Bad blood isn’t exactly an uncommon development when a pair of division rivals play each other twice inside a 24-hour time frame.
With the same four-man officiating crew from Saturday calling the game, this Sunday afternoon tilt featured 27 infractions, 78 penalty minutes and a combined 20 powerplay opportunities. Special teams, then, were the order of the day, and Toronto prevailed in that area to split the weekend series with the visiting Syracuse Crunch.
First Period
The parade to the penalty box began just 63 seconds in after the Marlies were called for a too-many-men infraction. Toronto’s first penalty kill was excellent, setting the tone in that department.
There wasn’t much in the way of goal-scoring opportunities until Syracuse was called for three penalties in the space of 2:20. The first chance went to the Crunch shorthanded after Kerby Rychel turned the puck over to Cory Conacher, who raced away alone on goal and fired wide of the target.
At the other end, a one-timer from Byron Froese struck the crossbar before Froese opened the scoring during a two-man advantage for the Marlies seconds after the post was struck a second time by Dmytro Timashov. Rychel and Seth Griffith settled the puck down amid a scramble before setting up Froese for his 18th goal of the season.
Both teams failed to generate much back at even strength, although one nice individual effort almost doubled Toronto’s lead — Frederik Gauthier split the Crunch defence with a burst of speed down the middle of the ice but failed to hit the target on his attempt to pick the corner.
Two penalties seconds apart on the same play led to a full two-minute 5-on-3 powerplay for the Marlies with six minutes to go in the period. While Adam Wilcox was called on to make one outstanding save on Timashov’s backdoor effort, Toronto failed to seize the chance to build on their lead.
Another powerplay went begging for the Marlies late in the first frame before Toronto found themselves on the kill for the final 18 seconds of the period.
Second Period
The middle frame featured the fewest penalties of the three periods and yet the Marlies spent over eight minutes of it shorthanded.
After killing the infraction that carried over from the opening period, Toronto went back on the PK with Viktor Loov called for boarding. Garret Sparks was called into action just once occasion to ensure the lead stayed intact.
Justin Holl and William Wrenn were the next to head to the box as Toronto took four penalties in a 12-minute span. In-between times, the Marlies were the better team at evens and created some openings offensively.
Eric Faille shot over the net from the bottom of the right circle after Rychel’s endeavour forced a turnover. Faille led an odd-man rush next, but Wilcox made the save and corralled the rebound. Rychel and Rich Clune then harried the Syracuse defence, creating an opening from nothing, but Gauthier failed to hit the target once more from the slot.
The final eight minutes of middle frame belonged to the Marlies, who eventually were rewarded with 37 seconds left in the period.
A 3-on-2 break resulted in a cross-ice feed to Andrew Campbell in the right circle, but the captain’s booming slapshot smashed off the crossbar and into the netting. On the ensuing faceoff, Trevor Moore and Froese were both denied from the blue paint during a scramble in front of Wilcox.
After a spell of offensive zone time in which Toronto showed a lot of patience with the puck, a well-earned second goal came with less than a minute remaining. Campbell attempted a curl-and-drag and lost control, but it worked out when the puck slid across to Froese, who wasted no time putting his shot past the glove of Wilcox with a Syracuse defenseman providing the screen.
The Marlies’ momentum ended when Colin Smith chipped the puck out of play in his own zone with 20 seconds left to play in the middle frame. Sparks was called on to deny Matt Taormina and Conacher before the buzzer sounded.
Third Period
Toronto’s penalty killed remained defiant in the third period before Gauthier nearly extended the Marlies’ lead. Engineering his own breakaway, The Goat finally hit the target but Wilcox was equal to his effort.
The parade to the penalty box resumed again with four players hauled off over the course of just two and a half minutes. On their fifth two-man advantage of the game, Toronto finally made Syracuse pay. Rychel’s fantastic redirect on a shot by Travis Dermott put the Marlies firmly in control at 3-0.
The game boiled over shortly afterward as Syracuse’s frustrations came to a head. After an effort from Mike Halmo was well held by Sparks, all hell broke loose; Dermott was targeted while trying to protect his goaltender from onrushing forwards. Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, Halmo and Rychel were all handed ten-minute misconducts and Toronto ended up with yet another powerplay out of the deal.
Griffith hit the crossbar before another rash of penalties ensued, cutting the Marlies’ man advantage short and eventually leaving Toronto down two men.
Syracuse got themselves on the board on their first 5-on-3 of the game. Sparks made a right pad save to keep Conacher’s shot out but could do nothing to prevent Tanner Richard from depositing the rebound.
Syracuse struck for a second time just 102 seconds later with Wilcox pulled while on another powerplay. After Sparks couldn’t get himself back in position fully following a save on Conacher, Adam Comrie let fly from the left wall and the puck hit the post before rebounding into the net off of the back of Sparks.
The final five minutes were frantic, with no whistle coming until 30 seconds were left on the game clock. Sparks made up for his earlier error with a couple of solid saves, while the team in front of him stood firm and nullified a late push from the visitors. Froese almost found the empty net inside the final minute to complete his hat-trick, but the important part was that the Marlies clung on to an important two points.
Post Game Notes
– The win, Toronto’s sixth in their last eight, takes the Marlies back to .500 and reclaims fourth spot in the North Division.
– Toronto went 2 for 11 on the powerplay while the penalty killed prevailed on eight of the nine occasions it went to work.
– Byron Froese helped himself to three points for the third time this season. He now has 19 goals, surpassing his career-best set in 2014-15.
– A pair of points in this game for Kerby Rychel, who was one of Toronto’s most effective players at even strength, breaks a four-game pointless streak that belied the quality of his play in those games.
– Despite being snakebitten in front of goal, Seth Griffith extended his streak of scoring at least a point in every game as a Marlie to six with an assist.
– Andrew D’Agostini (Brampton Beast) was signed to a PTO to back up Garret Sparks. Antoine Bibeau was battling an illness.
Game Highlights
Post-Game: Sheldon Keefe
Game Sheet – Toronto 3 vs. Syracuse 2
| Skater | G | A | PIM | Shots | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell, Andrew | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Holl, Justin | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Loov, Viktor | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | -1 |
| Nielsen, Andrew | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Wrenn, William | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Dermott, Travis | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| Smith, Colin | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Froese, Byron | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Johnsson, Andreas | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Clune, Richard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| Faille, Eric | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Gauthier, Frederik | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Rychel, Kerby | 1 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| Greening, Colin | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -1 |
| Griffith, Seth | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Timashov, Dmytro | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Cameranesi, Tony | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -1 |
| Moore, Trevor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
