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Matchups against the Syracuse Crunch have been feisty games this season, and Sunday’s tilt at the Ricoh Coliseum proved no exception.

In the third game in as many days for both teams, Toronto dictated the terms against the North Division leaders and completed a sweep of a three-in-three weekend for the first time this season.

First Period

The Marlies got themselves off to the perfect start 73 seconds in.

Kasperi Kapanen picked the puck up deep in his own zone before taking off on a rush down the right side that floundered Syracuse’s defense. Dishing off to Colin Greening on his left, the veteran forward wasted little time with a quick release from the high slot that appeared to handcuff Mike McKenna.

The experienced goaltender responded with a strong performance the rest of the way, almost single-handedly keeping his team in the game through the opening 40 minutes.

The only spell of pressure from Syracuse came via a power play seven minutes in. The Crunch had some good looks and moved the puck around crisply, but the Toronto penalty kill stood firm.

Seth Griffith, Kerby Rychel, Cal O’Reilly, Trevor Moore Travis Dermott were all denied by McKenna back at even strength before the goaltender performed more heroics on the PK to turn aside Mike Sislo as well as Rychel on a bang-bang play.

Second Period

Toronto began the middle frame on the power play, where Moore fired wide on a backhand attempt from his knees before a one-timer from Leipsic was well held by McKenna. It was the same story back at 5v5 as Lindberg’s tip on a feed from Leipsic was somehow turned aside by the Crunch goaltender.

Garret Sparks was only an observant passenger at this point as the Marlies kept heaping on the pressure in the Crunch zone. O’Reilly was the next to be frustrated by an excellent pad save from McKenna before Griffith was robbed on a subsequent Marlies power play; with at least half an empty cage to aim at, McKenna’s outstretched glove got enough on the rubber disc to send it high into the netting.

The divisional leaders started to establish a bit of a foothold in the game when they earned a power play with eight minutes remaining, but Sparks was only forced into one save over the two minutes.

All hell broke loose in the final five minutes while Toronto was on the penalty kill. Kapanen was hauled down in the Syracuse zone before getting jumped on; after regaining his feet, he was cross-checked at least twice and driven against the glass.

The officials failed to intervene and a line brawl ensued. Incredibly, the penalties awarded meant it was a wash; the initial infringement was overlooked and Tye McGinn was only tagged for roughing despite throwing three punches at a prone Marlies player as a latecomer to the scrum.

With Sheldon Keefe and his star forward furious at the referees, the calls nearly cost Toronto if Sparks hadn’t denied Adam Comrie after he split through the middle of the Marlies defense.

With tensions high, it was little surprise when another line brawl broke out with two minutes remaining. Rychel was sick of Erik Condra’s antics and the Toronto forward proved too much for the Syracuse man to handle in their fight.

Once more the Toronto bench was infuriated as the penalty count sent them back on the penalty kill again. The Marlies’ mood didn’t improve when Travis Dermott was called for what appeared to be a legal hip check.

Down by two men for 20 seconds, Toronto survived that spell and began the final frame in need of a kill on Dermott’s penalty to keep their lead intact.

Third Period

After Sparks did his part on the PK by clinging onto a shot from Cory Conacher, Toronto made far too many mistakes inside the opening five minutes of the third period. A breakaway for Michael Bournival was denied by the right pad of Sparks, who had to be sharp to turn aside former Marlie Byron Froese soon after.

The Marlies needed a spark to get them going again and received one courtesy of Colin Greening and Steve Oleksy. Greening dropped the puck back to Oleksy crossing the blue line with speed, and the defenseman released a howitzer of a shot from the top of the circle that found the top corner of the net.

Unheralded Marlies continued to step up in the third period: After hard work from Sergey Kalinin along the boards in his own zone — including a great check on Conacher — Toronto moved the puck with intent, resulting in Andreas Johnsson sending Kalinin in on goal. Especially considering he was scoreless since joining the Marlies 13 games ago, it was a wonderful finish from the former New Jersey forward, who slid the puck past McKenna after driving across the crease.

The two points were now safely in the bag, but Syracuse did not go quietly into the night. Another line brawl ensued after the Crunch took umbrage with a legitimate hit by Oleksy. The officials again stood around watching, allowing Dermott to take a shot to the back of the head. Left to defend himself, the rookie seemed no worse for wear and fought back with aplomb.

Dermott was thrown out of the game for his actions given it was his second altercation of the game. Ten penalties were handed out after the dust settled and the game began to wind down as a contest.

An empty netter from Leipsic put the icing on the cake and Toronto’s late power play meant Sparks went untested inside the last two minutes to clinch a shutout in just his second game back from injury.


Post-Game Notes

– This was the first three-in-three weekend sweep this season for Toronto, who now retake possession of the top spot in the North Division.

– This was also the fourth straight win for the Marlies, who have scored 18 goals and recorded two shutouts during the streak.

– Yesterday was the fifth shutout of the season for Garret Sparks in just his 26th game. With two solid performances this weekend, he now has an 18-7 record with a .927 save percentage.

– A three-point game for Colin Greening included his tenth goal of the season.

– Sergey Kalinin netted his first Marlies goal and produced his best performances as a Marlie so far over the weekend. Sheldon Keefe mentioned after the game that he had been talking and working closely with the former Devils forward of late.

– Mike Sislo extended his points steak to six games.


Post-Game: Sheldon Keefe


Game Sheet – Toronto 4 vs. Syracuse 0

SkaterGAPIMShots+/-
Campbell, Andrew00022
Valiev, Rinat01001
Holl, Justin00021
Oleksy, Steve11722
Nielsen, Andrew00210
Dermott, Travis001712
Sislo, Mike01011
O'Reilly, Cal00230
Johnsson, Andreas01231
Kalinin, Sergey10011
Leipsic, Brendan10033
Kapanen, Kasperi01223
Gauthier, Frederik00000
Rychel, Kerby00720
Lindberg, Tobias00010
Greening, Colin12023
Griffith, Seth00210
Moore, Trevor00010