The Toronto Marlies continue to bend but not break in the face of adversity so far this season.
After digging themselves into an early two-goal hole, the Marlies clawed their way back into the game against Utica on Sunday despite a barrage of penalties.
First Period
Defensive-zone turnovers resulted in the Marlies conceding twice inside four minutes.
First, Nathan Légaré had a far post tap-in as the Marlies were scrambling, and Johnathan Gruden was afforded the time and space in the slot to pick out his teammate with a cross-slot feed. On the second goal, a sloppy pass from Henry Thrun in his own zone was picked off by Angus Crookshank, who sniped past Artur Akhtyamov.
A four-minute power play turned the tide for Toronto as Travis Boyd sniped to halve the deficit with six minutes played.
It didn’t do much to help the Marlies in terms of their performance back at five-on-five as Utica continued to dominate possession, scoring chances, and the shot clock.
After allowing two goals on as many shots, Akhtyamov looked a little shorn of confidence. He was unsteady to say the least, with some questionable decision-making around leaving his net. He did, however, find a way to stop 13 more shots to keep the deficit at one.
Toronto killed two penalties and generated its best chance to tie the game. Marc Johnstone misplayed a shorthanded breakaway, losing control at the vital moment. He showed composure to create a secondary opportunity, but he couldn’t lift the puck over the pads of Jeremy Brodeur from close range.
Second Period
Toronto stepped up in the middle frame and began to impose its brand of hockey on the Comets. Bo Groulx and Logan Shaw came close to tying the game inside the opening five minutes before Toronto was down a skater for a third time.
Groulx drew an infraction seconds after an excellent penalty kill, and the Marlies nearly scored on the ensuing power play. Cedric Paré couldn’t bury a chance from point-blank range after good work by Luke Haymes.
Akhtyamov almost earned himself a primary assist with a fantastic stretch pass, which generated a partial breakaway for Matthew Barbolini, but Brodeur came up with a sharp pad save.
Toronto continued to carry the play after the penalty expired, with the fourth line, in particular, causing havoc. Borya Valis and Marc Johnstone went close, but the home team and their fans remained frustrated.
The Comets had the opportunity to establish a two-goal lead on a four-minute power play, but not only did the Marlies produce another stellar kill, they also generated the best scoring chance (Jacob Quillan on a breakaway, stopped by a good save from Brodeur).
Third Period
Brodeur continued to frustrate Toronto early in the third period, this time enjoying a little fortune. The netminder was relieved when a shot from Travis Boyd rattled between his pads and stayed out.
A debatable roughing penalty dished out to Ryan Tverberg summed up an inconsistent performance from the officials, although — to Toronto’s credit — the Marlies knuckled down and produced another stellar kill.
A blast from the left circle from Vinni Lettieri through traffic at the seven-minute mark was turned aside, but from the resulting faceoff, Toronto attacked in waves. Lettieri attempted five one-time blasts from the left circle before Paré picked up a rebound below the goal line and sent a delightful pass into the slot. Groulx was on hand to finish off his first goal of the season to tie the game at 2-2.
Barbolini and Quillan continued to flourish, although neither could find the net from promising positions as Toronto ran Utica ragged.
The turning point arrived inside the final nine minutes when Dmitry Osipov brutally targeted the head of Marc Johnstone. The Utica defenseman was correctly ejected from the game, sending Toronto to a five-minute power play. Johnstone was able to skate off the ice after some attention from the trainer but disappeared into the dressing room.
After surviving a breakaway by Gruden, who fired wide, Toronto scored the eventual game-winner. There was some excellent patience on display by William Villenueve, who waited for Lettieri to open up in the slot to provide the perfect tip on a slap pass.
Akhtyamov earned his win with a huge double save on Xavier Parent with three minutes remaining, and that wasn’t the last scare. Tverberg was incredulous after he was handed another roughing penalty, sending the Marlies back to the penalty kill with 2:37 left in regulation.
Toronto stepped up to the plate with another hugely impressive kill. With Brodeur pulled, Haymes made a big play to clear the danger inside the final minute as Utica’s six skaters couldn’t break the Marlies down.
Akhtyamov produced one final save in the last second to secure the comeback victory and a third consecutive win for the Marlies.
Post Game Notes
– Winning the special teams battle was key to this victory: Toronto was a perfect 7/7 on the penalty kill and 2-for-5 on the power play. Toronto is now 3-1-0 this season and sits third in the North Division behind Laval (3-1-0) and Syracuse (4-0-0).
– William Villenueve picked up a pair of assists after a slow-ish start to the campaign for him offensively. The presence of many new faces and defensive partners may have taken him a few games to acclimate to.
– Artur Akhtyamov was totally out of sorts in the opening frame. He battled through that and stayed mentally strong the rest of the way. In that respect, it was a mature performance, but his decision-making around the net has to improve.
– This was easily Vinni Lettieri’s best performance in a Marlies uniform, and it showed on the scoresheet. The game-winning goal and two assists were his first points for Toronto. Bo Groulx also looks to be finding his feet and getting himself into scoring positions more often. This was his first goal for Toronto.
“They’re guys who haven’t been around and are in their first year with us,” said Gruden. “It takes some time to create some chemistry. That is something for us to look forward to; the more experience they have playing together, the more success they’ll have. We needed them to wake up, and they definitely did in the third period.”
– Dmitry Osipov was handed a three-game suspension for the headshot. There has been no word on the status of Marc Johnstone.
– Injury update: David Kämpf (lower body, day-to-day); Sam Stevens (upper body, week-to-week); Cade Webber (lower body, day-to-day).
– Sunday’s lineup:
Forwards
Lettieri – Groulx – Boyd
Paré – Haymes – Shaw
Barbolini – Quillan – Valis
Pezzetta – Johnstone – Tverberg
Defensemen
Thrun – Benning
Chadwick – Mermis
Smith – Villeneuve
Goaltenders
Akhtyamov
Peksa
