“It just got a little bit out of hand, with the special teams and so forth. I give our guys a lot of credit. I don’t think we ever quit.”
– John Gruden
With callups and injuries forcing his hand, John Gruden was forced to dress a blue line with 91 AHL games between them. The Toronto Marlies competed hard in the first period until allowing the opening goal. The middle frame went south, as Laval comprehensively won the special teams battle before a line brawl erupted at the intermission buzzer.
First Period
Toronto held the upper hand for the first six minutes but wasted several chances to build a lead. Jacob Quillan fired wide of the target on a 2v1 chance just 65 seconds in. Matthew Barbolini, Ryan Tverberg, Borya Valis, and Quillan all forced Kaapo Kähkönen into excellent saves before the tide turned after a media timeout.
After getting outshot 6-1, Laval flipped the script by recording five unanswered shots, opening the scoring in the process. With the Marlies caught chasing in the defensive zone, Lucas Condotta made no mistake from the hash marks.
Vyacheslav Peksa prevented an avalanche with some good saves as Laval threatened to build a substantial lead.
Despite Ryan McCleary’s brilliant play to break up a 2v1, the Rocket scored a second in the final seconds of the frame. A deft redirect by Luke Tuch wrongfooted Peksa, beating the netminder five-hole.
Second Period
Toronto’s chance to get back into the game hung on an opportunity generated 70 seconds in. Alex Nylander didn’t finish from the slot following an excellent drive to the net by Quillan.
Sammy Blais struck the crossbar on Laval’s next offensive foray, but a third goal was just around the corner for the Rocket. They struck on the power play with a little good fortune after some near misses. Laurent Dauphin attempted to find Tyler Thorpe in the slot, but the play was cut out by Blake Smith. With Peksa committed to the pass, the puck bounced directly back to Dauphin to finish off.
The Marlies conceded a second power-play goal after a botched clearance by Logan Shaw. Blais was the scorer on a feed from Roy.
Peksa was under siege, producing three quality saves on high-danger chances as Laval threatened to build an even bigger lead.
The period ended in chaos. After exiting the penalty box, Michael Pezetta laid a questionable hit, but what followed was completely unacceptable. Punches were thrown from the Laval bench, and Joshua Roy jumped two Toronto players after hopping over the boards. Cédric Paré had to defend himself after he was also jumped from behind.
Third Period
Somehow, the result of the altercations to end the middle frame was a much shortened bench for Toronto and a five-minute power play for Laval. Against the grain, Bo Groulx scored a memorable shorthanded goal with the aid of a wicked deflection.
Toronto killed off the major and another minor penalty to stay competitive. Travis Boyd, Luke Haymes, and Valis all had decent opportunities to bring Toronto within two as the Marlies showed some belief in the possibility of a comeback.
With 2:14 remaining, the second Toronto goal arrived off the back of a nice passing play. Noah Chadwick delivered a gorgeous feed to Boyd, who buried the chance from the slot.
With Peksa on the bench, the Marlies nearly created a dramatic finish to the game with 90 seconds left. Logan Shaw had a rebound chance similar to his tying goal in the previous meeting, but he couldn’t find the net this time.
Instead, Joshua Roy sealed the deal for Laval with an empty-net goal — the same player who should have been ejected from the game. The AHL’s discipline panel agreed, as Roy has since been handed a three-game suspension along with Alex Belzile (three games), Laurent Dauphin (three games), and Sammy Blais (one game).
Post Game Notes
– With an assist, Jacob Quillan extended his point streak (1G/3A) to three games.
– His statistics are taking a battering in the last couple of games, but Vyacheslav Peksa has performed well in far from ideal circumstances.
“We did a good job protecting [Peksa] at times,” said Gruden. “He handled it well. He hasn’t played many games, and that is how this league is. I thought he played in the traffic pretty well and did a good job. Some of our young defensemen did a good job of trying to help protect him. That’s how we got into some trouble, too, so it is a fine line. They go to the net hard, so that is going to happen. At the end of the day, I am fine with it. It is a good learning experience for him.”
– Ryan McCleary made his AHL debut and produced a couple of excellent defensive plays in the opening frame. It was a tough test for him on an inexperienced blue line, although the young group deserves some credit for their efforts overall.
– Michael Pezzetta has been handed a three-game suspension for his part in the second-period melee.
– The Marlies have signed goaltender Kyle McClellan (Cincinnati Cyclones) to a professional tryout contract.
– Vinni Lettieri skated in his 500th professional game.
– Injury updates:
- Ken Appleby: lower body, week-to-week
- Reese Johnson: lower body, week-to-week
- Cade Webber: lower body, day-to-day
- William Villeneuve: illness, week-to-week
– Friday’s lineup:
Forwards
Groulx – Shaw – Boy
Haymes- Quillan – Nylander
Barbolini – Paré – Lettieri
Pezzetta – Tverberg – Valis
Defensemen
Chadwick – Sharpe
Smith – McCleary
Prokop – Parsons
Goaltenders
Peksa
McClellan
