There is much to ponder for Toronto Marlies head coach John Gruden as his team enters the short Christmas break.
Facing a Belleville team short on confidence (one win in their last 11) and playing a third game in three days with travel, the Marlies simply didn’t work as hard as their desperate opponent over the 60 minutes.
The Marlies continue to take one step forward and two steps back in what is quickly turning into a frustrating 2025-26 season. I will be shocked if this performance doesn’t prompt Gruden to make some significant changes to his lineup for the Boxing Day rematch.
First Period
The Marlies could not have gotten off to a better start. A pass down low by Chas Sharpe found Cédric Paré, who drove across the crease before slotting home inside three minutes.
Belleville responded from the restart as Keean Washkurak’s shot from the top of the left circle trickled through the five-hole of Vyacheslav Peksa.
Toronto carried the majority of the play despite the setback, but they couldn’t find a go-ahead goal. Borya Valis, Bo Groulx, and Alex Nylander (x2) didn’t convert from high-danger positions.
The furious pace of the first 9-10 minutes calmed a little, benefiting Belleville. The Senators took the lead during four-on-four action, taking advantage of lackadaisical defending from Toronto. A wide-open Xavier Bourgault’s shot effort produced a rebound for Garrett Pilon to finish off past Peksa.
The Marlies had the game-tying goal on the stick of Logan Shaw inside the final three minutes. Somehow, the Captain failed to score at the far post on a delightful feed from Vinni Lettieri. With Hunter Shepard down and out, the puck was worked back to Noah Chadwick, but by the time the defenseman got his shot off, the Sens netminder recovered enough to make the save.
At the other end, Phillipe Daoust missed an open net, and Peksa rejected Jamieson Rees on a breakaway as Toronto barely avoided falling further behind before the intermission.
Second Period
The first eight minutes of the middle frame featured a whole lot of nothing until Toronto’s fourth line drew a penalty. The struggling Marlies power play found some inspiration, cutting Belleivlle to shreds with quick, incisive puck movement. Shaw finished off a move orchestrated by Lettieri and Jacob Quillan.
That effort proved for naught when Belleville responded 30 seconds later. Lassi Thomson was afforded the space in the right circle to rip a shot bar-down past Peksa.
Within 90 seconds, the Senators doubled their lead: a defensive-zone turnover and a shambolic attempt to recover defensively led to a goal for Rees.
Peksa was pulled from the game at that point, replaced by Artur Akhtyamov, who was immediately called into action with stunning saves on Arthur Kaliyev and Daoust.
Akhtyamov could do nothing to prevent Belleville from scoring a fifth goal in the final minute of the middle frame. Another defensive breakdown allowed Belleville to complete a simple tic-tac-toe play, finished off by Jan Jeník.
Third Period
It went from bad to worse for the Marlies in the third period. The goals continued to pile up along with penalty minutes (92), as tempers frayed on both sides.
Daoust found the net 78 seconds in after he was left alone out front to score on his own rebound.
Akhtyamov singlehandedly killed off a 5v3 power play for the Senators, but that only delayed the inevitable. On their next opportunity with the man advantage, Tomas Hamara opened his AHL account with a point shot to make it 7-2.
Seven soon became eight in shambolic fashion from the Marlies’ perspective. Toronto won an offensive-zone faceoff during 4-on-4 action, only to give up a breakaway chance to Belleville. Rees didn’t require a second invitation, sliding the puck by Akhtyamov.
Bo Groulx scored during the same 4v4 passage of play, and Marc Johnstone netted on the power play. They were mere consolation goals, giving the scoreline a little more respectability than it deserved from the Toronto perspective.
Post Game Notes
– If you missed my recap of the Marlies’ 4-3 OT win over Belleville the day prior, check it out here.
– This was comfortably the worst start from goaltender Vyacheslav Peksa since his call-up from the ECHL. He would likely want goals one and three back, but ultimately, his performance wasn’t the reason for the heavy defeat.
– Back in a bottom-six role befitting his style of play and skill set, Cédric Paré scored for the third straight game (3G).
– A pair of primary assists for defenseman Chas Sharpe moves him up to four helpers in the last four games.
– With an assist on the second goal, Jacob Quillan extended his point (2G/6A) streak to six games. At the break, he leads the Marlies in scoring with 23 points in 24 games.
– Last but certainly not least, I wish everyone in the MLHS community a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
– Sunday’s lineup:
Forwards
Groulx – Shaw – Lettieri
Boyd – Quillan – Valis
Barbolini – Haymes – Nylander
Paré – Johnstone – Johnson
Defensemen
Smith – Benning
Chadwick – Sharpe
Villeneuve – Parsons
Goaltenders
Peksa
Akhtyamov
