After such a promising start, John Gruden was left frustrated following the Toronto Marlies’ second loss of the weekend.
The Marlies allowed three unanswered goals to erase a 2-0 lead after an elongated break due to an evacuation of the rink. They took far too many penalties, blew a late lead in the third, and were done no favours by an officiating crew who somehow missed a clear high-stick on a goal for the Belleville Senators.
“It felt like two games. We started so well in the first 10 [minutes], slowed it up a little bit, and then the fire alarm happened. They took it to us. They were down 2-0, and they made a big push.
“We had too many penalties. We can’t play that way against them. You’re playing with fire, and it’s not a recipe for success. We have to clean things up and have to be better as we move on.
“I don’t think we’re consistent enough to really like it too much (Toronto’s play over the first six games). How can we like it? We just lost two games at home to a desperate team. I think we have good parts to our game, but in order for us to be more consistent, we have to eliminate some of the mistakes, some of the penalties, and simplify certain parts of [our game].”
– John Gruden on wasting an excellent start & his team’s penalty troubles
First Period
Toronto got off to a dream start by scoring twice in three minutes, playing with the type of pace and intensity that was missing for large chunks of Saturday’s loss.
William Villeneuve opened his account with a seeing-eye point shot that somehow evaded the glove of Mads Søgaard.
David Kämpf created a turnover in the neutral zone, setting a 3v2 in motion. He took possession back from Alex Nylander along the left wall and picked out Bo Groulx with a nice pass. The latter delivered a quality finish for his second goal of the campaign.
It could easily have been 3-0 inside four minutes, but Vinni Lettieri struck the crossbar on a breakaway. On the ensuing play, Jacob Quillan was called for goaltender interference in what looked to be accidental contact rather than anything malicious. That signalled the end of the night for Søgaard after an awkward stumble into his net, bringing Hunter Shepard into the game.
Toronto killed the penalty and set about extending the lead. Shepard turned aside Blake Smithe before enjoying some good fortune; Logan Shaw and Borya Valis combined to good effect, with the former’s shot providing a rebound in the blue paint. Lettieri reacted first, but he couldn’t lift the puck over the goaltender’s left pad from in tight.
Just as Belleville began to take a foothold in the game, the fire alarm sounded in the building, prompting an eventual evacuation and lengthy delay.
Upon resumption of play, the Senators dominated possession without turning it into too many quality scoring chances. Toronto killed off a pair of penalties and were thankful to Dennis Hildeby for two stellar saves on Arthur Kaliyev.
Second Period
It took Belleville 60 seconds to strike in the middle frame.
Noah Chadwick did well to shackle Kaliyev, as the Senators forward attempted to beat the rookie with speed through the defensive zone. In one swift move, Kaliyev spun and sent a speculative shot on net that caught Hildeby unaware and squeezed by him.
Chadwick wasn’t shaken by the turn of events and impressed on the penalty kill two minutes later, making several key plays as Toronto’s procession to the box continued.
Back at five-on-five, Kaliyev remained a huge threat and looked set to score again after he cut across the crease, but this time, Hildeby won the battle with a pad save.
While a tying goal seemed inevitable, a terrible decision by the officiating crew allowed it to stand. Lassi Thomson’s rising shot appeared to clip both the shoulder and helmet of Hildeby before the puck flew high up into the air. Tyler Boucher scored with a high stick, but even after a discussion, the four-person crew allowed the goal to stand. After seeing the replay on the big screen, the home crowd rightfully booed at the injustice of it all, but the AHL doesn’t allow reviews for such incidents.
“It’s a really good league. They do so many things to try to mimic [the NHL] and be the second-best league in the world. In order for that to happen, you’re going to have to have a review [system]. It doesn’t take that long. The cameras are so good now. There’s no reason why they can’t take an extra minute. We can take 25 minutes for a fire alarm. I think we can take one to try to get the game [called] right. They are doing the best they can. They are trying to make a call in the moment, but why can’t they get a little help, too?”
– John Gruden on Belleville’s controversial second goal
Toronto attempted an immediate response with Quillan at the helm. He and Shaw combined to good effect on three occasions but could not find a go-ahead goal.
Instead, the Marlies continued to fall apart defensively. Kaliyev picked out Stephen Halliday alone in the slot, where Belleville scored a third unanswered goal to take a 3-2 lead at the midway point.
Toronto struck back two minutes later on the most innocuous of plays. A long-range blast along the ice from Reece Johnson should not have troubled Hunter Shepard, who saw the shot all the way. A huge rebound off his pads eluded the nearest Sens defender, allowing Cédric Paré to jump on the loose puck and score far side on the netminder.
The Marlies finished the period strongly without making it count on the scoreboard. The best chance fell to Henry Thrun during four-on-four action, but his top-shelf effort in tight flew high over the net.
Gifted a 2v1 late in the frame, Belleville should have made the Marlies pay for another breakdown. Hildeby came to Toronto’s rescue with a good stop on Hayden Hodgson.
Third Period
What should have been a turning point arrived two minutes into the final frame of regulation during a Toronto power play. Thrun’s shot was easily blocked, and Oskar Pettersson beat Luke Haymes in a footrace to the loose puck. Hildeby’s sharp left pad save on Pettersson was rewarded almost immediately at the other end.
Nylander sent the puck down low to Valis, who found Quillan in the slot with a one-time pass. The swift move deserved a quality finish, and Quillan provided.
The Marlies‘ game management was extremely poor from there, as they handed the Senators three consecutive power plays. On Belleville’s seventh man advantage of the game, Wyatt Bongiovanni netted from the top of the circles to tie the game at 4-4.
Overtime/Shootout
The extra frame was an anti-climax in terms of scoring chances until the final minute. The best two chances fell to Thrun, who couldn’t capitalize on good set-up work by Quillan.
In the same vein, the shootout lacked drama. Stephen Halliday scored on the first shot, earning the extra point for the Sens as Logan Shaw, Vinni Lettieri, and Alex Nylander all couldn’t solve Shepard.
Post Game Notes
– Blake Smith registered his first professional point with an assist on William Villeneuve’s first goal of the campaign.
– This was an improved showing from David Kämpf in his return from a short-term injury. His pass to create the second goal was excellent, and he was more of a threat offensively.
– Most of Toronto’s better moments in this game featured Jacob Quillan. The centerman recorded his first goal of the campaign and has six points (1G/5A) in as many games this season.
– Noah Chadwick was noticeable for good reasons in this game. He has been entrusted with penalty killing duties and thrived, making responsible and mature plays. He’s not looking to overplay it on either side of the puck, which is paying dividends in the early stages of the season.
– This was the second multi-point game (2A) for Alex Nylander over the weekend. He was far less inclined to shoot in this game (only one recorded shot), but his overall performance through all three zones was an improvement on Saturday’s effort.
– Sunday’s lineup:
Forwards
Groulx – Kämpf – Nylander
Lettieri – Quillan – Shaw
Valis – Haymes – Tverberg
Paré – Johnson
Defensemen
Webber – Thrun
Chadwick – Benning
Smith – Villeneuve
Sharpe
Goaltenders
Hildeby
Peksa
