ST. Joseph Fauria . JOHNS, N.L. -- Josh Morrissey was going to get a goal eventually. He just didnt know it would come in the playoffs. Morrissey scored his first goal as a pro to help the St. Johns IceCaps beat the Norfolk Admirals 2-1 to tie their series at one Wednesday night in American Hockey League playoff action. "Its pretty nice, for sure," Morrissey said. "Ive had some really good chances here in the last couple of games and Im getting a lot more confident. I guess I knew sooner or later it would come (but) its nice to get it tonight." IceCaps head coach Keith McCambridge is happy with the play of the 19-year-old defenceman. "He has earned the trust of the coaching staff and, just as importantly, his teammates," said McCambridge. "Hes a young, top-end prospect. Throughout the playoffs he has been strong for us. He was picked in the first round for a reason. Hes a good player and hes going to continue to get better." Morrissey said that knowing his coach is behind him has helped his confidence. "Its awesome for them to have that confidence in me. The players and coaches have made me feel comfortable since (I have been) here. They have really helped me adapt to the level of play. Its a lot easier to play when youre comfortable." The IceCaps scored both of their goals on the power play, which was an important factor in the win according to McCambridge. "We all know that special teams are a huge piece of being able to win games in the playoffs, so for us to be able to capitalize on those chances was obviously a big part of this game," said McCambridge. "Those power plays, some games they are clicking and other games you have to try and make adjustments." Jason Jaffray also scored for the IceCaps, while Chris Wagner had the lone goal for the Admirals. Morrissey broke the deadlock when he carried the puck over the blue-line and down the left wing before ripping a high wrist shot blocker side 2:48 into the second period on the power play. Jaffray doubled the IceCaps lead when he spun with his back to the net and unloaded a wrist shot into the back of the net on another power play nearly three minutes later. IceCaps goalie Michael Hutchinson saved his team from penalty trouble late in the second. Hutchinson came up big with a glove save on Matt Bailey, who wired a shot while wide open in the slot. Wagner brought the Admirals within one when he banged in a goal on the doorstep on the power play 10:05 into the third period after David Steckel threw the puck into the crease. Hutchinson finished with 32 saves while Admirals goalie John Gibson stopped 39. Montell Owens . Heres how Id fix them. THE PROBLEM: In general, a player becomes eligible for the draft either four years after he begins his university career or the year after he turns 25, whichever comes first. Kevin Ogletree . He also won two tournaments in 2013 and thrilled Canadian fans by reaching the final of the Rogers Cup last summer. He capped his impressive year Thursday by winning the Lionel Conacher Award as the 2013 Canadian Press male athlete of the year.TORONTO -- The Toronto Marlies lost the special-teams battle to the visiting Rochester Americans and that made all the difference. The Marlies surrendered two power-play goals and failed to score on six man-advantage opportunities en route to a 4-1 defeat in American Hockey League action on Saturday. "One of the keys we talked about in the dressing room was the special teams game," said Marlies coach Steve Spott. "They go 2-for-7 and were 0-for-6 and thats the hockey game. "The effort was there but ultimately our challenge is pure finishing around the net. We have to find ways to manufacture offence and it may not be pretty." Rochesters Luke Adam scored his seventh goal in seven games, and extended his goal-scoring streak to four games. Mike Zigomanis, Alexander Sulzer and Phil Varone -- with an empty-netter -- provided the rest of the Americans offence. Adam and Varone chipped in with an assist apiece for two-point games. The contest also marked Zigomanis return to Toronto, where he spent the previous four seasons with the Marlies before signing with Rochester last summer. "Theyve got some veterans over there, theyve got some offensive weapons over there that were good tonight," Spott said. "When you look at Luke Adam and how hes playing right now, hes a natural finisher and hes getting it done." With the victory, their third win in four outings, the Americans improved to 4-2-1 on the season. Matt Hackett was sharp in the Rochester goal, making 29 saves and surviving a penalty shot. The Americans netminder was the beneficiary of solid team defence in front of him, and also got some help from his goalposts. Toronto defenceman John-Michael Liles clanged one midway through the second period and again in the third, and Marlies defender T.J. Brennan hit the post on a penalty shot early in the third period. "Give Hackett some credit," Spott said. "Usually the goalie has to be your best penalty-killer and I thought he was excellent for them tonight." Spencer Abbott had the lone goal for Toronto, hiss first of the season, in front of 4,169 fans at Ricoh Coliseum. Isa Abdul-Quddus. "I tipped one off the crossbar right before (scoring) and I missed an open net earlier, so I was thinking it might be tough to get that first one," said Abbott, who has eight assists in six games. "But it just squirted out and (Kevin) Marshall made a nice play a it was a tap-in." Toronto goalie Garret Sparks, making his second start of the season, had 25 saves in a losing effort. "He battled hard, he competed, I dont fault him on any of the goals," Spott said. "He was solid, he gave us a chance to win." The Marlies have dropped three of their past four games, scoring a total of six goals in that span, to fall to 4-3-0. "We have an elite group of defencemen here, weve got some offensively gifted defencemen, so the message is get pucks to the net and then the forwards have to get around the net," Spott said. "Theres some natural finish that you need to have, but we did a good job. We generated a lot, we had pucks around the net. a But ultimately we have to allow our power play to get us a goal every night because 5-on-5, its a struggle for us to score regularly." Adam opened the scoring on the power play when he whipped a high wrist shot from the right faceoff circle past Sparks glove at 16:09 of the first period, just four seconds after Torontos Tyler Biggs was sent off for holding. Zigomanis, with his third goal of the season, whacked a rebound over Sparks blocker at 7:12 of the second period. Sulzer made it 3-0 for the visitors when Adam fired a cross-ice pass which the Americans defenceman one-timed into the gaping net at 16:58 of the middle frame. After Brennans penalty shot hit iron early in the third period, Abbott deposited a rebound into the open net to put the Marlies on the scoreboard at 10:16 and Varone closed out the scoring with an unassisted empty-netter at 19:45. The Marlies visit the Hamilton Bulldogs on Sunday, while the Americans are off until next Friday when they host the Syracuse Crunch. ' ' '
