“I thought we played 50 out of the 60 minutes extremely well. All in all, I was pleased with our effort. We got inside, getting some really dangerous [scoring] opportunities. Unfortunately, we didn’t get that third [goal] to give us a more comfortable lead.”
– John Gruden
The Toronto Marlies will play a lot worse this season and still win the hockey game. After a sloppy start, Toronto took a firm grip on this game in Cleveland on Wednesday but didn’t finish enough of their Grade-A scoring chances.
First Period
The Marlies could not have gotten off to a worse start, standing off as Cleveland zipped the puck around the Toronto zone at will. Debutant Matt Benning wasn’t solely to blame, but his missed coverage at the far post allowed Owen Sillinger to score inside 90 seconds.
The response from Toronto was admirable after another slow start. Nick Abruzzese and Sam Stevens couldn’t capitalize on Grade-A chances, while Topi Niemelä’s rasping shot produced a rebound that Mikko Kokkonen could not finish off on an acute angle.
Robert Mastrosimone ripped a shot flush against the post after a swift breakout play as the Marlies suffered from a lack of puck luck in the opening 20 minutes.
Second Period
A pair of early Cleveland penalties presented Toronto with a 5-on-3 power play for 1:34. The Marlies created three Grade-A scoring chances but couldn’t bury any, as the rookie class of Fraser Minten, Jacob Quillan, and Braden Kressler couldn’t find the clinical finish from promising positions.
Minten almost made amends during 4-on-4 action but could only draw a good pad save from Zach Sawchenko. With seven minutes remaining, though, Minten opened his AHL and professional account.
The setup man was Niemelä, whose stretch pass from the Marlies‘ blue line found the tape of the rookie’s stick, allowing Minten to break away and drive the net off the wing. Minten buried through the five-hole to tie the game at 1-1.
Toronto created one more scoring chance before the intermission buzzer. It was Minten again — in a better position than he scored from — but he couldn’t find the finish this time.
Third Period
The final frame was a cagey affair in which Toronto held the upper hand in possession and zone time without making it count on the scoreboard.
Minten again found room in the slot, but Sawchenko turned him aside.
The Marlies killed the lone penalty of the period before scoring the go-ahead goal. The third line produced a hard-working shift in which they hemmed Cleveland inside their defensive zone. Mastrosimone came close twice, and Quillan missed the target on a rebound from a tight angle before the former deservedly found a way past Swachenko.
The Marlies climbed into a shell after the goal, recording a single shot in the next five minutes, and were made to pay for a defensive breakdown.
Kokkonen made a brilliant play to hold up a 3v2 break for Cleveland, but the Marlies failed to clear their lines. After the Monsters attacked in waves and won a key battle in the slot, Jake Gaudet’s shot produced a rebound, and a big melee ensued. With no Toronto defender able to corral and clear the loose puck, Curtis Hall finished the seventh goal of his 134-game AHL career.
Regulation time fizzled out with both teams happy to claim at least one point.
Overtime
Kokkonen had the best chance to win the game for the Marlies, but the defenseman is hardly prolific in front of goal, and Sawchenko made an easy save.
Cleveland continued their hold over Toronto by scoring the winner with 43 seconds left. The Marlies were a tired bunch as Cleveland changed on the fly, and grizzly veteran Rocco Grimaldi circled all three skaters before sneaking the puck past Matt Murray.
Post Game Notes
– Cleveland has won the last 13 meetings between the teams, and I wonder whether if this is a psychological challenge for the Marlies as much as anything now.
– Fraser Minten led all skaters with seven shots and really should have finished the game with another goal or two, given the quality of his chances. He continues his point-per-game pace (1G/2A) three games into his AHL career.
– Topi Niemelä had a hand in both goals and now has four assists in his last four games.
– Joseph Blandisi missed the game with an upper-body injury. His status is day-to-day.
– Barring the role in the goal against on the opening shift (the shift was a tough introduction for a player getting his bearings/up to speed), Matt Benning was relatively solid. I noted a couple of good offensive zone shifts in the third period and a good scoring chance that he couldn’t bury.
– Wednesday’s lineup:
Forwards
Abruzzese – Shaw – Tverberg
Grebenkin – Minten – Nylander
Hirvonen – Quillan – Mastrosimone
Stevens – Kressler
Defensemen
Webber – Benning
Rifai – Kokkonen
Mattinen – Niemelä
Pietroniro
Goaltenders
Murray
Hildeby
