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The Toronto Marlies returned to home ice Saturday afternoon to face the Springfield Thunderbirds for just the second time this season.

Florida’s affiliate has struggled to find the net with any regularity while competing in a tough Atlantic Division, and they certainly showed no signs of reversing that trend during the opening period at Ricoh Coliseum.

First Period

Toronto began brightly, with Justin Holl drawing a penalty inside the first minute of play, but the power play did little to worry Sam Brittain between the pipes for Springfield.

The Marlies utterly dominated possession as the Thunderbirds struggled to live with Toronto’s cycle game. The Marlies were mostly kept to the outside, however, and were unable to really threaten Springfield’s net.

Travis Dermott thought he had broken the deadlock with six minutes on the clock, but the officials made a mistake whistling the play dead early.

It took Springfield until the seven-minute mark to record their first shot on net, and they failed to test the returning Garret Sparks even once on a power play shortly after.

The Marlies second power play of the period proved as fruitless as the first, and the two teams headed into the intermission scoreless.

Second Period

The Marlies‘ middle frame wasn’t as dominant from the possession perspective, but they were able to create clear-cut opportunities and open the game up.

After a burst of speed from Brett Findlay forced Ian McCoshen into a hooking penalty in an attempt, Findlay’s effort was turned aside by Brittain, who lost his skate blade on the play. There was a lengthy delay before officials told the Springfield bench that play had to resume, forcing back-up goaltender Adam Wilcox into action.

Wilcox had to make one save on the power play during the eight seconds he was on the ice before Brittain returned. He may have wished he’d stayed on the bench, however, as Toronto opened the scoring 15 seconds later with a swift passing movement finished off by Andreas Johnsson in the slot.

Immediately after, Brendan Leipsic was given space to gather a head of steam and he made an inside-out move by two defensemen before releasing a tricky backhand shot that Brittain stopped with his right toe. With Brittain’s skate blade dislodged again, Adam Wilcox returned to the ice in what was becoming a farcical situation.

With further chances exchanged on the rush, Wilcox was pressed hard to turn aside Frederik Gauthier and Leipsic, while Sparks had to be alert at the other end of the ice.

Brittain finally returned to the ice for good, and within a minute of coming back he allowed the second goal of the game. A turnover allowed William Wrenn and Seth Griffith to execute a perfect give-and-go and the defenseman made no mistake with a top-shelf finish that a scoring forward would have been proud of.

The Thunderbirds generated a bit of a push back after the 2-0 goal. Steve Oleksy was forced into a brave block to deny a slapshot from McCoshen while Sparks turned aside Chase Balisy’s tipped effort after a nice set-up from Jayce Hawryluk.

After quelling Springfield’s minor offensive burst, Toronto increased their lead with a little over two minutes remaining. Able to bring fresh legs into the cycle thanks to the kind of puck possession witnessed through the opening period, Andrew Nielsen put home the rebound after Gauthier’s initial attempt was blocked.

The scoring might have been done before the second intermission, but the action wasn’t — Jared McCann and Griffith headed to the box for an altercation that saw them both tagged for roughing penalties before Leipsic followed suit with a tripping penalty.

The 4-on-3 power play for the visitors nearly gave them a way back into the game. Mackenzie Weegar clipped the outside of the post from the slot before Gauthier’s stick broke, essentially creating a 4-on-2 situation. Sparks made two outstanding stops to turn aside Paul Thompson before Toronto finally cleared their zone, with the sound of the second-period buzzer coming as somewhat of a relief to the Marlies.

Third Period

The Marlies killed the final seconds of the penalty with ease to begin the final frame, but back at even strength they were unable to find the tempo we saw to start the first period and in portions of the second.

A fantastic outlet pass from Justin Holl sent Leipsic in on goal at the three-minute mark, but the opportunity passed after a high stick by McCoshen. The resulting power play produced only a fight as the two Kyle’s — Rau and Rychel — set about one another. Rau had been running around all game throwing late hits and generally being a pest, and he was also responsible for Leipsic’s concussion sustained back in January. It was no surprise, then, that Rychel took the opportunity to drop his opponent.

The Thunderbirds were presented with a power play of their own at the eight-minute mark after Nielsen sent the over the glass in the defensive zone, but the Marlies had the better chances while shorthanded. Frederik Gauthier was denied by the shaft of Brittain’s stick and Sislo robbed in tight after a pinpoint set-up play from Sergey Kalinin.

The game appeared to be meandering to a 3-0 Marlies finish until Nielsen found himself back in the box with two minutes left to play. A faceoff win allowed Jared McCann to rifle a shot over the blocker of Sparks just three seconds into the power play.

The Marlies stifled any further thoughts of a comeback by controlling possession from the face-off and tallying a fourth goal within 30 seconds. Johnsson collected a floated pass from Mike Sislo and proceeded to drive across the crease and fire a forehand shot past Brittain.

A late save from Sparks denied Jared McCann a second tally and ensured a 4-1 final — and a third straight victory for Toronto.


Post Game Notes

– Toronto kept pace with Syracuse in the standings, with both teams sitting on 77 points, but the Crunch have a game in hand. The Marlies next three games are against Syracuse, beginning Sunday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum.

– Toronto has scored four-plus goals in seven consecutive games.

– Andreas Johnsson hit the 20-goal mark with a two-goal game and now has eight points throughout a six-game point streak.

– Mike Sislo and Brendan Leipsic both recorded a pair of assists.

– An exuberant celebration from Andrew Nielsen alluded to the fact he’d just broken a nine-game scoreless streak with his 13th of the season.

– Garret Sparks returned to action for the first time since injuring his groin on February 25. He made 28 saves for the win, and Sheldon Keefe suggested that he would be given the start on Sunday.


Post-Game: Sheldon Keefe