“Being hurt is no fun. To get back out there and get two points for the team is fun. As a team, we talked about getting to the net, creating a little bit more. On all three of those goals [assisted by Matt Benning], we had guys in front of the goalie’s eyes, and without that piece there, none of those are going in.”
– Matt Benning
“I think we played a complete 60 today. We showed what we can do when we stick together and play the right way.”
– Marc Johnstone
Marc Johnstone hit the nail on the head with his post-game comments. Two weeks after a shutout loss to the same opponent, the Toronto Marlies flipped the switch with a dominant performance in Belleville.
First Period
Toronto dodged a bullet inside the opening 30 seconds before taking control. Artur Kalyiev pounced on a turnover from Blake Smith, but Artur Akhtyamov produced a vital early save. The Marlies then surged out to a 2-0 lead less than four minutes into the game, striking twice in 21 seconds.
A shot from Bo Groulx resulted in a pad save and partial clearance that fell to Matt Benning at the top of the circles. The veteran defenseman sent a floated backhand shot on goal, generating another rebound that Vinni Lettieri finished off.
John Gruden kept the same five skaters on the ice, and they rode the momentum to another goal. Bo Groulx drove down the right wing and decided to shoot rather than force a play, as is his tendency sometimes. The rebound off the goaltender’s pads fell to Logan Shaw, who couldn’t miss.
In complete control of the game, Toronto handed the Senators a lifeline 90 seconds later. Cedric Paré turned the puck over in the defensive zone before Olle Lycksell made a fantastic move around Akhtyamov to put Belleville on the board.
Michael Pezzetta and Ryan Tverberg were stopped on separate odd-man rushes, while Groulx forced a good save out of Mads Søgaard inside the final minute. At the other end, Akhtyamov only needed to make one more save of note on Xavier Bourgault in a quiet opening frame for Toronto’s netminder.
Second Period
The Marlies got off to another fast start in the middle frame, finding the net inside four minutes. The fourth line hounded pucks in the Sens’ zone, creating three separate turnovers. On the last of those, Marc Johnstone spun and shot from the right faceoff dot. With Pezzetta providing a screen, Søgaard was unsighted as the puck found the roof of the net.
The Marlies, now fully in control, should have stamped their authority on the game. Tverberg and Johnson, both on partial breakaways, forced Søgaard to make excellent saves to keep the Senators within two.
Once more, Toronto handed Belleville a lifeline out of nothing. On the power play, Groulx lost possession in the offensive zone under little pressure, resulting in a 2v1 against. The backchecking effort from Groulx was lacking, and Shaw couldn’t react quickly enough as Garrett Pilon struck 12 seconds into the Marlies‘ man advantage. John Gruden immediately yanked the first power-play unit, such was his annoyance on the bench.
In a game that became feistier by the minute, Johnstone dropped the gloves with Jorian Donovan at the midway mark, after Toronto felt Lycksell’s high-sticking penalty was more than a little dangerous.
The resulting power play was a better effort overall, although the Marlies almost gave up a tying goal seconds after returning to even strength. Akhtyamov produced another timely save on Wyatt Bongiovanni from close range.
It was a mere blip on the radar for the Marlies, who continued to drive the play and generate quality scoring chances. A fantastic exchange between Jacob Quillan and Luke Haymes teed up Alex Nylander, who looked odds-on to score on the rebound, but he didn’t get enough on his effort.
That was forgotten 60 seconds later when Borya Valis scored from his customary position below the hash marks. In a bewildering decision, the officiating crew ruled that Paré was guilty of goaltender interference despite minimal contact outside of the blue paint. It was the latest of a series of (poor) officiating no-goal decisions that have gone against Toronto this season.
Against the run of play, Belleville almost snatched a tying goal in the final seconds. With Noah Chadwick in the box for a delay-of-game penalty, Lycksell ripped a shot flush off the post, much to the Marlies’ relief.
Third Period
The Marlies were down a forward two minutes into the final frame due to another ambiguous call from the officials. Valis was called for an elbow on Jamieson Rees, and though contact was made, it appeared to be more of a follow-through than a swing at the player behind him. After watching the replay numerous times, I’m not certain how much intent there was, but after a long discussion, the officials decided to throw Valis out of the game.
Toronto battened down the hatches on the ensuing five-minute penalty kill. The Marlies gave up just three shots, including one high-danger chance, which Akhtyamov took care of.
After finding their equilibrium following the long kill, Toronto scored a deserved fourth goal. Unsurprisingly, it came courtesy of a relentless fourth-line shift that tilted Belleville on its heels before Benning found Vinni Lettieri down low. The latter teed up Resse Johnson at the top of the right circle, where, from one knee, Johnson ripped the puck by Søgaard. Again, providing the critical screen in front was Marc Johnstone.
A minute later, Lettieri headed to the box for slashing, although it was bewildering that the officials ruled Lettieri to be the only offender after he and Bourgualt hacked away at one another. Tension rose further when Kalyiev scored on the power play with a shot that deflected off Smith. A still-furious Lettieri was ejected from the game for unsportsmanlike conduct/abuse of officials.
With a one-goal lead to protect, Toronto was now down to 10 forwards for the final five minutes. The Marlies gave up just three shots in the remaining regulation time and none in the final 75 seconds of 6-on-5. A blocked shot by Tverberg with five seconds left summed up Toronto’s resolve in this game.
Post Game Notes
– You could hardly tell Matt Benning had missed five weeks of action during this performance. He was solid defensively, taking some of the strain off a young blue line. His three assists were a reward for making the percentage plays.
– There was no supplemental discipline for Borya Valis, which is the right decision based on my reading of the penalty and situation.
– I cannot say enough good things about the fourth line’s performance. John Gruden was rightly glowing about them after the game. Marc Johnstone and Reese Johnson both got on the scoresheet and were major contributors on the PK.
“That’s probably the happiest we’ve been as a staff with all four lines,” said Gruden. “They all contributed and defended well. That fourth line was really good… Pretty impressive to get that contribution from your fourth line. Well, I don’t call it the fourth line. I call it ‘one of the lines that was outstanding for us today.'”
– This wasn’t the easiest outing for Artur Akhtyamov to navigate in goal. He had little chance on any of the three goals allowed, and he came up with some timely saves. The netminder excelled during the five-minute PK and the final five minutes of regulation. That impressed me far more than his stat line of three goals on 22 shots.
– The AHL is a development league for everyone involved. That includes the referees, and mistakes happen. That said, this was an especially poor performance from the four-person officiating crew, and Toronto was on the wrong end of the majority of the dubious calls. It almost cost them the game and a crucial two points against a divisional rival.
– Ryan Kirwan (AHL deal) was named ECHL Rookie of the Month for November. He recorded 15 points (8G, 7A) in 14 games. Kirwan leads all rookies in goals (9) and is tied in points (17). He is the ECHL leader in power-play goals (7).
– Injury updates:
- Travis Boyd: upper body, day-to-day
- Chas Sharpe: upper body, day-to-day
- Landon Sim: lower body, day-to-day
- Henry Thrun: illness, day-to-day
- William Villeneuve: illness, day-to-day
– Wednesday’s lineup:
Forwards
Groulx – Shaw – Lettieri
Haymes- Quillan – Nylander
Valis – Paré – Tverberg
Pezzetta – Johnstone – Johnson
Defensemen
Smith – Benning
Prokop – Chadwick
Webber – Parsons
Goaltenders
Akhtyamov
Peksa
