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Carl Klingberg scored a hat-trick, John Albert picked up three assists, and Jason King scored his first goal in a 6-2 IceCaps win over the Hamilton Bulldogs on Saturday night. The offensive outburst vaulted Klingberg into the top of the AHL scoring race, though it’s obviously very early. The young Swede shot 100% last night to nab the hatty on only three shots. Impressive.
Special teams were a sore spot for the Caps again, going 0-7 on the powerplay to follow a 0-8 outing the night before. It’s obviously an area they’ll look to improve on, but six even-strength goals was enough to get the job done as the team moves to 3-1-0 on the season.
The IceCaps displayed a high level of team speed last night, and I was particularly impressed by how well they moved the puck at the point. If they can get their game together down low in the offensive zone, they should be able to start banging pucks in on the powerplay.
Patrice Cormier had a solid outing for the IceCaps. After being on the receiving end of a couple questionable hits early in the game, he bounced back with an assist and some big hits to boot later on. It’s also quite obvious that despite failing to notch a point this weekend, Paul Postma is the premier blue-liner on this club. Nobody shows as much confidence with the puck, and I’m sure the Jets will love to hear that.
The IceCaps are back in action on home ice next weekend when they host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday and Saturday night, followed by weeknight games against Portland on Tuesday and Wednesday. The team will then pack their bags and go on the road for a little over a week.
Shots last night were 41-22 IceCaps, and Mannino nabbed his second win in as many tries between the pipes. Nathan Lawson took the loss for the Bulldogs.
**Notes: Marc Crawford was in attendance for the game last night, as it was “IceCapsules” night in honor of his AHL Coach of the Year Award in 1992 with the Baby Leafs… The fans were unreal, especially in the third period (I was glad to be part of that wave)
