MANCHESTER, NH – The Newfoundland Growlers road debut was a victorious one as the squad tucked in the Monarchs by a score of 4-1 Friday night at the SNHU Arena.
Deerian Plouffe got on the board first for the Newfoundland Growlers by scoring his first pro goal. Plouffe’s shot from just inside the slot beat Monarchs goaltender Charles Williams at 8:59 of the first period.
Another first pro goal, this time for St. John’s native Marcus Power, doubled the Growlers lead. Power danced around a Monarchs defender and lifted the puck just under the bar and past goaltender Williams off a partial breakaway at 13:14 of the second period.
The Monarchs kept the pressure on in the last half of the game, outshooting the Growlers 22-9 during the span. Growlers keeper Michael Garteig withstood the flurry until Nic Pierog slid the puck past him at the 17:05 marker of the third period, seconds after the Monarchs pulled their goalie for an extra attacker.
The Monarchs push to tie the game was brought to an end by a pair of empty-net goals from Scott Pooley and Giorgio Estephan in the dying seconds of the third.
The Growlers continue their eight-game, 18-day road trip that sees them play every team in the North Division, in Maine on Sunday afternoon as they take on the Mariners.
Quick Hits: Defenseman Chis Smith made his Growlers debut hour after signing with the club and was a +4 on the night… Stefan LeBlanc and Giorgio Estephan both finished with a team-high 2 points… The three stars were 3 – Pierog (MAN), 2 – Garteig(NFL) and 1 – Power (NFL)
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