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The Toronto Marlies fell to their 12th defeat on the road this season, but it wasn’t all their own doing in what was a particularly vicious game against a vindictive and physical Syracuse team.

The Crunch took advantage of a three-man officiating crew, doling out cheap shots and throwing nasty hits behind the play. The officials given this assignment looked ill-equipped to handle a game that threatened to get totally out of hand in the second period.

First Period

The Marlies certainly didn’t help themselves at times and were a little fortunate to only find themselves behind by one goal through 20 minutes.

Toronto began brightly, drawing a powerplay, but they were unable to convert despite some good looks before Kasperi Kapanen created the first opportunity at even strength. After working his way into the slot past two Syracuse players, Adam Wilcox made a sharp save to prevent the Marlies‘ leading goal scorer from opening the scoring.

Toronto was guilty of turning the puck over way too many times during the first period and it almost cost them six minutes in, when Brian Hart’s shot found the crossbar. The Marlies headed to the penalty kill shortly after as a seemingly fair hit along the boards by Travis Dermott was called for interference.

There was no damage done despite the penalty kill allowing Matt Taormina to surge into the heart of the slot; Antoine Bibeau denied the defenseman from adding to his impressive goals tally this season.

The second half of the first period was almost exclusively one-way traffic, with the Marlies affording the Crunch a lot of space in the neutral zone and allowing Syracuse to cross the blue line at will, creating numerous scoring chances in the process. The only opportunity for Toronto came via a second powerplay, but too many players were guilty of missing the target, with Byron Froese the only one to actually test Wilcox.

After failing to capitalize on a host of excellent opportunities, Syracuse finally opened the scoring with 1:45 remaining. Toronto iced the puck and didn’t touch it again before it was in the back of their net. Tanner Richard won the faceoff and provided the screen that took away Bibeau’s sightline on Taormina’s shot.

Without a fantastic save from Bibeau to deny Yanni Gourde at the end of the period, it could have been worse for Toronto after the opening 20 minutes.

Second Period

Toronto began the second period the same way they finished the first and conceded a 2-0 goal just 12 seconds in. Jeremy Morin fired over the shoulder of Bibeau, who was possibly screened by one his own players.

The home team should really have pulled themselves further ahead three minutes later. Joel Vermin dished off to Matthieu Broduer in the slot, but the defenseman was slow to pull the trigger and Bibeau got across his crease in time to make the save.

Toronto needed a spark and it came courtesy of a quick passing play between Tobias Lindberg, Brendan Leipsic and Froese, who finished top shelf.

The momentum of the game switched and the Marlies almost immediately drew level. Trevor Moore’s backhand wraparound attempt and Tony Cameranesi’s low shot both forced Wilcox’s into good saves. Justin Holl was the next to try his luck, firing from a bad angle down the right side and forcing a rebound that Lindberg couldn’t corral.

After forechecking pressure forced Syracuse into icing the puck, Toronto tied the game just three minutes after opening their account. Cameranesi held possession under pressure behind the home team’s net and showed strength and determination to force his way to the front of the net. He faked shooting shortside on Wilcox before going across the crease and sweeping home inside the far post.

With Froese in the box less than a minute after the tying marker, Toronto’s penalty kill went back to work for the second time. The Crunch’s lone chance went to Mike Halmo as the Marlies held firm.

The game took a dramatic turn just after the midway point. A line brawl ensued after some shenanigans and the officials were helpless and outnumbered. Somehow Froese was deemed the most dangerous player and was held back by an official as he looked to come to Nielsen’s aid. The rookie defenseman was held by Richard before Jake Dotchin came in as the third man. After throwing an initial punch in tight, the notorious goon followed up with a vicious uppercut that sent Nielsen crashing to the ice in a heap.

Incredibly, Dotchin was only assessed two for roughing and the other penalty came courtesy of a bench minor, sending Toronto to a 5-on-3 power play. The Marlies failed to set up properly until the final 30 seconds of the two-man advantage, but they got their act together and cashed in. Just as the penalties elapsed, Leipsic received a pass from Nielsen and slapped home past Wilcox at what was technically even strength for a 3-2 Toronto lead.

The penalties and controversy were far from over as all hell broke loose inside the final five minutes. Justin Holl was nabbed for holding and another line brawl took place after a scrum in front of Bibeau. No further penalties were assessed and it led to Toronto losing their best player during the penalty kill.

Kapanen was doing an excellent job pressuring deep in the Syracuse zone during the kill, forcing an errant pass that he pursued behind the net. Cue Dotchin with a late, low hit that sent Kapanen careening into the boards. The Finnish winger was barely able to get to his feet and hobbled off, clearly unable to put any weight on his left leg.

Toronto survived that penalty, but it was back to work almost immediately for the PK. Andrew Campbell was assessed a cross-checking infraction despite appearing to be nowhere near a play involving Justin Holl in another mysterious call from the three-man officiating crew.

It proved a costly decision, as Frank Corrado followed his fellow defenseman into the box and Syracuse received 57 seconds of a two-man advantage. Taormina hit the post with a rasping shot before he tied the game with his 12th of the season.

There were more antics after the goal, with Richard appearing to spear Froese before the teams reset for the faceoff. The pair were nabbed for roughing minors, with the officials clearly having lost control at this stage.

Third Period

The Crunch switched goaltenders due to what must have been an injury concern for Wilcox, with Kristers Gudlevskis taking over between the pipes.

Toronto killed the penalty that carried over from the middle frame but allowed a goal 85 seconds in. A bad change allowed defenseman Daniel Walcott to go in alone on goal, where Bibeau turned him aside but could do nothing about the second opportunity for Gourde, who put his team up 3-2.

With Brett Findlay in the box, Syracuse doubled their advantage six minutes into the final frame. Richard netted his eighth of the season after the puck pinballed around the slot.

A powerplay gave the Marlies a chance to find their way back into this game, but — despite some good looks — they had no luck in front of goal. Lindberg hit the post before redirecting an effort agonizingly wide, and a one-timer from Byron Froese forced Gudlevskis into a fantastic right pad save to deny Toronto from pulling within a goal.

It was two of the younger Marlies players who combined to give them life with a little under ten minutes remaining — Moore won the battle behind the net before teeing up Cameranesi for his second of the game.

After the dubious call against him earlier, Campbell was correctly assessed a delay-of-game penalty with six minutes left on the clock. The officials missed the cheap shot after the play, though, which left Toronto’s captain furious at the officials. Antoine Bibeau was terrific during the penalty kill, with a pair of great saves to deny Morin and Cory Conacher.

Toronto appeared exhausted as the clock ran down but they created a couple of opportunities in their bid to send the game to overtime. Excellent work from Leipsic tee’d up Brett Findlay, but the Findlay’s effort whizzed past the crossbar from the slot.

A Marlies powerplay with 65 seconds remaining — with Bibeau pulled from the net — gave Toronto one final shot at salvaging at least a point. The best chance fell to Cameranesi, but his one-time shot was denied by a fantastic right pad save from Gudlevskis.


Post Game Notes

– Now three games under .500 and with other results going against them, Toronto has fallen out of a playoff spot.

– Toronto’s powerplay went 0 for 6, although Brendan Leipsic’s goal was scored before the two Syracuse players could influence the action out of the box. The Crunch tallied twice on seven man-advantage opportunities.

– Not helping matters defensively was that Toronto could only dress five men on the blue line, with Rinat Valiev and Viktor Loov “unavailable” according to Sheldon Keefe.

– Kasperi Kapanen did not return to the game after the injury. Keefe had no update for the media after the game but does not expect him to be available for Saturday.

– Tony Cameranesi scored twice, could easily have had a hat trick, and led the way with seven shots on goal. With three goals in his last two games, he’s given the Marlies a real lift since arriving from Orlando. “He’s been excellent,” said Keefe. “He’s been playing fast. He’s coming up with pucks. He’s shooting the puck a lot. I felt that the line matchups for the bottom six here today — I thought we had a bit of an edge.”

“We needed to be able to hold off some of their better players on the top end of it, and we weren’t able to do that. I thought their best guys were better than ours, but I thought on the bottom end — particularly the Cameranesi line — was pretty dominant and gave us a chance to win the game and be competitive. [Cameranesi’s] been great, [Trevor Moore] has been great, Findlay — when we used him on that line in the third period — was good. Rich Clune, when he was with them in the first two periods, was good. [Cameranesi] is really driving that line. It’s good to see him get rewarded. We need the offense from anywhere we can get it right now.”

– Frank Corrado assisted on two goals and did well to escape injury as the victim of two vicious hits.

– Byron Froese netted his 15th goal of the season and is just three shy of his career best set during the 2014-15 season.


Game Highlights


Sheldon Keefe Post Game


Game Sheet – Crunch 5 vs. Marlies 4

SkaterGAPIMShots+/-
Campbell, Andrew0043-1
Holl, Justin00210
Nielsen, Andrew01022
Dermott, Travis0021-1
Smith, Colin0003-1
Froese, Byron10432
Johnsson, Andreas0000-2
Findlay, Brett00201
Clune, Richard01001
Leipsic, Brendan11032
Corrado, Frank02201
Kapanen, Kasperi01010
Rychel, Kerby0001-1
Lindberg, Tobias01001
Greening, Colin0002-1
Timashov, Dmytro0000-2
Cameranesi, Tony20072
Moore, Trevor01002