ESTERO, FLA – The Newfoundland Growlers took game two of the Eastern Conference Final 5-1 Saturday night in Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida.
After shutting out the Everblades in game one, Florida found the back of the Growlers net to open the scoring at 10:17 of the first period. Just 17 seconds into a man advantage. After Alex Tonge fed the puck back to Michael Downing at the point, Downing made a deke and then blasted a shot that Blake Winiecki deflected past Newfoundland goaltender Michael Garteig.
Goalie Callum Booth came up huge for the Everblades early in the second when they were on the penalty kill. With Zach O’Brien open at the back door less than five feet from the crease, Booth made a sweeping glove save to keep Florida up one.
But the Growlers rattled off four straight goals before the end of the middle frame to take a three-goal lead to the second intermission.
The Growlers’ first score came right after their power play ended. Newfoundland entered the zone with a three-on-two rush, and Josh Kestner sent a pass to Scott Pooley in the left circle for a one-timer that Booth initially got a pad on as he sprawled out. But the rebound came right back to the stick of Pooley, and he flipped it over Booth to tie the game.
The Growlers took the lead only 1:35 after Pooley tied the game. Giorgio Estephan stole the puck off a turnover at center ice and flipped it to Kestner. Kestner took the puck into the zone on a breakaway and beat Booth to give Newfoundland a lead it didn’t relinquish.
The Growlers extended their lead with a power-play goal at 11:30 of the second period to snap a streak of 33 consecutive penalty kills for Florida. Marcus Power put back a rebound after Booth made the initial save to extend Newfoundland’s lead to 3-1.
The Growlers added a fourth goal with 1:43 to play in the second period. J.J. Piccinich scored off an odd-man rush sequence, lifting a feed from Pooley over Booth to advance the Growlers’ lead to three.
Still down 4-1 with four minutes to play in the game, the Everblades pulled Booth for the extra attacker but couldn’t find the back of the net. Newfoundland’s Hudson Elynuik struck on the empty net to seal the Growlers’ win.
The third period saw a frustrated Everblades team try to get under the skin of the high flying Growlers as 15 penalties were handed out including seven misconducts, with four going to the Growlers (Melindy, Pardy, Pooley & Ferguson ) and three to the Everblades (Masella, Perkovich & Thompson).
Garteig finished the night with 34 saves to earn the victory while Booth stopped 25 shots in suffering his second consecutive loss.
Quick Hits: Michael Garteig shined bright as the games second star, compiling 34 saves… Pooley , Elynuik and Kestner all had multi-point games, each with a goal and an assist… The three stars were 3 – B. Winiwcki (FL), 2 – M. Garteig (NFL) and 1 – J. Kestner (NFL)
What’s Next: The Newfoundland Growlers continue their quest to the Kelly Cup Wednesday night at Mile One Centre against the reigning Eastern Conference Champions, the Florida Everblades. Puck drop is 7 p.m Newfoundland time (5:30 p.m. Eastern time).
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