The Toronto Marlies delivered one of their best performances of the young season to ease past a Hershey team struggling for consistency this season.
As much as Travis Boyd earned the headlines with a four-point game, it was a true team effort with every Marlie pulling on the rope.
“I felt like we were clicking out there. We made a lot of good plays. [Boyd] had a great night, same with [Shaw]. Two good players, and they’ve been around this league for a while. We got to follow off them, support them, and we’ll be good. Overall, at five-on-five, we played really good. We played direct, we played north, and we were hard on pucks.”
– Easton Cowan
“[Cowan] was really good — really good. He can move, and he’s good with the puck. He sees the ice. I’m certainly very happy he was on the line tonight with [Shaw] and me. I’m really looking forward to continuing to play with him and build even more chemistry.”
– Travis Boyd on the performance of linemate Easton Cowan
First Period
Like the previous outing, Toronto got off to the worst possible start. Matt Strome was allowed to cut inside from the right boards and scored low glove side on Artur Akhtyamov just 18 seconds into the game.
The Marlies responded positively by spending a good chunk of time in the Hershey zone. Two booming point shots from Noah Chadwick resulted in rebounds that narrowly evaded those in blue sweaters.
The young defenseman continued to be a threat offensively. After Bo Groulx and Jacob Quillan were stopped around the net, the puck escaped out to an unmarked Chadwick. With the goaltender unsighted, the rookie’s shot whistled past the wrong side of the post.
The Marlies were finally rewarded seven minutes after falling behind. After the Marlies forced a turnover in the Hershey zone, Cédric Paré sent the puck to Henry Thrun, who was surging through the middle of the zone. From the top of the circles, the defenseman rifled home a tying goal.
Akhtyamov was barely tested for the remainder of the frame, and Toronto didn’t do nearly enough to extend Garin Bjorklund at the other end.
A late power play presented the best chance to take a lead into the intermission. Debutant Easton Cowan made some creative plays while Borya Valis saw two efforts turned aside by the Hershey netminder.
Second Period
The first registered shot of the middle frame restored Hershey’s lead. A blast from the point took multiple deflections before landing on the stick of Sam Bitten, who only needed to hit the net to score.
The Bears gifted Toronto a tying marker 73 seconds later. Travis Boyd seized on a defensive-zone turnover by Ilya Protas and scored low on Bjorklund.
The Marlies killed off Hershey’s first power play with ease and mostly limited Grade-A chances against. Akhtyamov did need to be sharp to turn aside Grant Cruikshank and Eriks Mateiko, and his best stop of the period denied Hershey a morale-boosting go-ahead goal. After killing a penalty, Andrew Cristall exited the box and was sent away on a breakaway, but Akhtyamov refused to bite early and produced a wonderful left toe save to keep the game tied.
Toronto struck late in the frame to take a deserved lead. I’ve been critical of Henry Thrun at times, but he delivered an excellent stretch pass to send Boyd away down the right wing. Hershey left Reese Johnson unattended at the far post, and Boyd’s cross-seam pass was finished off by a one-timer from Johnson.
Third Period
Outside of an effort from the hashmarks by David Gucciardi, the Bears were shut down by a ruthless Marlies team in the final frame.
Bo Groulx, Boyd, and Alex Nylander all went close to netting an insurance marker, while Johnson was hauled down on a partial breakaway with no call.
The breakthrough arrived with four minutes remaining. Noah Chadwick opted not to shoot from the point, instead picking out Matthew Barbolini at the top of the left circle. With his back to goal, Barbolini spun and shot in one move, beating the netminder far side.
Hershey had a goal waved off seconds after the restart and almost immediately opted for the extra attacker. The Marlies held firm and ensured the victory with an empty-net goal by Boyd.
Post Game Notes
– This was a momentous four-point (2g/2a) night for Travis Boyd against his former team. There was a video tribute for him during the first period and a hearty round of applause when he took the ice after he was named the first star of the game. The veteran forward is beginning to find his groove in new surroundings.
“[Boyd] is embracing his role with us,” said head coach John Gruden. “He is a winner; he’s won a Stanley Cup, and he has won at this level. He is a good player; he’s smart. We had him quarterbacking the power play. Pretty much, you can put him anywhere out there. He plays the right way.”
– Artur Akhtyamov turned aside 17 of 19 shots to record his third consecutive win.
– Something of a surprise is Henry Thrun’s offensive output. He has recorded a point in five of his last six games (3G/3A). Thrun’s decision-making offensively is far from perfect, but he’s been very effective after a rocky start to the season.
– A point on the empty-net goal opened Easton Cowan’s AHL account in his Marlies debut. It was a good decision to place him on a line with two veterans, and there was immediate chemistry despite the disparity in speed between the rookie and his older linemates.
“[Cowan] looked really good,” said Gruden. “He was playing the right way and was in the right spots. You can see the high IQ. He makes plays and is not afraid to go to the dirty areas. He is going to be a really good player while he is here. He did a good job with Boyd and Shaw, and they controlled the majority of the play.”
– Friday’s lineup:
Forwards
Cowan – Shaw – Boyd
Quillan – Groulx – Lettieri
Barbolini – Tverberg – Nylander
Valis – Paré – Johnson
Defensemen
Webber – Thrun
Prokop – Villeneuve
Smith – Chadwick
Goaltenders
Akhtyamov
Peksa
