“I think we chuck the tape on this one. Our guys have given a pretty good effort in almost every game. It’s one game where we didn’t have it for whatever reason. We will chalk that up as a one-and-done and just move on. Our guys will be better tomorrow.”
– John Gruden
Two days after their best road performance of the season, the Marlies were handed a 7-2 shellacking at the hands of Lehigh on Friday night, with most of the damage done in the second period.
First Period
The action in the opening 10 minutes didn’t foreshadow the coming events. The Marlies dictated the pace of play, were relentless on the forecheck, and attacked with speed.
Cédric Paré had Toronto’s only Grade-A scoring chance of the frame but didn’t bury the opportunity 30 seconds into the game.
The Marlies‘ dominance earned them the first power play, but that’s where the game started to unravel. A disjointed effort with the extra attacker inspired the Phantoms, who outshot Toronto 5-0 in the second half of the opening period.
Lehigh created their best chance of the period with four minutes remaining, catching the Marlies in transition. Artur Akhtyamov did an excellent job challenging the shooter as he screamed through the left circle.
Second Period
In the middle frame, Toronto capitulated in a manner not seen before this season. The downhill descent began 43 seconds into the period.
There appeared to be little danger in a 3v3 Lehigh attack, but the Marlies continued to back off the puck carrier. Rodrigo Abols found the net with a shot that hit both the post and crossbar en route to crossing the goal line.
Toronto killed off a penalty shortly afterward, but at the five-minute mark, Lehigh capitalized on their second power play. A pathetic penalty-killing effort allowed Alexis Gendron the time and space to score from the bumper spot.
Lehigh made it 3-0 just 24 seconds later when Jacob Gaucher potted a rebound from the side of the net.
For the first time this season, there was a sign of frustration from Akhtyamov, who went to smash his stick before restraining himself. It likely had as much to do with annoyance at his rebound control as the lack of help he received from teammates.
The lack of discipline from the Marlies continued unabated as they found themselves short-handed once more. This time, Toronto negated the penalty thanks to Alex Steeves and then scored on the shortened power play. Nick Abruzzese only needed to keep his stick on the ice to finish off a perfect cross-slot feed from Steeves.
Within seconds of the restart of play, Alex Nylander escaped on a partial breakaway but rang his shot off the iron with Cal Peterson beaten.
That’s as close as Toronto came to manufacturing a comeback.
Olle Lycksell reestablished the three-goal lead with seven minutes remaining. Gaucher cleanly won an offensive-zone faceoff, and nobody closed down Lycksell, who fired a wicked wrist shot past a screened Akhtyamov.
Lehigh scored a fifth late in the frame to rub salt into the wound. The Marlies’ penalty kill looked like a shadow of its former self, allowing Lycksell to redirect a pass from Samu Tuomaala to make it 5-1.
Third Period
Vyacheslav Peksa replaced Akhtyamov to start the final frame, but Toronto let down the Russian netminder in his AHL debut.
The rookie goaltender was beaten on the second shot he faced at 1:04. Lycksell must have thought it was all his birthdays and Christmas combined as he nearly scored on a wraparound before picking up his own rebound and recording his hat-trick while the Marlies stood around watching.
Toronto continued to give up odd-man rushes and Grade-A chances, so it was no surprise when a seventh goal arrived for the Phantoms despite the best efforts of Peska. A giveaway in the defensive zone by Marshall Rifai was punished as Wisdom netted only his third goal this season.
It would be generous to call it a consolation tally, but the Marlies’ fourth line got on the board with a minute remaining. Roni Hirvonen finished a nice move involving Jacob Quillan and Robert Mastrosimone, beginning with Topi Niemelä’s stretch pass.
Post Game Notes
“He’s a first-year goalie. As good as he was, we’re going to need to be better in front of him and help him get through these tough times.”
– John Gruden on the performance of Artur Akhtyamov
– This was an incredibly tough situation for Vyacheslav Peksa to be thrown into, and I was disappointed by the lack of a positive response from his teammates. To be fair to the rookie, he turned aside four Grade-A scoring chances, but given what was happening in front of him, he had no chance to settle into the game.
– Poor discipline was a feature of this game. Two too-many-men penalties, a pair for tripping, and one for hooking summed up the laziness of the performance.
– How the Marlies respond to this loss is more important than the defeat itself. A Saturday night matchup against the reigning Callder Cup Champions in Hershey might just be what the doctor ordered.
– Friday’s lineup:
Forwards
Abruzzese – Shaw – Steeves
Grebenkin – Minten – Nylander
Barbolini – Paré – Blandisi
Hirvonen – Quillan – Mastrosimone
Defensemen
Kokkonen – Benning
Rifai – Villeneuve
Webber – Niemelä
Goaltenders
Akhtyamov
Peksa
