Growlers had a successful trip down south

The Newfoundland Growlers put Florida in their rearview mirror Saturday night and are leaving the Sunshine State with a pair of wins.

The Growlers (43-19-2) now have 88 points after taking two-of-three games against the Florida Everblades in a rematch of last year’s ECHL Eastern Conference Final.

In the series finale Saturday night, Newfoundland goaltender Dryden Mckay stopped 41 of the 43 shots he faced in a 3-2 Growlers win.

He was particularly sharp in the closing seconds of the game as Florida swarmed the Newfoundland goal looking for the equalizer.

Meanwhile, Brett Budgell, Michael Joyaux and Jonny Tychonick provided the scoring for the Growlers. For Tychonick, a recent NCAA signee by the Toronto Marlies, it was his first goal as a professional hockey player.

That wasn’t the only piece of history set in Saturday’s game. Growlers leading scorer Zach O’brien had a pair of assists and set the Growlers’ single season record for points with his 79th of the campaign.

With eight more games remaining before the playoffs, it is safe to assume that number will be higher by the time the regular season ends.

A day earlier on March 24, Mckay was again solid for his club as he stopped all 37 shots from the Everblades he faced to help the Growlers win 3-0.

Isaac Johnson (2) and Taylor Egan provided the scoring for Newfoundland.

In the first game of the series, Florida doubled the Growlers 4-2.

The Growlers now leave the sunshine of Florida and head north for Norfolk, Virginia.

There, they’ll tangle with the Admirals for three games before returning to the Mary Brown’s Centre in St. John’s.

It will be the first meeting between the two teams since the Growlers previously swept a three-game series with Norfolk in November.

The series is scheduled to start March 30 and conclude April 1.