) game winning streak. But they’ve also recently had a good piece of their roster removed when Carter Ashton and his 19 goals were dealt to the Marlies — another Western Conference contender. The W-B Scranton Penguins also pose a threat for the title, and they’ve played the IceCaps hard this season, winning both matchups in St. John’s.

With the recent additions of Brock Trotter and Raymond Sawada, the IceCaps have taken steps to gear up for a serious run. I was lucky enough to see Trotter in action three times this season at Mile One, and he seems like a guy built for the playoffs. And he’s been there recently, with 36 playoff games played in the past three years split over the AHL and KHL. Trotter’s most recent run with the Bulldogs in 2010 saw him notch 19 points in 19 games. He then racked up nine in 11 the following year with Riga Dynamo. Trotter is small but plays a grinding style. He can muck it up and chip in points.

Sawada is no stranger to the playoffs himself, after dropping the Calder Cup finals to the Hershey Bears two years in a row as a member of the Manitoba Moose and Texas Stars in 2009 and 2010. He racked up 46 playoff games in that time, and has a total of 52 played at the AHL level.

While neither of these guys present a lot in NHL upside, they’re AHL mainstays that are required for success. By adding both recently, it’s obvious that the IceCaps are about to make a real stab at landing the Calder Cup in their first year on the rock. With Newfoundland being such a hockey-crazy province, the city should be buzzing as we get close to the playoffs. As much as I hate (actually, love) to insert my own Maple Leafs spin on this, a Marlies-IceCaps final may actually blow the roof off the Mile One Centre this spring. Of course a lot of things would have to fall into place for that to happen, but it would definitely create quite an atmosphere without question.

The IceCaps look ready to turn this Calder Cup talk into a reality. Now there’s some real work to be done.

Email ryanfancey@gmail.com or follow on twitter here (Leafs) and here (IceCaps)

Roster News: IceCaps acquire Trotter and Sawada, and more

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From TheAHL.com:

The Winnipeg Jets, parent club of the AHL’s St. John’s IceCaps, have assigned goaltender Peter Mannino and forward Kenndal McArdle to the AHL’s Portland Pirates. In exchange, the Phoenix Coyotes have re-assigned forward Brock Trotter from Portland to St. John’s.

In addition, the Jets have assigned forward Michael Forney and the IceCaps have traded forward Shawn Weller to the Texas Stars. In exchange, the Dallas Stars have re-assigned forward Raymond Sawada from Texas to St. John’s.

It’s becoming more and more clear, as Jeff Brewer put it, that the IceCaps are certainly making a significant push to become the 2012 Calder Cup Champions.

Trotter has 14 goals and 38 points in 40 games split between the Pirates and the Hamilton Bulldogs and will add to the already offensively stocked forward group. Raymond Sawada brings with him (in addition to NHL experience) the experience of having played in the Calder Cup Finals in 2 of his last 3 campaigns. Michael Forney, a .962 PPG player at the ECHL level, hopes to add to the offence in his 2nd stint with the IceCaps this season.

We wish Kendall McKardle, Shawn Weller, and Peter Mannino all the best with their new clubs.

After these latest moves, how do you feel about the IceCaps and their playoff aspirations?

Follow @Normaniac747 and the blog on Twitter.

Holzapfel traded to Anaheim Ducks (Syracuse Crunch)

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Maxime Macenauer

IceCaps forward Riley Holzapfel has been traded, according to the Anaheim Ducks official twitter account:

#NHLDucks acquire center Riley Holzapfel from Winnipeg in exchange for center Maxime Macenauer. Details coming soon.

Macenauer is slightly younger than Holzapfel (born in 1989, Holzapfel in 1988, but only months apart). He’s split duty this season between the Ducks and Crunch, with four points in 29 games at the NHL level and six points in thirteen appearances with the Crunch.

True North happy in St. John’s for now

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This article was originally posted at Arctic Ice Hockey yesterday. Since then, some more news has broken regarding the IceCaps – True North will not sell the team to Danny Williams in the future and will keep control of things themselves. It’s a smart move from their perspective. For the full story, head on over to The Telegram.

Image: Sportsnet

News broke yesterday morning of the relationship between St. John’s IceCaps management and True North carrying on past their original three-year agreement. It’s no real surprise, the team has been doing well and attendance is at its max. Tickets are a little more expensive than in other AHL buildings, but it seems to have little to no effect as Mile One Centre is jammed every time the IceCaps take to the ice.

From Robin Short at The Telegram (St. John’s):

Barring any major surprises, St. John’s IceCaps CEO Danny Williams and True North Sports and Entertainment will soon sign off on a one-year extension on their existing three-year lease, and start negotiating for additional years keeping the American Hockey League team in St. John’s.

“It’s just a matter of both parties agreeing, and it just happens,” Williams said of the contract extension. “I would be inclined to think that it’s a given.

When rumblings of an AHL club returning to the island began this past summer, it was speculated that Thunder Bay was also a location pushing hard to make its way into the league as soon as possible.

Williams addressed that as well.

“Thunder Bay was a competitive threat a while ago, but there’s no activity there now and even if there was, I don’t see a rink being ready in time,” Williams said.

“I’m very optimistic that certainly we will be going into the fourth year, and after that we’ll consider where we go from there.

“But I don’t think Winnipeg wants to move anywhere else. And we’re very happy with the relationship.”

I noticed this news resulted in some fan aggression over the social media, basically calling out “haters” or naysayers for complaining about ticket prices and questioning the viability of pro hockey back here in St. John’s.

I couldn’t be happier, personally, with the new arrival of the AHL and all that comes with it. This city is buzzing on the weekends when the Caps are in action, and I could see how some would become defensive over even a slight inkling that the team would be threatened. But let’s not forget that this team is winning games, a lot of games.

The same fans that fill Mile One on a Tuesday night in midst of a winning streak (in the IceCaps’ inaugural season, mind you) may find better things to do if the team slides to the middle of the pack or goes on to become a basement club in the next three years.

Selling out a building to hockey-starved fans is one thing, doing it for years in succession is obviously another.

Email ryanfancey@gmail.com or follow on twitter @rfancey3 or @sj_icecaps

IceCaps barely above water in St. John’s

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Image: Jeff Parsons / stjohnsicecaps.com

If you take a look at the standings in the AHL right now, you might be surprised to notice that the St. John’s IceCaps are still among the league’s better clubs and are currently holding down the Atlantic Division lead midway through the season. It’s something we weren’t prepared for here on the Rock, since the team came together so quickly and it was hard to gauge future success on half of a Chicago Wolves lineup from last season.

The IceCaps have been a pleasant surprise, and no doubt they’ve earned the praise they get in this city. But recently they’ve struggled to put it on display for their fans, and if you take a closer look, things almost seem backwards.

You may or may not have heard that the IceCaps have been great on the road. That’s putting it lightly. This team didn’t lose a game in regulation until 2012, a 3-1 loss to the Marlies on New Year’s Day. Since then they’ve returned for a lengthy home stand, and despite two enormous wins against Division contender Manchester, have gone on to drop 3 of last four games against Toronto and WBS, respectively.

Right now there isn’t much to worry about in the grand scheme, the IceCaps still hold down the Atlantic by five points over Worcester (the Monarchs have now slipped a little). But looking at their home vs. road records, it’s pretty bizarre.

The IceCaps are barely afloat on home ice, with a 10-9-3 record at Mile One Centre. For a team with the second best win percentage in the Conference, you would expect better. On the road they’re lights out, sporting a ridiculous 12-1-3, baffling.

If we look deeper things become a little clearer (or maybe murkier, I’m not sure). The Caps have allowed 80 goals on home ice, giving them a -5 goal differential, and an average of 3.6 goals allowed per game over 22 played. On the road they’ve been stingy, giving up only 2.25 goals on average over 16 games played and boasting a +22 goal differential.

It would be great if we could chalk this up to tougher competition on home ice, but it simply isn’t the case (the schedule is pretty balanced.) The Marlies, for example, are one of the league’s weaker road teams, and they’ve owned the Caps in St. John’s.

For a team that has recently reached a major attendance milestone, you would expect some better performances on home ice.

I’d expect things to even out a little one way or another in the next little while. Obviously this amazing road record can’t be sustained, and I doubt the team is actually as bad on home ice as they’ve showed recently. However, if things don’t begin to improve here in St. John’s, we could start to see a slip.

The club now heads on the road for it’s next six games, two weeks away from Mile One Centre. Right now I’m unsure as to whether that’s a good or bad thing.

Email ryanfancey@gmail.com or follow on twitter @rfancey3 or @SJ_IceCaps

King of the Arctic: IceCaps vs Penguins

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ingoalmag.com

The IceCaps will take on a unfamiliar foe tonight in the Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins.

Heading into tonight’s game the IceCaps have won three of the last four contests and have  nearly all aspects of their game clicking, with the current standings reflecting how well St. John’s has been playing as of late. The club is currently sitting comfortably atop the Atlantic Division with a 5 point lead and three games in hand on the second place Monarchs.

With a pair of games less than 24 hours apart, it’s always interesting to see how the goaltending situation will pan out for St John’s. With the recent demotion of Peter Mannino It is likely we will see the return of Edward Pasquale after missing a brief stint with a knee tweak.

A few adjustments will be made to the IceCaps line up for these two games, forward Patrice Cormier will be back with the club after spending a brief stint at NHL level while all star defenceman Paul Postma’s stellar play of late has gotten him a stint with the Jets.

On the WBS side of things, their lineup has been depleted as of late with the NHL club sustaining what has become a comedic amount of injuries. Most of the Pens top prospects have been called up and even sustained injuries while with the big club. Tonight the Pens are without the services of top gun Eric Tangradi and rookie defensemen Simon Despres.

Though the lineup may be a split of an AHL/ECHL roster, the Baby Penguins still have plenty of firepower and play a wear ‘em down grind ‘em out system. It’s a club with very few finesse players. Look for guys like Colin McDonald, Zach Sill and former NHL veteran Jason Williams to cause headaches in St John’s if they can settle in to their game. Brad Thiessen should get the nod between the pipes for WBS.

Action starts at 7:30 down at Mile One tonight, and if you can’t make the game you can always listen online or keep up on twitter with @IceCapsAHL. Brian Rogers has the call at ThisIsNL.

Game Day: IceCaps try to solve Marlies at home

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Tonight at Mile One Centre, the IceCaps will again try to crack the nut that is the Toronto Marlies’ road game.

After another loss last night, the IceCaps have dropped all three of their meetings against Toronto on home ice this season. Luckily this is the final time they’ll meet in St. John’s this season, with only one contest left between the clubs at the Ricoh in February. It’s a puzzling situation considering the Marlies have a brutal road record outside of St. John’s, with only six wins away from the island. Overall, they’ve racked up a 9-10-2 record on the road – not good.

The IceCaps let three opening period goals take them out of the game last night, the winner being scored by highly touted Leafs prospect Joel Colborne late in the first. The Caps bounced back to make it respectable, but came out on the wrong end of a 4-2 final.

Mike Zigomanis had a goal and an assist for the Marlies, while Jussi Rynnas got the win betwen the pipes despite leaving late due to injury.

On the IceCaps’ goalie front, Aebischer was pulled after the 3-0 first and gave way to Mannino for the final two frames.

Jason King nabbed a powerplay marker in the third to add to an O’Dell tally. Jaffray and DeSantis chipped in on the King goal, with Gregoire helping out O’Dell in the second.

Full gamesheet available here.

Tonight’s game is a chance for the Caps to avoid a four game sweep to the Marlies in St. John’s. They’ll want these two points, or else they head into next season being owned by Toronto here at Mile One.

The two teams won’t meet in the playoffs unless they battle for the Calder Cup. Now wouldn’t that be something?

Game goes at 7:30 tonight, NL time. Catch the game on radio with Brian Rogers at ThisIsNL

Postma and Redmond named All-Stars

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The rosters for the 2012 AHL All-Star Classic were released this afternoon, and two of your St. John’s IceCaps have made the list as part of the Eastern Conference contingent. Defencemen Paul Postma and Zach Redmond will join head coach Keith McCambridge in Atlantic City on January 30th for the AHL’s annual showcase of the best the league has to offer.

Both Postma and Redmond, as you would expect, have had great years for the IceCaps thus far. Postma is currently ranked 2nd among AHL defencemen in points, tallying 6 goals and 25 points in his first 26 games with the club. In addition to scoring 15 points in his own right, Redmond was likely selected based on his defensive prowess and dependability, after playing in all 32 IceCaps games and registering a +9 on the year.

You can take a look at the complete rosters and learn more about fan balloting here.

What are your thoughts on the All-Star selections?

Follow @Normaniac747 and the blog on Twitter.

IceCaps settle in to battle atop the AHL

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The IceCaps return to the ice tonight after a ten day Christmas break, when they face the Hamilton Bulldogs for the fourth time this season. It’s the start of another mini road trip which will end with two games against the Marlies in Toronto over the weekend.

St. John’s enters the game tonight with a 2-1 record against the Bulldogs this season, outscoring them 10-6 over three games.

After dropping three straight games early this month, the IceCaps bounced back with a couple of wins, but have found their place in the standings slip a little. They’ve been ousted as the top team in the division, with Manchester taking over, but still hold one of the best win percentages in the league at .672 and only seven regulation losses (Houston being the only team with six).

The team continues to float around the bottom of the league in terms of penalty minutes, now sitting at 27th with 13.4 per game. It’s a part of their game that has helped bring success, but weighs on fans who believe the team should be tougher. While it’s a difficult thing to balance, until results start going down the drain, it seems foolish to argue with their disciplined approach.

Tonight’s game will mark the start of the team entering the crucial part of the schedule where teams should really start to separate themselves from weak clubs. St. John’s can prove that they belong at the top of the division, or start to fall to the middle of the pack where they’ll be just another team. Grabbing two of three on this quick road trip to Ontario is important in keeping pace with the big clubs like Manchester and Hershey, among the top of the conference.

With Machacek and Rosa being the two stand-out forwards for the Caps this year (at least in terms of guys who’ve been with the club throughout), it will be interesting to see how players like King, Cormier, and Gagnon fair in the new year. Each has shown the ability to provide scoring, and there’s no doubt that depth has been the topic of conversation surrounding the team for much of the year, particularly when they continued to win despite an insane amount of callups heading to Winnipeg.

Goaltending has been somewhat of a sore spot for the IceCaps lately. They currently only boast one goaltender, Mannino, with a save % above .900 (he’s at .907, not exactly great). Pasquale and Aebischer have struggled, posting .891 and .896 respectively. Aebie has nabbed the most starts this season with eleven. Not to worry, Mannino will be the guy going forward.

Personally, I think there isn’t much for fans to fret about regarding this club. They’ve managed to cover up any roster holes so far, and have made the best of some not-so-ideal situations. And after all that, they’re still only two points back for the division lead with three games in hand.

It’s actually not too far-fetched to believe these guys are ready to go on a disgustingly good run into the new year and on. With the early season’s roster starting to re-take shape and a good reset over Christmas, I see no real reason why this team, deep with talent, should slow down.

Email ryanfancey@gmail.com and follow here, or the blog here

Game goes at 7:30 ET tonight, with Brian Rogers providing play-by-play over the radio at thisisnewfoundlandlabrador.ca. Tune in.