Growlers wrap up extended break with three-game series in Maine
After an extended break, the Newfoundland Growlers will hit the ice for the stretch run before the ECHL playoffs.
The Growlers (26-24-8) are headed on the road for a sixgame road trip that starts in Maine (26-26-7-0) on Friday with a three-game set against the Mariners.
They wrap it up with three against the Worcester Railers before returning home ahead of a series with the Troisrivieres Lions that starts on April 5.
Before that, Newfoundland last played 10 days ago on March 11 when they wrapped up a series with the Idaho Steelheads.
Despite that break, the Growlers maintained their playoff position as the thirdplace team in the ECHL’S North Division with 62 points as they start their march toward the playoffs.
They start that march with a familiar foe. In six previous meetings this season, Newfoundland holds a 4-2-0 advantage over Maine.
However, over the last 10 days, the Mariners have pulled themselves into fourth place in the North and the final playoff spot in the division with 59 points. They are 6-3-1-0 in their last 10 games and trail the Growlers by just three points.
Newfoundland enters the series with some new faces in the lineup. Earlier this week, the team signed a pair of collegiate players to contracts
First was 24-year-old Mathieu Gosselin from Clarkson University. This season, the Quebec City native led Clarkson in scoring with 11 goals and 28 points.
In his five-year career, Clarkson had 117 points (44 goals, 73 assists) in 160 games.
Then the Growlers signed defenceman Brandon Tabakin from Arizona State University. The 23-year-old spent this season with the Sun Devils and registered two goals and 10 points in 36 games.
Previously, Tabakin played three years with the Yale University Bulldogs.
Gosselin, Tabakin and the Growlers start a crucial series with the Mariners on Friday, March 22. Game time is scheduled for 8:45 p.m. NL time.