Heading into this Thursday morning school day game, the Marlies knew they needed a complete performance to secure the two points on offer.
The visiting Bridgeport Sound Tigers had won 16 of their last 19 games entering this matinee encounter, a run of form stretching back to January 15. Despite a late Toronto comeback, Bridgeport’s overtime victory keeps them in the race for a playoff spot in the Atlantic, while Toronto will bemoan the lack of a 60-minute effort as well as some subpar goaltending.
First Period
Sloppy play almost cost the Marlies just 13 seconds in when a poor drop pass from Seth Griffith left Andrew Campbell stranded, sending Connor Jones away on a breakaway. Antoine Bibeau made an excellent glove save — one of his better moments in a game he’d like to forget.
Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond dropped the gloves with Ross Johnston less than three minutes into his debut, with two exchanging furious blows while managing to stay upright.
The fight did little to help the Marlies build momentum or to discourage Kyle Burroughs from boarding Kasperi Kapanen. Thankfully, the returning Finnish winger was none the worse for the incident and Toronto went on their first powerplay of the game.
Travis Dermott twice scrambled to keep the puck in Bridgeport’s zone before Dmytro Timashov found Trevor Moore in the left circle, and the latter scored his tenth goal of the season with a measured shot.
After opening the scoring up with 5:56 on the clock, Toronto generated three additional chances in the next two minutes. Kerby Rychel led an odd man rush but saw his shot deflected high to safety, while Tony Cameranesi’s endeavour resulted in him picking off a pass at the offensive blue line and taking off alone on goal. His attempt missed the target due to a slash from Jon Landry and a penalty shot was awarded. Unable to elevate the puck over the glove of Eamon McAdam, Cameranesi’s effort was easily turned aside.
The Marlies wasted two additional powerplay opportunities in the first period before seeing their lead evaporate with 1.4 seconds remaining. Ryan Pulock rounded Steven Oleksy off the rush and fired top shelf short side past Bibeau — one the Marlies goaltender would want back.
Second Period
The Sound Tigers took the momentum into the middle frame and dominated the period. Toronto took four penalties in the second period and were outshot 2:1 as a result.
It was a case of déjà vu when the visitors had a golden chance 13 seconds after the puck drop. Tanner Fritz and Travis St. Denis were both turned aside by Bibeau, who was able to hang on for a faceoff. Upon the resumption of play, Kapanen’s rustiness was apparent as he fired his effort wide of the target on a breakaway.
That was as close as the Marlies came in the second, with the parade to the penalty box starting with Leblond at the 2:46 mark. Toronto certainly rode their luck, with rebounds falling to safety and Bibeau able to pull off a variety of saves in tight.
The Marlies’ good fortune ran out at the midway point when St. Denis found the net seconds after Toronto’s third penalty expired. Kyle Burroughs’ slap shot along the ice was pushed out by Bibeau and St. Denis had the easy task of shovelling the rebound into the empty net.
Despite allowing 18 shots in the second period, Toronto somehow escaped further damage and trailed by just one after 40 minutes.
Third Period
After withstanding a spell of pressure, the visitors should have pulled further ahead but Bracken Kearns whiffed on the puck with an open net to aim at.
The Marlies started to create chances with some regularity after about the three-minute mark of the period. Kapanen was at the center of it again, but Griffith was denied from the high slot on a one-time effort. Gauthier, coming on strong as the game progressed, was twice denied by McAdam as the Marlies began to take a stranglehold on the game in pursuit of an equalizer.
The pushback received a setback when the Marlies conceded a third with nine minutes remaining. In a non-scoring position a couple of feet away from the boards, Tanner Fritz let fly and Bibeau was again beaten top shelf short side.
An immediate response was needed and the Marlies got one 30 seconds later through Frederik Gauthier’s line. Gauthier showed a turn of speed around the net and into the right circle before spinning to fire on net. It wasn’t the most potent shot, but it took a kind deflection off of Andreas Johnsson to bring Toronto within a goal.
Bridgeport responded after seeing their lead cut in half, with Bibeau redeeming himself a little with a pair of good saves.
A powerplay for Toronto inside the final five minutes provided just one clear cut chance — Kapanen’s trademark one-timer from the left circle was somehow blocked by a flying Bridgeport player to prevent a certain goal.
Sheldon Keefe isn’t shy about pulling his goaltender for the extra attacker earlier than most coaches would, and the Marlies went for broke with two minutes remaining.
With 30 seconds left, Griffith carried the puck across the blue line on the right wing before dropping possession to Kapanen on his left. Kapanen drove to the slot area, fending off three opponents before taking a nasty-looking tumble as he shifted the puck back to Andrew Nielsen in the high slot. His effort wasn’t in vain as the rookie defenseman rifled home the tying goal with 24 seconds left on the clock.
It took just 70 seconds for Bridgeport to claim the extra point in overtime. A turnover from Johnsson and Rychel allowed a 2-on-1 rush for the Sound Tigers, and Tanner Fritz made no mistake with a wrist shot from the left circle that easily beat Bibeau glove side.
Post Game Notes
– Antoine Bibeau made 28 saves on 32 shots in a Jekyll and Hyde performance.
– Pierre-Luc Létourneau-Leblond and Steve Oleksy made their Marlies debuts. Leblond’s contribution consisted of a fight and an early second-period penalty. Oleksy hasn’t played much this season and appeared a little rusty.
– Kasperi Kapanen’s return to action was encouraging and he was able to shake off a nasty-looking hit early in the game. He was instrumental in salvaging a point, collecting an assist on the late game-tying goal.
– Andreas Johnsson extended his goals streak to three games with his 18th of the season.
– Frederik Gauthier put in a really strong performance in his first game since being reassigned. With the Marlies’ problems at centre, they could really use more of the same from him down the stretch.
– Andrew Nielsen’s 12th of the season moves him to second in rookie defensemen scoring in both goals and points.
Game Highlights
Post-Game: Sheldon Keefe
Game Sheet – Bridgeport 4 vs. Toronto 3 (OT)
| Skater | G | A | PIM | Shots | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell, Andrew | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 |
| Holl, Justin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| Oleksy, Steve | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -3 |
| Nielsen, Andrew | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Wrenn, William | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dermott, Travis | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -1 |
| Johnsson, Andreas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Kalinin, Sergey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| Laich, Brooks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kapanen, Kasperi | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Letourneau-Leblond, Pierre-Luc | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Gauthier, Frederik | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| Rychel, Kerby | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Greening, Colin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -1 |
| Griffith, Seth | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | -1 |
| Timashov, Dmytro | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Cameranesi, Tony | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -1 |
| Moore, Trevor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
