ST. JOHN’S, NL – The Newfoundland Growlers punched their ticket to the 2020 Kelly Cup Playoffs with a 5-2 victory against the Adirondack Thunder Friday night at Mile One Centre before 4,214 fans.
Justin Brazeau opened the scoring 3:34 into the game after taking a pass from Trent Bourque and firing home his team-leading 26th of the season from between the hashmarks to give the Growlers an early 1-0 lead, but just over five minutes later John Edwardh capitalized on a Growlers turnover and backhanded a shot behind Maksim Zhukov to tie the game at 1-1.
Matt Salhany gave the Thunder the lead with 1:38 remaining in the period with a shorthanded strike, but off the ensuing faceoff, Trey Bradley fired a slapper five-hole for a 2-2 game after the opening 20 minutes of play.
A scoreless second period saw the Thunder outshoot the Growlers 9-7, but Growlers Nation erupted when Captain James Melindy took exception to some pushing and shoving by Michael Sdao and the two dropped the gloves with 1:13 left in the second period.
Brazeau looked to have pulled the Growlers ahead 1:30 into the third period, but after review, it was deemed no goal.
Todd Skirving re-stored the Growlers lead with 7:50 remaining in the third period after deflecting a rebound behind McAdam for his fourth of the season, and Matt Bradley added another tally 1:44 later for a 4-2 Growlers lead.
The Thunder pulled their netminder for an extra attacked with three minutes left, but the gamble didn’t pay off as Brady Ferguson hit the empty net securing a 5-2 victory and a playoff berth for the Growlers.
Quick Hits: James Melindy returned to the lineup following an eight-game suspension… Colt Conrad has five assists in the last three games… The three stars were 3 – T. Skirving (NFL), 2 – M. Bradley (NFL), 1 – T. Bradley (NFL)
What’s Next: The Newfoundland Growlers wrap up their three-game homestand with a rematch versus the Adirondack Thunder, ECHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils Saturday night at Mile One Centre. Puck drop is 7 p.m Newfoundland time (5:30 p.m.Eastern time).
Follow us on Twitter @prohockeynews
You must be logged in to post a comment.