Captain Campbell hoists Marlies over Crunch
This game review should be waxing lyrical about the goaltending performance of Rob Madore and Andrew Campbell’s remarkable scoring record, but instead the focus will be on the events before and after the game.
During the warm-up, the visiting Syracuse Crunch came together with the Toronto Marlies at the red line on two occasions and things became quite heated, although no punches were thrown.
The game, up until late in the second period, showed no signs of the animosity that nearly bubbled over pre-puck drop, but after various altercations, including a fight between Sam Carrick and Anthony DeAngelo, the final buzzer saw both benches clear.
The tipping point: Syracuse failed to clear out of the Toronto zone as the buzzer sounded, and as the Marlies players went to congratulate Rob Madore, Tanner Richard took a totally unnecessary cheap shot at Rich Clune from behind. The Syracuse centreman must have known the consequences of his actions would be severe, and Clune responded by unleashing a series of rapid-fire punches. If the idea was to get Clune suspended, the plan was well executed, as he was given five for fighting and two game misconduct penalties, something the AHL disciplinary panel will doubtlessly take a hard line on.
Rich Clune should probably have shown more restraint, but it leaves a bad taste in the mouth when Tanner failed to be penalized for his actions.
Perhaps the league should take into account that, once more, they allowed a game to take place with only three officials assigned — a situation that failed to help the entirety of the game during the sixty minutes, let alone the events after play had finished. Let’s not forget what happened to Kasperi Kapanen earlier this season with just a three-man crew present.
In between the fighting a hockey game broke out, and it was an entertaining encounter between two teams desperate for points for different reasons.
By winning three of their last four game, the Crunch had hoisted themselves to a record over .500 and ninth in the Eastern Conference.
The visiting side was thankful to goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis for denying Clune from the high slot just thirty seconds in. Leipsic was taken out by a linesman but threw himself forward to tip the puck to Carrick, who wasted little time in finding Clune on his left.
Syracuse responded with a rush from Yanni Gourde, but the left winger lost control of the puck at the last second.
It’d be the visitors who opened the scoring three minutes in. McGinn’s pinpoint pass found Peca, who had the step on Loov and showed great speed down the left and then sharp vision to pick out Jeff Tambellini on the right wing. With his stick cocked and locked waiting for the feed, Tambellini smashed his effort past Madore in the blink of an eye.
Nikita Soshnikov almost tied the game up right away, while Mike Blunden tried to extend the advantage for Syracuse with a wraparound attempt.
T.J Brennan was the next to try his luck on a one-time effort, but Gudlevskis did well to get enough of his body behind the shot to deny the defenseman.
The first and only real indication of any bad blood between the sides during the opening frame came after Brendan Leipsic was hooked, drawing a penalty. Slow to get up, when Leipsic finally got to his haunches Syracuse defenseman Jake Dotchin gave him a little shot, drawing the attention of Carrick, who squared up to him.
Toronto failed to set up on the powerplay and chances were at a premium until the final three minutes when Madore was called upon to make a scrambling save.
Just 13 seconds into the second period, Toronto drew level. Leipsic was nailed along the back boards, but Frattin was able to separate the puck from his Syracuse opponent, sending it back to Leipsic. From behind the net the left winger picked out Carrick, who sniped home in a flash.
Syracuse felt they should have retaken the lead within seconds, but on an outnumbered rush Mike Angelidis whiffed on a one-time attempt, allowing Madore to smother the puck.
Zach Hyman released a wicked shot that produced a huge looping rebound, while Ryan Rupert was presented with a chance from the high slot on a broken play but saw his effort bravely blocked.
Toronto’s pressure resulted in a powerplay, but Syracuse was too aggressive and too good for the home team to handle, as they managed just a single shot on net.
Madore kept the game tied with a pair of flashy glove saves, but his work was undone with 6:35 to play in the middle frame. From behind their own net, Toronto decided throwing the puck up the middle of the ice was a good idea. Dotchin did well to keep the puck inside the blueline and shifted the puck to Tye McGinn in a ton of space. The Ontario native wasted little time in roofing the puck over the shoulder of Madore in a great finish to put his team up 2-1.
The home team were in no mood to be trailing after two periods and moved quickly to tie things up just a minute after Syracuse’s go-ahead goal.
Josh Leivo did well to hold onto the puck down low on the left wing, before performing a fantastic spin play around his man and then finding Hyman. The rookie would have been disappointed not to score with his shot, but the rebound fell to the right circle and in walked Justin Holl to slam the puck by Gudlevskis.
The Syracuse goaltender had no chance on that rocket of a shot, but he produced a top-notch save to ensure his team was level after forty minutes. Leipsic found Frattin down low to the left of the goal, and his wonderful reverse pass across the crease found Carrick, who was robbed by Gudlevskis.
In the early goings of the third period, a curious no-call from the officials nearly worked out alright for the Marlies. It looked for all the world as though Holl was being held, but play was allowed to continue. On a rush, the aforementioned defenseman combined with Hyman but the rookie once more was denied.
Twenty seconds later it was the same story for Hyman, as yet again Gudlevskis turned his shot aside, but similar to the second goal the puck rebounded a fair way out. Stepping onto it was Andrew Campbell to rifle home from the top of the left circle.
Toronto had a power lay opportunity a minute after taking their first lead of the game, but their play with the man advantage lacked conviction. Besides a long-range effort from Leivo and a bank-in attempt from Frattin, Syracuse killed the penalty with ease.
The first powerplay for the road team resulted in the first fight of the game, a far longer wait than most watching this game expected. Madore was absolutely buried after making a strong save in the crease, prompting Carrick to take a shot at Matthew Peca. In came Anthony DeAngelo to protect his teammate — a bad move by the rookie as Carrick promptly filled him in, with the fight ending as quickly as it began.
Syracuse was quickly handed a second powerplay on what was another dubious call. Leipsic tried to score with a backhand attempt upon driving to the net and wound up in the cage on top of Gudlevskis thanks to the assistance of Matt Taormina, but the Toronto forward was called for goaltender interference regardless.
The always-impressive Nikita Soshnikov almost scored shorthanded after a between-the-legs move saw him beat two Syracuse players on his way to the net, but his backhand effort was turned aside.
A powerplay for Toronto with 3:30 to play almost saw them cough up the lead, as they didn’t seem to know whether to stick or twist with the extra man.
Jeff Tambellini was sent off on a breakaway after a cheap turnover in the Syracuse zone, but Madore was there to deny him with another flash of the glove, something Marlies fans are becoming accustomed to seeing from the Pittsburgh native.
The drama wasn’t over with yet with 73 seconds remaining, as Hyman was called for holding and Syracuse immediately pulled their goaltender. It was another bizarre call, as Taormina actually had a hold of Hyman’s stick.
Either way it was cometh the hour, cometh the man as Madore stood up to be counted.
Moving right to left, Madore first denied Richard with a swift pad save before swallowing up a big shot from Tambellini, not allowing a second chance for Syracuse on the play.
The home crowd sensed their team were in trouble and roared in delight when two Marlies players dove to make sure the puck skipped outside the blueline with ten seconds left on the clock.
Madore was called on to make one final save in the last second to secure the win before the carnage broke out after the final buzzer.
Post Game Notes
– Rob Madore might well be the third-string goalie for the Marlies, but he’s only given up five goals in his three games, all of which have resulted in victories.
– Zach Hyman has been progressing well through the season and is now producing the points to go along with his performances. A pair of assists takes his tally to 19 points in 33 games.
– Sam Carrick went pointless in his last outing, breaking a six-game streak, but he scored once yesterday and could have had at least one or two more. He’s stepped into the breach offensively with the Marlies stripped of some of their better talent.
– Andrew Campbell scored his eighth goal of the season, and his third game winner. It was a timely return to scoring after going seven games without a tally. Campbell is just six points shy of equalling his best of points haul in a single season (19).
– Fireworks could be in store as these two teams will face one another Sunday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum with a 3 p.m. puck drop.
Game Highlights
Marlies Player Stats — Toronto 3 vs. Syracuse 2
| Position | G | A | +/- | Shots | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell, Andrew | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Brennan, T.J. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Harrington, Scott | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Hyman, Zach | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Leivo, Josh | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Carrick, Sam | 1 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 5 |
| Clune, Richard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| Panik, Richard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Leipsic, Brendan | 0 | 1 | -1 | 2 | 2 |
| Rupert, Ryan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Gauthier, Frederik | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Findlay, Brett | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Bailey, Casey | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Frattin, Matt | 0 | 1 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| Holl, Justin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Loov, Viktor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Valiev, Rinat | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Soshnikov, Nikita | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
