WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON, Pa – Brock Trotter is developing a reputation as
Photo by Rob Neyhard
The St. John’s IceCaps forward has been a one-man wrecking crew in his team’s Eastern Conference semifinal with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. In game one of the series, he scored both the tying and game-winning goals in the IceCaps 3-1 victory. Then in game three on Saturday night, the 25-year-old again netted two goals, including the overtime winner to give St. John’s a 2-1 lead over the Penguins in the best-of-seven series.
“Brock Trotter’s an offensive-minded guy,” St. John’s head coach Keith McCambridge said to the Canadian Press. “When you give him the puck in that area, he can make plays.”
Trotter opened the scoring in game three at 12:37 of the first period, capitalizing on a setup by St. John’s defenseman Zach Redmond. That score held until the dying moments of the third period, when the Penguins’ Eric Tangradi bulged the twine with one minute and two seconds remaining on the clock, tying the score at one and forcing the game into overtime.
Photo by Rob Neyhard
That set the stage for Trotter to play the role of hero, just as he did in the opening game of the series. This time, the skilled forward drove to the Penguins net carrying the puck on his backhand. He faked a shot, freezing Pens’ goalie Brad Thiessen, before pulling the puck back to his forehand and sliding it into a nearly empty net to give St. John’s a 2-1 win and the series lead.
“We had a little of an odd-man rush with a back-checker. I tried to slide it across to the guy (Carl Klingberg) driving to the net. The puck hit a skate and came back to me,” Trotter told the Canadian Press. “I think the goalie thought I was going to the backhand and I cut back to my forehand.”
In total, Trotter has five goals, four assists and nine points in seven postseason games for the IceCaps, making him the team’s top offensive performer to date. In addition to his game one and game three heroics,
Photo by Rob Neyhard
Eddie Pasquale was solid again in the IceCaps net, making 28 saves to earn the win. He made a number of important saves in game three, including a cross-crease leg save on Tangradi mid-way through the third period that was of highlight-reel caliber.
Thiessen stopped 16 shots in a losing effort for the Penguins.
The IceCaps made a pair of lineup changes prior to game three. Inserted into action for the club were defenseman Zach Redmond and forward Maxim Macenauer. They took the positions of Jason DeSantis and Marco Rosa respectively, who served as healthy scratches on Saturday.
Game four of this series goes Saturday afternoon in Wiles-Barre.
Contact Darcy.MacRae@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer at rob.neyhard@prohockeynews.com
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