“We put ourselves in good situations going into third periods, and we keep blowing those leads. A lot of that just comes down to being gutsy in your own zone, sticking to the system and not playing outside of it.”
– Dakota Mermis
“All I know is that our players aren’t comfortable playing with the lead. We’re not there yet. There were a couple of missed assignments, and the guys aren’t feeling comfortable in those situations. At the end of the day, it’s just not good enough, and we’ve got to fix it real quick. We’re passing up some real good opportunities here to get some points.”
– John Gruden
The Toronto Marlies‘ head coach was again a frustrated man after a loss to Cleveland on Friday night. John Gruden’s team played a solid 40 minutes on the road to build a 2-1 lead before falling apart, allowing three goals in the third period en route to a 4-2 defeat.
First Period
The Marlies got off to a perfect start, grabbing the lead five minutes in when they made Cleveland pay for not clearing the puck deep enough. After taking possession in the neutral zone, Blake Smith sent Ryan Tverberg away down the right wing. With Bo Groulx and Logan Shaw driving the net hard, Tverberg sent a dangerous pass into the slot, where a Cleveland defender tipped it past goaltender Zach Swachenko.
In a low-event first period, the Marlies held the upper hand in terms of possession and zone time, while keeping the Monsters at arm’s length. Toronto drew the first penalty but couldn’t double their advantage; Tverberg and Groulx couldn’t capitalize on a promising power-play attempt.
Cleveland only really threatened to score on a late power play of its own. Artur Akhtyamov stopped Owen Sillinger and Brendan Gaunce, preserving a deserved 1-0 Marlies lead into the first intermission.
Second Period
The Marlies gave up the lead 17 seconds into the middle frame. After a few lost battles behind the goal line, Cleveland worked the puck back to the point. The shot from Dysin Mayo hit Matt Benning in front, producing a rebound that Luca Del Bel Belluz got to ahead of Cade Webber. Del Bel Belluz shot a floater past Akhtyamov amid traffic in front.
Toronto responded positively, drawing a penalty. While they didn’t score with the extra skater, they came close seconds after play returned to five-on-five. After good work by Luke Haymes, Marshall Rifai sent through a point shot that Alex Nylander tipped high toward the goal. Sawchenko was fortunate that the puck caught the very top of his shoulder and fell kindly enough for him to smother.
Nylander turned provider with a seeing-eye pass to Cedric Paré in the slot, but the centerman couldn’t beat Sawchenko from point-blank range. Paré then turned the puck over twice in the defensive zone and was fortunate that Cleveland didn’t capitalize.
The Monsters rode a little bit of momentum and drew a penalty, but they almost conceded a shorthanded goal. Sawchenko produced a double save on a Marc Johnstone breakaway after Paré sprung him loose.
Cleveland began taking the game to the Marlies without generating high-danger chances. After surviving three minutes of sustained offensive-zone pressure, Toronto took a late-second-period lead.
Tverberg chased a clearance by Shaw along the left boards just inside the Cleveland zone. After Tverberg outbattled Caleb MacDonald, Groulx picked up the loose puck and found Rifai as the trailer on the play. The defenseman chose the wrong option to pass instead of shoot, but the puck fell kindly to Tverberg. With two defenders on him, Tverberg found Groulx in the slot, where he delivered a one-time finish past Sawchenko.
Third Period
The Marlies generated a total of one high-danger chance in the third period. In the fourth minute, Nylander created a partial breakaway for himself after good defensive work. He cut across the crease but couldn’t beat Swachenko with a low finishing attempt.
The Marlies were a mess from that point onward. Toronto’s tendency to concede goals in bunches reared its ugly head again with two goals against in three minutes, starting at the eight-minute mark, due to the missed assignments Gruden alluded to in his post-game presser.
Jack Williams stepped out of the corner under little pressure and sniped the tying goal. The Marlies were timid after the 2-2 tally and quickly conceded a third goal in which they chased the puck around the defensive zone and didn’t dig in hard enough. Wide open on the weak side, Sillinger scored on a cross-ice feed by Luca Pinelli.
Not that Cleveland needed an insurance marker, but a fourth goal with two minutes left sealed the deal. After William Villenueve’s pinch at the offensive blue line, Cleveland countered on the rush, and Brendan Gaunce teed up Zach Aston-Reese to put the game beyond reach. Villeneuve recovered well enough to pick up ZAR’s stick but didn’t, continuing his struggles of late. Smashing his stick after Cleveland’s put-away goal spoke to the defenseman’s current frustration level.
Post Game Notes
– The Marlies have slipped to fifth in the North Division and now occupy the final playoff berth. They are four points behind Cleveland in third place, and Toronto can ill afford to lose more ground in the rematch on Saturday evening.
– Ryan Tverberg has five points (2G/3A) in his last four games and is arguably the most consistent performer on the Marlies right now. This was his third (1G/1A) multi-point haul this season.
– Friday’s lineup:
Forwards
Groulx – Shaw – Tverberg
Paré – Quillan – Nylander
Barbolini – Haymes – King
Pezzetta – Johnstone – Johnson
Defensemen
Mermis – Villenueve
Webber – Benning
Smith – Rifai
Goaltenders
Akhtyamov
Hildeby
