The Toronto Marlies ended their season just as it begun — with a victory.
Both goalies were kept busy in a meaningless game featuring plenty of scoring chances but little in the way of sound defensive play.
Once again the Marlies were fast out the blocks, striking 102 seconds into the game.
Chase Witala eased the puck to Jordan Hickmott down the right side, where the left winger shot on net with not much else on offer. Linus Ullmark made a mess of the save, coughing up a rebound that Eric Faille banged home after several whacks at it.
A Marlies powerplay proved fruitless, but some of their young players, given the opportunity of some playing time to end the year, were beginning to shine.
Mason Marchment used his size and strength to force his way out front before attempting a short-side, top-shelf effort that Ullmark had to be alert on to turn aside.
Rochester were no sideshow act in a remarkable 33-shot first period that saw them edge Toronto 18-15. A 2-on-2 break for the Amerks produced a chance for Tim Schaller, but Garret Sparks was equal to the attempt.
Both teams were exchanging rushes at this point, with each goalie sharp to the task. Tobias Lindberg combined with Tony Cameranesi, who watched his backhand shot whistle just wide. A giveaway from Toronto at the other end allowed Cole Schneider to cut across the crease, but Sparks made the double save to rob him of a tying goal.
Seconds later, Alex Guptill was denied by a fine stop by Sparks before the puck ran loose and fell kindly for Evan Rodrigues, who contrived to flip the puck high over the vacant cage.
On Toronto’s next rush, the unlikely John Kurtz went streaking away on net but Ullmark stood tall to turn the tough guy aside. Kurtz and Cameranesi teed up David Kolomatis after the defenseman had stepped into the play, but credit Ullmark for staying with the effort as the game became a shooting gallery at this point.
Ullmark’s best save of the period came late on as he turned aside Taylor Doherty’s booming shot with his right toe and then stole a first professional goal from Marchment, who looked odds-on to add to the lead.
If 33 shots wasn’t enough in the first period, the second produced 34. Sparks put his team in trouble inside the opening two minutes with a poor pass along the boards, but he responded by making another fine save, this time on Chad Ruhwedel.
Toronto killed their first penalty of the game and responded with a spell of sustained pressure in Rochester’s zone, but no second Marllie goal was forthcoming.
A turnover from Doherty allowed Eric Cornel to feed Schaller, but Sparks remained perfect to keep the 1-0 lead intact.
Kurtz was certainly enjoying some time alongside rookies T.J Foster and Cameranesi in this game as his linemates sent him on his second breakaway of the day. During the MarliesTV 20 questions this season, Kurtz said he would rather score “five hole” than bard down if given the chance. He tried to on this occasion, but Ullmark denied the attempt.
In a game of several “firsts,” Tyler Wong nearly joined the party by opening his scoring account. Cory Conacher’s quick thinking teed up Wong from the slot, but his one-time shot was met by yet another great save from Ullmark.
It looked like a scoreless second period was in the works but the breakthrough finally came with three minutes remaining. Seconds after being denied his first professional goal, Jordan Hickmott made a second chance count on a delightful set up from Eric Faille.
Toronto could easily have made it three just a minute later as Foster played provider and Ullmark stonewalled Kurtz yet again. Rochester’s goaltender was so frustrated by the lack of support in front of him that he came rushing out of his net and batted the puck down the other end of the ice baseball-style.
It really should have been an unsportsmanlike penalty, not a firm talking to, before Toronto paid the price for a hooking penalty. Ruhwedel fired the puck across the crease, where Schneider was on hand to tip home his 21st goal of the season to halve the deficit with 20 seconds to play.
The final frame brought a bit of normality back into proceedings, with the teams firing eleven shots apiece, perhaps because both teams were exhausted after the first 40 minutes.
The Marlies had consecutive powerplays to begin the period, scoring on neither but almost giving up a shorthanded marker on the second. Joey Mormina saw his effort turned aside by Sparks, but the goaltender found himself out of position for the second effort. The rebound fell kindly for Justin Bailey, but Stuart Percy made the save with his body having taken a stance on the goal line.
19 seconds after the second powerplay elapsed, the Marlies put themselves up 3-1. A huge rebound off Sparks’ brand new pads ended up on Witala’s stick along the far boards. Witala chipped the puck up the left wall for the speedy Cameranesi, who immediately headed toward the Rochester net. Driving across the crease, the Minnesota native was able to squeeze the puck by Ullmark and inside the right post.
Conacher fired four shots on net in this game and came within millimetres of scoring with one attempt (not registered as a SOG) that rattled off the post at the seven-minute mark. Sixty seconds later, Foster narrowly missed finding the net as Toronto came close to further extending their lead.
A late push from a plucky Rochester team almost saw them create a grandstand finish. The visitors thought they had pulled within one with seven and a half minutes remaining only for Sparks to produce his best save of the game. Cal O’Reilly’s perfect pass found Schneider, who surely had Toronto’s netminder beaten backdoor. Somehow Sparks scrambled and reached back behind himself to make the save.
It was a shame, then, that an average piece of work from Sparks allowed the Amerks to pull within one inside the last three minutes. Jean Dupuy worked a give-and-go with Nick Baptiste before chipping home past Sparks, with the goaltender never fully committing to the play coming out of his net.
It mattered little to the result as Toronto never looked like giving up a tying goal. An unselfish play from Wong allowed Eric Faille to fire into Rochester’s vacant cage to seal the 54th and final victory of the Malries’ 2015-16 regular season.
The real test begins next weekend.
Post Game Notes
– This was the Marlies 27th win at home, equalling their impressive road record.
– Toronto finish tied for the third-best record in AHL history with a 54-16-5-1 season, earning the team 114 points and a .750 point percentage for the year.
– The Marlies finished the season with a winning record in every month, including a 11-1-1-0 record in the month of January.
– Toronto finished the season with a league-best goal differential of +103.
– The Marlies ended the season 21-2-1-0 when leading after one period and 39-1-2-0 when leading after two.
– Toronto dominated Rochester during the season series with a 7-1-0-0 record.
– Eric Faille scored his sixth and seventh goals of the season and added an assist for a three-point game, which is an AHL high for him. Faille has ten points through 15 regular season games for Toronto.
– Jordan Hickmott recorded his first professional point, with an assist on the opening tally before scoring his first goal.
– Chase Witala collected two assists, including one on the game-winning goal, recording his first points as a professional.
– Tyler Wong assisted on Eric Faille’s empty net effort to earn his first AHL point. Wong has a wicked-looking shot, and has been unfortunate not to register a goal in his short time with the team.
– Garret Sparks turned aside 45 shots to earn his 14th victory of the season. It was his first game for the Marlies since the end of March.
– Kasperi Kapanen blocked a shot late in the second frame and didn’t return for the rest of the game.
– We’ll have a full preview for the Bridgeport vs. Marlies round one series for you later this week. The two teams, despite playing in the same conference, did not meet even once this season. In the meantime, here’s the first-round schedule:
#Marlies face @TheSoundTigers in Round 1 of the #CalderCup playoffs.
SCHEDULE: https://t.co/xCbJmZ9mQs#MarliesLive pic.twitter.com/HZjC4p8tNs— Toronto Marlies (@TorontoMarlies) April 18, 2016
