Back on November 28, the St. John’s IceCaps handed the Toronto Marlies a 6-2 beating at the ACC.
That defeat remains the heaviest of the season so far. In addition, Toronto had yet to win against St. John’s in regulation this season.
The Boxing Day Classic at the ACC always brings in a good crowd and the majority of the 13,155 in attendance were hoping that Toronto could reverse the tide in the season series.
The opening period was typical of two teams playing after a long break.
It started well with a very good first shift from the Marlies, as the opening lineup of Clune-Carrick-Soshnikov, combined with Campbell and Valiev, pinned back the IceCaps.
That was an the exception rather than the rule moving forward as Toronto failed to generate much offensively despite nine shots on net.
A collision between Sam Carrick and Tim Bozon at centre ice angered Stefan Fournier, who saw fit to drop the gloves with the Toronto forward. That would create a Toronto powerplay as Fournier was rightly given an instigator penalty, but the visitors held firm despite a couple of efforts by Mark Arcobello and T.J Brennan.
The IceCaps were held scoreless on their only powerplay of the period, with the Marlies coming close to scoring shorthanded; Fucale denied Valiev after a feed from Findlay.
St. John’s best chances of the opening frame came as a result of sloppy play from the home team, who were guilty of far too many turnovers in the period.
The middle frame began with a huge hit from Rinat Valiev on Mark MacMillan down by the right boards just inside the IceCaps zone, as Toronto set about getting some energy into their game after a lethargic opening.
That momentum looked to be halted by Sam Carrick taking a penalty, but once again Toronto’s aggressive PK almost tallied. Brennan sent a long outlet pass to Hyman but the rookie fired high and wide.
Antoine Bibeau was then called on to make a smart right pad stop on Hudon as the penalty expired, showing excellent movement across the crease.
With not much between these two teams, it looked like special teams might prove the difference.
The Marlies opened the scoring just as their second powerplay of the game expired with the IceCaps player unable to get back into the play. Frattin put the puck on the tape of Leipsic’s stick as the left winger surged down the ice with speed. He took his shot early from the top of the left circle, sniping top shelf by Fucale while using Josiah Didier as a screen.
The opening goal took until just before the midway mark of the game to arrive, but afterward the Marlies needed just five minutes to double their lead.
Fucale had robbed Findlay on a great chance immediately following the first goal, but the 20-year-old rookie was left helpless on this occasion. Valiev waited for the perfect moment to find Andrew Campbell in the left circle, and Campbell wasted no time in finding Richard Panik who applied the finishing touch.
Discount the IceCaps only at your own peril — the visitors punished the home team early in the third period.
The misgivings of the opening frame came back to haunt Toronto as they were finally made to pay for a cheap giveaway. Bud Holloway was the beneficiary and he set up Lucas Lessio to score his first goal wearing IceCaps colours in just his second game with the organization.
The two teams exchanged a pair of gilt-edge chances before sharing a goal each in the space of 18 seconds.
Firstly, Scott Harrington’s shot from the left side — way back on the blue line — found its way through a ton of traffic in front of Fucale.
Toronto eased up in their own zone following the restart, allowing St. John’s possession they should never have had, and Darren Dietz sniped past Bibeau, who may well want that one back.
The IceCaps had scored twice on five shots and the game was now in the balance, with the Marlies holding a precarious 3-2 lead with eleven minutes remaining.
Determined to finally put one over their rivals, the Marlies only allowed another three shots against the rest of the way.
Sam Carrick’s goal with just under six minutes to play eased the stress levels. The IceCaps failed to deal with a dump-in from Viktor Loov and Carrick was allowed to pick up the loose puck, driving the net before shifting the puck to his backhand and beating Fucale with a low shot.
A powerplay inside the last five minutes was St. John’s last real opportunity for a comeback, but they failed to threaten. After pulling Fucale for an extra attacker, it looked a matter of time before Toronto sealed the win with an empty net effort. That proved the case as Rich Clune broke down the left and showed some selflessness by playing the puck across to Nikita Soshnikov, who had the simpler task of sending the biscuit into the yawning cage for a 5-2 victory.
Post Game Notes
– The Marlies’ December record is now 9-0-1.
– As I alluded to earlier, this is the Toronto Marlies first win in regulation against the IceCaps this season.
– Toronto become the first team in the AHL to hit the 50-point mark.
– Richard Panik broke a five-game slump without a goal with his eighth of the season.
– Brendan Leipsic tallied his seventh goal of the season, and for the first time this year has scored in consecutive games.
– Scott Harrington’s goal was his first as a member of the Toronto Marlies.
– Back down from the Leafs, Rich Clune registered two assists and is now riding a four-game point streak.
– Antoine Bibeau’s statistics this season don’t make great reading. Condense December’s stats, however, and you can argue that the rookie goaltender — who impressed last year –might just be finding his game once more. With four victories, a 2.43GAA and a save percentage of 0.920, Bibeau strikes me as a guy who needs to play regularly. Maybe the to and fro with the Leafs does him no favours.
Game Highlights
Marlies Player Stats — Toronto 5 vs. St. John’s 2
| Position | G | A | p/m | Shots | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell, Andrew | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Brennan, T.J. | 0 | 1 | -1 | 2 | 0 |
| Harrington, Scott | 1 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 2 |
| Hyman, Zach | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Rodewald, Jack | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Leivo, Josh | 0 | 0 | -1 | 5 | 0 |
| Carrick, Sam | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| Clune, Richard | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Panik, Richard | 1 | 0 | -1 | 3 | 2 |
| Leipsic, Brendan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Rupert, Ryan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Arcobello, Mark | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Findlay, Brett | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Frattin, Matt | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Holl, Justin | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Loov, Viktor | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Valiev, Rinat | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Soshnikov, Nikita | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
