Special teams and goaltending proved the difference as Toronto and St. John’s met for the last time this season.
This was an all or nothing game for the IceCaps, as they were required to run the board the rest of the way to even have a shot at making the post season.
It was a different story for the Marlies, whose lineup was again altered as the organization takes the chance to look at different prospects down the stretch. Recent ATO signings Jordan Hickmott and Ty Stanton both made their debuts while Shane Conacher was making his second appearance in a Marlie uniform.
The opening 20 minutes were pretty much a snooze fest as neither team really got going, sharing a mere 12 shots on goal between them.
Rich Clune should have done better than to fire wide on a rebound opportunity from Shane Conacher’s initial attempt, but neither goaltender was really tested until twelve minutes had elapsed.
Both netminders came up with a dandy save at that point. Antoine Bibeau did well to glove a measured wrist shot from Morgan Ellis, who has enjoyed plenty of success against Toronto this season. Seconds later, Eddie Pasquale produced an even better stop as Clune found Freddie Gauthier sneaking in backdoor and the IceCaps goaltender denied The Goat with a toe save.
The Marlies killed the only penalty of the period late on and almost tallied upon its expiry. Mark Arcobello’s trademark wrist shot from the left circle saw Pasquale flash the leather to deny him. From the resulting faceoff, Kasperi Kapanen was next to be turned aside by Pasquale, leaving the game scoreless after the opening period.
The middle frame turned into a special teams battle. Penalties taken by Max Friberg and John Scott (double minor) handed the Marlies a two-man advantage for 29 seconds early in the period. After Arcobello was robbed by Pasquale, Colin Smith found Sam Carrick by the side of the net, where Carrick tried to jam the puck in. Pasquale made the initial save, but the rebound fell for Tobias Lindberg to tap home his 11th of the season.
Just 24 seconds later, Toronto made it 2-0 back at even strength. It was the Matt Frattin of old as he split the defense with speed and hurdled past two opponents before delivering a perfect cross-ice feed. Gauthier, the trailing man driving to the net, made no mistake for a well-earned goal.
Following the second Marlies tally, Brendan Leipsic was called for boarding on Gabriel Dumont. St. John’s were guilty of missing the net on a bunch of opportunities on the five minutes of powerplay time, while Bibeau stood tall when tested. Ryan Johnson came the closest to getting the IceCaps on the board with a shot off the iron.
Despite some tired legs, Toronto were able to survive for five minutes but found themselves right back on the penalty kill shortly after, as Charles Hudon somehow drew a call off Taylor Doherty on a play where Hudon seemed equally guilty.
It mattered not as the Marlie penalty kill units were at their best to help out Bibeau, with a number of brave shot blocks, especially from Freddie Gauthier.
It was as if both teams had exhausted themselves on special teams. The remaining time at even strength produced nothing of note as Toronto was 2-0 up after 40 minutes.
Staying aggressive early in the final frame, Toronto never looked like relinquishing their advantage. Kapanen, Arcobello and Josh Leivo combined in a wonderful piece of play, with Leivo not quite able to chip the puck past Pasquale. They drew a penalty on the shift, however, resulting in a third goal for the Marlies. More terrific puck movement from Smith and Leipsic had the IceCaps out of sorts, with Carrick on hand to tuck away the rebound.
The special teams battle continued as it was back to the penalty kill for Toronto. St. John’s came awfully close to finally solving Bibeau as a stinging shot from Bud Holloway hit the post dead on and fell to Dumont standing by the side of the net. Bibeau reacted quick as a flash to jam his right toe against the post to deny what looked like a certain goal.
Following the kill, the Marlies poured on the pressure and the IceCaps were seemingly unable to stay out of the box. St. John’s were able to kill the first but were undone by a second successive penalty. Josh Leivo drew a call off Bozon on a fantastic shift by his line before Toronto were gifted a two-man advantage after Pasquale fired the puck out of play.
Some rapid precision passing from Leivo and Arcobello never allowed Pasquale to settle before Leipsic smashed home from the right side, with the IceCaps netminder unable to get back across.
An eighth powerplay for Toronto almost saw them score for the fourth time with the man advantage as another blistering shot from Leivo produced a second effort for Arcobello, who couldn’t buy one in this game.
With the two points secure, the only question left was whether Bibeau could record a shutout. His bid was tested with Carrick and Clune heading to the box inside the final three minutes, but Toronto held firm to secure a 4-0 victory in what was one of their better performances against St. John’s this season.
Post Game Notes
– Toronto wrapped up the series by winning the last two games at home, finishing with a 6-5-1-0 record vs. St. John’s.
– The Marlies became the first AHL team to hit 100 points this season (101).
– The power play went 3/8 while the penalty kill was a perfect six for six.
– Sam Carrick scored his seventh goal in nine games. He’s riding a six-game point streak.
– Colin Smith has four multi-point games in his last nine outings. That’s 16 points in 15 games since the trade to Toronto.
– Antoine Bibeau registered his second shutout of the season, both recorded this month.
– Brendan Leipsic scored his fourth goal in six games, taking his goals tally to 20 in 58 games for the season.
– Mark Arcobello fired a season-high ten shots, but was somehow unable to add to his goals tally. He did manage to notch an assist, extending his points streak to five.
