Gritty Growlers clinch berth in conference finals

Newfoundland ECHL team defeats Reading Royals in seven games

Defending might be the hardest thing to do in sports.

It takes consistent discipline to follow the plan laid out by coaches and the effort necessary to execute that plan at every opportunity.

Heading into their Game 7 matchup with the Reading Royals Monday night, May 16, the Newfoundland Growlers had stuck to their defensive plan to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the ECHL North Division finals.

They needed another standout defensive effort to seal the series comeback and that is exactly what they got.

The Royals mustered just 16 shots, only six in the third, and the Growlers won 4-2 in Game 7 to book their tickets to the ECHL Eastern Conference finals.

“It was a Game 7 game,” Growlers head coach Eric Wellwood told the team’s play-by-play man Chris Ballard. “We played very, very good defensively and we stuck to our game plan.”

It will be the team’s second trip to the ECHL’S Eastern Conference Finals, with the first coming in the 2019 when the Growlers on the Kelly Cup.

Newfoundland won the final three games of the Reading series, and much of that can be attributed to their ability to turn the corner defensively.

In the first four games of the series, Reading generated scoring chances and the results showed as they jumped out to a 3-1 series lead.

The Growlers made the necessary adjustments that coupled with some fine goaltending from starter Keith Petruzelli, and started winning games with defence.

“We really had to change our focus and our game style,” said Wellwood. “The boys did a fantastic job picking that up very, very quickly.

“It was really, really good defensively and that’s what we needed to do in order to win.”

Of course, the other side of the coin is offence, and the Growlers made sure they capitalized on their chances heading into and including Game 7. Over the last three games of the series, Newfoundland outscored the Royals 13-5.

In the deciding game, Newfoundland got goals from Noel Hoefenmayer, Derian Plouffe, Isaac Johnson and Ben Finkelstein.

Tyler Boland picked up an assist to move into a tie with Finkelstein for the playoff scoring lead with 20 points. Orrin Centazzo also had a pair of assists in Game 7.

“The character on this team is so high. The boys want to win so bad, and their will and determination is second to none,” said Wellwood.

In his series-ending news conference, the Growlers coach made sure to credit the Royals for a well-played series.

He said at the start of the series it was likely going to be a seven-game series, and that is exactly what happened.

“It should have went seven like it did,” said Wellwood. “It is a great learning experience for our team. I think it could have went either way. We could easily be sitting here with us talking about how good our season was, but we’re just the lucky ones who get to move on.”

Now, the Growlers will turn their attention to the Eastern Conference finals against the Florida Everblades.

The winners of the ECHL’S South Division finals, the Everblades swept the Jacksonville Icemen 4-0 in book their spot in the conference finals. In 10 playoff games this postseason, Florida is 8-2.

“Unfortunately, we never got to play Florida once this season, so it’s going to be new to myself and a lot of our guys,” said Wellwood.

The Eastern Conference finals start at the Mary Brown’s Centre in St. John’s on Friday, May 20. Puck drop for Game 1 is 7 p.m.