“We had a one-goal lead heading into the third period. We took some undisciplined penalties, especially the first one, and that gave them momentum.
“We weren’t hard enough to play against in certain areas. We gave good players too much time and space in dangerous areas. I thought Dennis [Hildeby] was unbelievable yesterday, and I’ve looked at the goals against — those are good shots in tight. There’s not much he can do.”
– John Gruden
After breaking the Cleveland hoodoo 24 hours prior, the Toronto Marlies slipped back into their old ways. They found a way to lose a game they should have won, despite holding the lead through 40 minutes. There were still opportunities to come out on top late in regulation and overtime, but Cleveland’s stranglehold over the Marlies remains.
First Period
Cleveland got off to the better start and outshot Toronto 6-0 through the first half of the opening frame. Dennis Hildeby produced two sharp saves on Rocco Grimaldi and Joseph LaBate as the Monsters looked to make early inroads.
Alex Nylander won a battle along the right boards, drove toward the net, and sent a pass to Nick Abruzzese, who was crashing the net, but it missed the mark for what would have been a tap-in.
When Toronto finally registered a shot, inevitably, it came from Alex Steeves’s stick. The winger was stopped from the left circle, as was Robert Mastrosimone, who drove the crease.
Hildeby rejected Luca Del Bel Belluz with a nice glove save, but it was only a brief reprieve. A slapshot from Ole Julian Bjørgvik-Holm found the bottom corner of the net with Hildeby deep in his net and screened by two bodies.
Toronto responded with two goals in the final three minutes to take a lead into the intermission. After Abruzzese drew in a PKer and sent the puck down low, Logan Shaw scored on the power play with a nice move out from the side of the goal to the front of the net.
Cleveland attempted to rally, but Hildeby stood tall, and a rebound from one of his pad saves resulted in a goal back the other way as Steeves released the zone. William Villeneuve grabbed the loose puck and immediately sent the Marlies‘ leading scorer free on a breakaway.
Steeves was initially stopped by a left-pad save from Pavel Cajan but stuck with it, regained possession, and teed up Jacob Quillan to score from the top of the crease.
Second Period
Steeves struck the post just a minute into the middle frame as Toronto almost established a two-goal cushion. After dodging the bullet, the Monsters tied the game up inside five minutes.
In a simple 2v2 rush situation, Marshall Rifai overplayed it and ended up entangled with Villeneuve, resulting in time and space for Trey Fix-Wolansky down the right. The Cleveland forward, a prolific scorer at the AHL level, picked the far top corner of the net.
Ryan Kirwan was at the forefront of the Marlies‘ response as he drove into the left circle and unloaded a heavy shot. The rebound fell into the wheelhouse of Ryan Reaves, but with the goal at his mercy, the enforcer whiffed on the puck.
Neither team could capitalize on power-play opportunities in a period lacking Grade-A scoring chances.
The go-ahead goal will have pleased Toronto’s coaching staff. An extended shift in the Cleveland zone in which the Marlies sustained a long cycle resulted in a goal for Cédric Paré between the hash marks. The backhand pass from Abruzzese was a thing of beauty, and the space was earned thanks to a long shift in which Toronto wore down the opposition.
A chance to score an insurance marker passed Toronto by late in the frame when Quillan couldn’t bury a rebound after a shot by Steeves.
Third Period
The third period was a wild 20 minutes that wouldn’t have pleased John Gruden, whose team entered the final frame with a 3-2 lead.
Blandisi and Steeves couldn’t convert an early scoring chance before Toronto paid the price for a lack of discipline.
Mastrosimone took a roughing penalty behind the play, and to make matters worse, the resulting penalty kill effort was terrible. Dylan Gambrell was left wide open between the hash marks to score against his former team.
With Cade Webber in the box for high-sticking, Cleveland struck at the seven-minute mark to take a 4-3 lead off a set faceoff play. Paré lost the draw cleanly on the left dot, and the Monsters quickly switched play to the opposite circle, where Rocco Grimaldi fired home a well-placed one-timer.
Toronto regrouped and tied the game at the midway mark. Blandisi outworked Drew Bavaro on the right wall and drove across the crease, where the veteran forward outwaited Cajan before completing the low finish.
Within a minute, the Marlies gave the goal straight back. Dancing inside the offensive blue line, Fix-Wolansky found Madison Bowey streaking through the middle, where Abruzzese didn’t pick him up or cut out the pass, and Hildeby was beaten for a fifth time, this time by a one-timer from Mikael Pyyhtiä after a nice pass by Bowey.
Toronto’s response to falling behind was immediate. Excellent work from Blandisi, Solow, and Paré generated two Grade-A scoring chances and drew a penalty.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Steeves scored directly from a faceoff win by Shaw to tie the game at 5-5, as five goals in 13 wild minutes had both head coaches scratching their heads.
Paré had the chance to be the Marlies’ hero with four minutes remaining, but his shot didn’t have the zip to beat Cajan’s blocker.
Nylander drew a penalty with 2:25 remaining, and the scene was set for a late winner. Despite three shots from Nylander and one from Steeves, the Marlies couldn’t find the winning goal and headed to overtime.
Overtime/Shootout
The Marlies were incensed by the lack of a penalty call after Quillan was tripped early in the extra frame. That said, Toronto dominated the extra frame without making their chances count.
Blandisi, Abruzzese, and Steeves all had the winning goal on their stick, but the best chance fell to Shaw with 20 seconds remaining. With just Cajan to beat on a breakaway, Toronto’s captain lost the handle at the critical moment, sending his shot wide of the post with the netminder outstretched.
Nylander, Shaw, and Steeves failed to score in the shootout, and Fix-Wolansky netted to earn Cleveland the extra point.
Post Game Notes
– This was the last of eight regular-season meetings, and the Marlies just earned three of a possible 16 points against Cleveland.
– It was the 23rd time Toronto has required overtime (and/or shootout) this year, setting a new single-season franchise record. The Marlies are 4-8 in shootouts this season.
– With three games left in the regular season, the Marlies (fifth on 80 points) are four points ahead of Belleville (sixth). The aim is still to finish third, but Toronto will have to pass Cleveland (81 points) and Syracuse (82). The Marlies face Utica on Wednesday before a home and home against Rochester this weekend.
– Alex Steeves registered his 15th multi-point game this season with a three-point haul (1G/2A). He moved within one goal of the single-season record held by Johnny Pohl (36).
– Nick Abruzzese has been excellent offensively in the last two outings, and it’s shown on the scoresheet with consecutive multi-point games. His two assists in this outing combined for a five-point haul over the weekend.
– Logan Shaw recorded two points (1G/1A) and is now tied for third all-time in points (62-104-166) with the Marlies.
– This was a tough game for any player to make their AHL and professional debut. Ryan Kirwan handled himself reasonably well in the circumstances and engaged physically, which is a little easier to do when Ryan Reaves is your linemate. He generated one Grade-A scoring chance from his initial shot but saw limited minutes late in the game.
“It’s hard in your first game, getting your feet wet and understanding the pro game,” said Gruden. “You could see [Kirwan] is probably a little hesitant at times, but he is a big, strong guy who you can see will get better over time.”
– Sunday’s lineup:
Forwards
Abruzzese – Shaw – Nylander
Mastrosimone – Quillan – Steeves
Kirwan – Haymes – Reaves
Blandisi – Pare – Solow
Defensemen
Kokkonen – Benning
Rifai – Villeneuve
Webber – Miller
Goaltenders
Hildeby
Akhtyamov
