Game Review: Toronto Marlies 4 vs. Manitoba Moose 1

Three-goal blast sees Marlies tame Moose

Despite being out-shot 2:1 by the visiting Marlies, the Manitoba Moose entered the third period tied at 1-1 thanks to the performance of Eric Comrie between the pipes.

His 29 saves to that point had frustrated Toronto, who were controlling the vast majority of the play during even strength.

The final frame began in the same vein as Brendan Leipsic set about the Manitoba defense. A spinorama effort would be denied, but he failed to give up on the play and almost teed up Brett Findlay after beating two defensemen. The third man on that line, Jeremy Morin, was then the beneficiary of a giveaway, but Comrie was equal to the effort.

After surviving the barrage, Darren Kramer broke in behind the Marlies defense and Stuart Percy had to slash the left winger to stop him from getting a shot off. Toronto killed the penalty despite Andrew Campbell and Zach Hyman losing their sticks on different occasions.

A scramble in front of the Marlies net was survived by the visitors, and in clearing the danger, Matt Frattin drew a penalty that proved to be a turning point.

Controlling the puck from the faceoff, Toronto scored just eleven seconds into the powerplay, as a blast from the point by Josh Leivo beat Comrie all ends up.

Back on the powerplay almost immediately following the go-ahead tally, Toronto extended their advantage with a beautifully-worked goal. Leivo slid the puck to Brennan on the right goal line, who immediately found Findlay in the slot with a one-time pass. It would have been easy for Findlay to shoot, but he settled the puck in an instant and shifted it left to Morin, who sniped it home from his off-wing.

Toronto made it three goals in under five minutes back at even strength. James Martin guided the puck into the path of Nikita Soshnikov, who had jumped off the bench a second earlier. The Russian wasted no time marauding his way down the left wing, and with no pressure on him fired home from the left faceoff dot.

Up by three goals with ten minutes to play, Ray Emery wasn’t overly tested by the home team for the remainder of the game. He was called upon to make one big save from Nic Petan after the Manitoba forward found himself with space in front, but that’s as close as the Moose would come to putting a dent in the final scoreline.

A 4-1 victory was nothing more than Toronto deserved after a dominating performance. They may have been slow out of the blocks on Friday night, but they made sure that wasn’t the case in this one.

A Zach Hyman shot at the three-minute mark from the right dot produced a rebound for Casey Bailey in the slot, but Eric Comrie denied him with a fine stop. The Marlies could smell blood and poured on the pressure, forcing Comrie into a string of good saves to keep the game scoreless.

With just three officials in charge, the game came to an abrupt halt when linesman Justin Verhaeghe had to leave the game hurt. Play restarted with just two officials, and a call was obviously made by those in command, as we were back to a three-man crew in the second period after a different official rushed to the MTS Centre.

Toronto’s penalty kill was called into action with Frederick Gauthier called for hooking seconds after the officials failed to penalize the home team for hauling down Nikita Soshnikov. Ray Emery was required to make the one save, holding onto a blast from the point by Brenden Kichton.

Leivo was the next to be turned aside by Comrie, who was excellent on a following man advantage for Toronto, even allowing for a little puck luck that he certainly earned.

Kramer exited the penalty box later in the first period and made a bee-line for Rich Clune — the two had clashed leading up to the previous power play. Clune jumped on the Manitoba man, and to be fair to Kramer, he gave everything he had in what was probably a draw in the fighting stakes.

A huge hit by Josh Morrissey on Zach Hyman was the last notable event of the opening 20, as the two teams’ dislike for one another ramped up another level.

The opening goal came just a minute into the middle frame. More Toronto pressure led to Manitoba icing the puck. The Marlies won the resulting faceoff and a shot from Morin bounced off a defenseman in front, allowing Brennan to tuck home the rebound from the high slot.

Unable to double the lead on a following powerplay despite efforts from Percy and Campbell, Manitoba pushed back after the kill.

The Moose orchestrated a 2-on-1 break but were unable to beat Emery, with the goaltender making not one but two toe saves to deny Petan and Kichton.

The play immediately headed back the other way, with Leivo combining with Findlay, but the latter saw his effort well stopped. Leivo followed the play up, and although he had Comrie beaten he saw his rebound effort ring off the post.

Comrie continued to frustrate Toronto as the Marlies fired 17 shots during the middle frame. Gauthier showing some playmaking ability with a no-look reverse pass to find Frattin in the slot, but once again the Manitoba goaltender was there to keep his team in the game.

The Moose responded to the efforts of Comrie by tying the game up on the powerplay. It was a debatable high-sticking call, although the home team made the most of their good fortune by taking advantage in just 35 seconds.

A rocket of a shot from JC Lipon on a feed from Morrissey tied the game and brought about the game’s best spell of pressure from Manitoba. Austen Brassard saw his wraparound attempt smothered by Emery. The goaltender then bailed out his captain after a turnover, and denied Ryan Olsen after the Moose forward had been sent in all alone with a minute to play in the second period.

The three-goal barrage in the third period was just desserts for a Marlies team that continues to win despite many high-profile absentees.

Post Game Notes

– The Toronto Marlies outshot Manitoba 45-22 and recorded a fifth straight victory.

– T.J Brennan recorded his 20th assist of the season and is now tied for the Marlies lead in points.

– Jeremy Morin showed off his shot while scoring his first goal for the Marlies on a quick one-time release. A two-point game for the new Marlie, and three points through two games with his new team.

– Brett Findlay is certainly taking advantage of the opportunities afford to him by injuries. This was his first two-point game for Toronto, with both assists coming on the powerplay.

– A goal and seven shots in this outing from Josh Leivo, who is up to 30 points in 35 games.

– Nikita Soshnikov‘s goal gives him 11 on the season all at even-strength or shorthanded, which is tied for tops on the team with William Nylander.

– A solid performance from Ray Emery, who looked sharper after a week of practice. 20 saves for the victory, and he’s now won two of three starts for Toronto.

– Toronto have now hit the 60-point mark (29-7-0-2) and own a goal differential of plus 56.

Game Highlights

Marlies Player Stats — Toronto 4 vs. Manitoba 1