The Toronto Marlies moved to within one point of clinching the regular season league title with a comeback victory against Utica on Thursday.
First Period
The visiting Comets, a possible first-round opponent for Toronto, took advantage of some defensive breakdowns by the Marlies to jump out to a two-goal first-period lead.
Backed by a building full of cheering school children for an 11 a.m. puck drop, the Marlies came out of the blocks well, with Ben Smith and Vincent LoVerde creating the first scoring chance of the game.
All of that energy was sucked away at the five-minute mark when the hard-working Comets opened the scoring.
Tanner MacMaster corralled the puck under no pressure on the left wing and sent a cross-ice feed to Jalen Chatfield in acres of space in the right circle. The Utica defenseman wired a perfect shot past Garret Sparks that found the net via the inside of the far post.
It was then 2-0 at the eight-minute mark — after the seas parted and Michael Chaput surged through the middle of the Toronto defense, Sparks made the initial right pad save but could do nothing to deny MacMaster on the rebound.
Toronto slowly grew into the game and created three excellent chances as they gained a foothold. Dmytro Timashov fanned on a one-timer following an odd-man break, Miro Aaltonen was unable to convert on a breakaway opportunity, and Trevor Moore was robbed in tight by a good save from Richard Bachman.
Second Period
The Marlies drew a power play to finish the opening period and then halved the deficit early in the middle frame.
Just six seconds after the penalty expired, Timashov found Pierre Engvall moving low into the right circle, where Engvall’s one-time snapshot gave Bachman no chance.
A second power play for Toronto didn’t produce a tying goal, but they were far more competitive during the second period, albeit while continuing to turn the puck over with some frequency in all three zones.
Sparks made 11 saves to keep his team within one and it really should have been a level game heading into the final period — Martin Marincin took a pass in the slot and outwaited Bachman before sending his shot off the outside of the post and wide.
Third Period
The Marlies began the third period looking more like the league leaders, with Kyle Baun coming close a couple of times as his line, alongside Colin Greening and Frederik Gauthier, put together a dominant shift in the opening 60 seconds.
Smith and Moore were both denied on a resulting power play, Adam Brooks missed the net on a 3-on-2 rush, and Engvall was unable to jam home a rebound after an initial attempt from Smith.
The onslaught continued as Marincin missed another great scoring chance and Smith again was denied by Bachman before the Marlies finally broke the Comets down with 12 minutes played.
With Toronto moving the puck around Utica as if it were a power play, LoVerde found himself in some space in the left circle. A perfect feed from Andrew Nielsen was right into the wheelhouse of LoVerde, who ripped a shot from one knee past Bachman.
The Marlies weren’t able to use that momentum to force a go-ahead goal before Utica nearly grabbed a game-winner inside the final five minutes.
A passenger for the majority of the final frame, Sparks pulled off three excellent late saves, none better than on Michael Carcone during a breakaway opportunity.
Overtime
The 3-on-3 overtime, a rare occurrence for Toronto this season, saw the Marlies generate all three of the shots on goal.
Andreas Borgman forced Bachman into another sharp save before Moore beat the Utica goaltender only to watch his shot crash off the crossbar.
With the shootout looming, Toronto found the winner with 33 seconds remaining. A drive to the net from Justin Holl off the left wing forced a save out of Bachman and created a rebound in the slot. Moore dished the puck back for Adam Brooks to finish off, with protestations ensuing from the Comets about possible goaltender interference, to no avail.
The two teams will meet again Friday night in Utica, with the Comets still holding fourth place in the North Division, making them the likeliest first-round opponent for the Marlies.
Post Game Notes
– For the first time this season, Toronto did not have to send their penalty kill unit to work.
The power play went 0-3, but their first goal was scored six seconds after a man advantage expired.
– Adam Brooks netted his third game-winning goal of the season and now has 10 points in his last 10 games.
“He’s earned those opportunities [to play in overtime],” said Sheldon Keefe. “When it comes to that part of the game (3 on 3), some of the skilled people that we had at one time aren’t here. It’s created opportunities for other guys and Brooksy is one of the guys that has stood up and taken advantage of it.”
– Two assists and five shots on goal for Trevor Moore, who caused Utica all kinds of problems with his speed.
– Pierre Engvall scored his third AHL goal and now has five points in six games since crossing the pond.
“He’s a shooter and an offensive player,” said Keefe. “He’s played on the power play a lot. Power play aside, I thought this was one of his better games since he got here. He really skated. That’s a team that is competitive and physical, so that was good to see. I thought he used his body a lot better on the puck today to give himself an opportunity to make a play and hold onto the puck. That’s a big piece when you play on the smaller ice, with the way this league is. That’s been a big adjustment for him, but we saw good progress with that today.”
– Andrew Nielsen also registered a pair of helpers, while Dmytro Timashov and Justin Holl both recorded their 20th assists on the season.
– Garret Sparks set a new franchise record for wins in a single season with his 30th victory of the year, surpassing the mark left by Drew MacIntyre. Sparks was also named as an AHL First Team All-Star.
– Andreas Johnsson and Ben Smith were named to the AHL All-Star Second Team.
– Thursday’s lines:
Forwards
Timashov-Aaltonen-Moore
Engvall-Brooks-Smith
Greening-Gauthier-Baun
Fejes-Dupuy-Bracco
Defenseman
Marinicin-Holl
Borgman-Liljegren
Nielsen-LoVerde
Goaltenders
Sparks
Pickard
