St. John’s team battles hard to come back to win second home game

By Carol Hopkins

Carl Klingberg, a rookie right winger with the Icecaps scored a hat trick Saturday night against the Hamilton Bulldogs. Photo by Jeff Parsons

It was a busy weekend for the St. John’s Icecaps as they faced off against the Hamilton Bulldogs at Mile One Centre.

The St. John’s Icecaps were shut out by the Hamilton Bulldogs Friday night 4–0 but came back strong on Saturday with a 6-2 win.

The Icecaps battled hard with 40 shots on goal but couldn’t put one in the net on Friday.  During the first period, they outshot the Bulldogs with 19 shots on goal compared to the Bulldogs’ three.

The first game on home ice was filled with pomp and ceremony with big name guests such as Howie Meeker in attendance.

“Alan Doyle singing the Ode to Newfoundland and Oh, Canada before the first game was amazing,” said fan Barton Jeffrey Ollerhead.

Game two was a very different affair, with the St. John’s team coming back with a vengeance.  Carl Klingberg, a rookie right winger, scored the first goal just minutes into the first period. He went on to make it a hat trick, scoring a goal in each period.

“To see Klingberg get a hat trick was just awesome! Oh man, it was such a good game, and the game on Saturday was even better than the home opener because they won,” said Ollerhead.

Gabriel Dumont and Dany Masse scored for the Hamilton Bulldogs and their goalie, Nathan Lawson proved his worth stopping shot after shot.

It was a fast paced, exciting game with the St. John’s team keeping up the pressure from start to finish; the Icecaps outshooting the Hamilton team 34-18.

The Icecaps Jason King, a Newfoundland native, had the crowd on its feet when he scored the final goal of the game with just minutes left on the clock to finish off an exciting night at Mile One.

The Icecaps take on the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at home this Friday and Saturday night. Bridgeport is the New York Islanders farm team.