“We were watching and didn’t respond very well to [allowing the first goal]. We were shooting ourselves in the foot. We have to be more direct in our first 10 minutes because you could see it coming again. It looked like a very familiar script from the last time we played them. You can only play catch-up so many times in this league, especially at this time of year.”
– John Gruden
After somewhat throwing away Game 1, the Cleveland Monsters did not make the same mistake again after dominating the Toronto Marlies once more in Game 2. This was an embarrassingly one-sided affair, and only the play of Artur Akhtyamov kept the game close on the scoreboard.
First Period
The Monsters outshot the Marlies 9-1 through the opening eight minutes and could easily have built a substantial lead. Instead, the Monsters had to settle for a 1-0 advantage with a goal at the six-minute mark.
After a puck evaded a pinching William Villeneuve, Dakota Mermis couldn’t choose whether to stick or twist on the resulting 2v1 situation, making it easy work for Roman Ahcan to score on a feed from Zach Aston-Reese.
The Marlies mustered four shots in the first period, none of which troubled Zach Sawchenko. Toronto’s best chance to score at five-on-five fell to Reese Johnson on a partial breakaway, but the fourth-line forward couldn’t bury.
After Bo Groulx missed the target with a one-timer on a power play, Cleveland struck within a minute of returning to full strength. On another shift in which the Marlies were caught running around in the defensive zone, Mikael Pyyhtiä redirected a point shot by Luca Del Bel Belluz to open up a 2-0 Cleveland lead.
Second Period
Toronto got off to a better start in the second period, with the strong words of their head coach ringing in their ears. Any early momentum was quickly squashed, though, as they struggled to exert concerted pressure in the offensive zone.
Cleveland had the chance to take a stranglehold of the game when Logan Shaw was assessed a double minor penalty for high-sticking. The Monsters didn’t generate a Grade-A opportunity, and Artur Akhtyamov gave up no second opportunities as the Toronto penalty kill stood firm.
The ice remained tilted toward the Marlies‘ net at five-on-five, as Toronto spent large chunks of time defending, mostly due to a work rate that didn’t match the desperation of the home team.
A weak hooking call on Reese Johnson ironically benefited Toronto. During another strong penalty-killing effort, Marshall Rifai launched the puck the length of the ice. Sawchenko had a complete brain fart in leaving the crease to play the puck, and the result was a tap-in for the onrushing Groulx.
The Marlies drew within one from nowhere and should have tied the game with three minutes remaining. Logan Shaw was the beneficiary of a broken play, but he couldn’t score on his backhand attempt in tight on Sawchenko.
Third Period
If the Marlies had capitalized on one of two Grade-A chances in the first five minutes, perhaps they would have pulled off another miraculous comeback victory. Mermis couldn’t beat Sawchenko from the slot inside 30 seconds when Cleveland was caught napping. In a frustrating game for Shaw, the captain didn’t make good on another high-danger chance, this time on the power play.
On the same man-advantage, Easton Cowan sent a drop pass back straight to Justin Pearson, who raced in alone on Akhtyamov. The Cleveland forward tried to do too much with his finish and sent his effort off the outside of the post.
That was it for Toronto offensively, as Sawchenko wasn’t tested from that point on. The Monsters secured the victory with seven minutes remaining, a few seconds after Shaw exited the penalty box. The Marlies could not clear their lines, and Luca Pinelli netted his first of the playoffs.
Cleveland cruised to victory, keeping Toronto at arm’s length through the remainder of regulation to tie the series at 1-1. The Marlies will take the road split but now return home knowing they’ll need to find a whole other level in their game to win this series.
Game 2 lineup:
Forwards
Groulx – Shaw – Lettieri
Cowan – Quillan – Tverberg
Pare – Haymes – Nylander
Valis – Johnson
Defensemen
Thrun – Benning
Mermis – Villeneuve
Rifai – Danford
Chadwick
Goalies
Akhtyamov
Hildeby
