ESTERO, FLA – The Newfoundland Growlers took game one of the Eastern Conference Finals by shutting out the Florida Everblades 2-0 Friday night at the Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida.
Newfoundland goalie Michael Garteig outdueled Florida netminder Callum Booth in yet another classic goaltending duel that has become a hallmark of the Eastern Conference side of the ECHL brackets. Garteig stopped all 32 Everblades shots to earn his first career post-season shutout while Booth denied all but one of the 30 Growlers shots that he faced and allowed fewer than two goals for the fifth time in eight starts during the 2019 playoffs.
The Growlers and the Everblades ground through two periods of evenly matched scoreless hockey. Florida outshot Newfoundland 11-10 in the first period and replicated the performance in the second to enter the third period outshooting the Growlers 22-20.
The Growlers almost scored with six minutes to play in the first period with a delayed penalty coming to the Everblades. Hudson Elyniuk grabbed the puck in the slot and went in behind the net for a wraparound on the opposite side. Elyniuk put it right along the goal line but Booth got a piece of it to keep the game scoreless.
The Everblades had three quality scoring chances within the first three minutes of the second period, but they were unable to get it through the sea of Growlers players in front of Garteig on any of their shots. Following an initial chance from Grant Arnold, Tommy Thompson picked up the puck and threw it off the pads of Garteig to Nathan Perkovich in the same spot. Perkovich wristed another shot toward the net and it deflected off a Growlers player back to Riley Weselowski. Weselowksi’s shot once again deflected off a Growlers player just wide of the left corner of the net.
The scoreless draw ended at 13:20 into the final frame when Josh Kestner stole the puck in the high slot and dished to Giorgio Estephan who made good on his blast, tucking the puck top shelf behind Everblades goalie Callum Booth.
The Everblades applied pressure, gripping to a chance to tie the game but would come up just short as Scott Pooley sealed their game one fate with an empty net goal late in the period.
Quick Hits: Michael Garteig shined bright as the games first star, compiling 32 saves… Zach O’Brien post-season point streak ended… The three stars were 3 – C. Booth (FL), 2 – G. Estephan (NFL) and 1 – M. Garteig (NFL)
What’s Next: The Newfoundland Growlers continue their quest to the Kelly Cup Saturday night in Estero, Florida against the reigning Eastern Conference Champions, the Florida Everblades. Puck drop is 8:30 p.m. Newfoundland time (7 p.m. Eastern time).
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