“For whatever reason, we didn’t start on time. They took it to us. We were on our heels and fortunate to get the one goal. After a wakeup call between periods, our guy responded, and I thought we got a lot of pushback.”
– John Gruden
This game could easily have been out of sight after 20 minutes. The Toronto Marlies were second-best in every facet and fortunate to concede “only” three goals to Cleveland. A goal out of nowhere by captain Logan Shaw, along with the play of Artur Akhtyamov, kept the game within reach before the Marlies‘ comeback started.
First Period
Two icings in 30 seconds and three 10-bell saves by Artur Akhtyamo on high-danger chances inside the opening minute were a fair representation of the difference between the two teams in the first period.
Still, the Marlies could’ve opened the scoring on a rare offensive foray. Ryan Tverberg appeared to tee up Cedric Paré for a sure goal, but the big centerman didn’t get enough on the shot, and Ivan Fedotov made the save from point-blank range.
20 seconds later, Cleveland struck with a fluid movement, helped by some ordinary defensive coverage. Roman Ahcan got in behind Matt Benning, received a great feed from Lucas Pinelli, cut right across the crease, and beat Akhtyamov’s attempted toe save before chipping the puck behind the netminder with a fantastic backhand finish.
By hook or by crook, the Marlies hung on for the next nine minutes as Cleveland attacked in waves. Toronto then stunned the Monsters with a tying goal after Vinni Lettieiri pounced on a misplay by Luca Del Bel Belluz just inside the Cleveland blue line. The veteran forward picked out Logan Shaw in the opposite circle, where Shaw sent a wrist shot high into the net.
The Monsters’ response was emphatic, scoring twice inside the final two minutes of the period. With Toronto flailing in the defensive zone, partly because of Dakota Mermis’ broken stick, Ahcan walked to the top of the left circle and fired a shot top-shelf past an unsighted Akhtyamov.
The Marlies could feel hard done by on the third goal, as Shaw was the victim of an uncalled interference infraction at the Cleveland blue line. The Monsters dumped the puck in, and the rebound off the end-boards eluded both Noah Chadwick and James Malatesta. The bobbling puck fell to Del Bel Belluz, who made no mistake.
Second Period
Trailing 3-1, the last thing Toronto could do was concede the next goal. At the two-minute mark, a giveaway by Henry Thrun in front of his own net gift-wrapped a hat-trick chance to Ahcan. Fortunately, Ahcan lost the handle a little, and Akhtyamov made the save to fend off what would have been a disastrous start to the middle frame.
The Marlies drew the first penalty of the game 60 seconds later, but they struggled to generate much to test Fedotov. The one chance of note fell to Tverberg between the hashmarks, but his attempt was tipped over the crossbar.
The Marlies required an offensive spark, and it arrived from an unfamiliar source. Michael Pezzetta pressured Corson Ceulemans at the Toronto blue line, forcing the defenseman into an errant pass. Matthew Barbolini seized possession and sent a stretch pass to Pezetta, who quickly sized up the situation and took off. The Marlies enforcer made a nice move before beating the goaltender on the far side.
The Monsters enjoyed a spell of pressure after allowing Toronto back into the game, testing Akhtyamov and eventually drawing a penalty. The Marlies killed off Cleveland’s first power play of the game and nearly tied the game shorthanded; Tverberg made another smart play, sending Groulx on a partial breakaway. Groulx made a nice move to unbalance Fedotov but sent his shot narrowly wide of the target.
The school day crowd didn’t need to wait long for a tying goal when the game returned to five-on-five. After Shaw won an offensive-zone faceoff, Groulx sniped glove side on Fedotov to tie the game.
Barring a partial break by Nylander, Toronto didn’t generate much offensively in the final seven minutes of the frame. The Monsters looked more dangerous on the attack and could have scored on two 2v1 opportunities to regain the lead. Akhtyamov made sharp saves on Dysin Mayo and Mikael Pyyhtiä, but with 88 seconds remaining, the netminder gave up one he would want back: Brendan Gaunce scored off the rush from the left circle, as the puck eluded Akhtyamov shortside.
Third Period
The Marlies not only scored the crucial eighth goal of the game to level the score, but they also doubled up in quick succession to take the lead for the first time in the game.
A solid defensive breakup by Noah Chadwick freed possession for Tverberg, who raced through the neutral zone. After crossing the blue line with a few options available, he dropped the puck back to Nylander. Luke Haymes had joined the rush, ghosted through the Monsters’ defense, and was spotted by Nylander. From the left circle, Haymes buried the tying goal with the quality finish of a confident player very much in form.
The eventual game winner arrived on the power play with the type of direct play sorely missing from the Marlies with the extra skater. Paré entered the Cleveland zone with speed, beat his man on the outside, and worked a cross-slot feed. With two players crashing the net, Lettieiri applied the finish, giving Toronto a 5-4 lead.
Cleveland had two Grade-A chances to tie the game: Some switched-off play from Toronto during 4v4 action wasn’t punished when Ahcan fired his shot off the post. Seconds after the Marlies killed another penalty, Cleveland won an offensive-zone draw back to the point, where Will Butcher’s shot struck a skate in front. The wicked deflection put the goal at the mercy of Justin Pearson, who looked set to tie the game, only for Akhtyamov to make a spectacular diving save to his right.
The Marlies’ bench rose as one to acknowledge their goaltender’s heroics, and from that moment on, the result was never in doubt. Groulx secured the win with an empty-net goal following a top-notch defensive play by Benning to win a physical battle and help clear the zone. Nylander put the cherry on the cake with another empty-net tally as he was rewarded for more good defensive work in the Toronto zone.
Post Game Notes
– With 20 games remaining, Toronto’s magic number to qualify for the playoffs is 30 points. The Marlies extended their point streak to five games (3-0-2).
– Artur Akhtyamov faced a career-high 42 shots. Undoubtedly, he’d want the fourth goal back, but otherwise, the netminder was a huge part of this victory. According to Toronto Marlies PR: “Akhtyamov is 10-2-2 this season at home with a 2.69 goals against average and a .912 save percentage. He has not had a regulation loss at Coca-Cola Coliseum since Nov. 26 (7-0-1).”
– A pair of goals for Bo Groulx moved his season tally to 27. He’s at 50 points in 53 games and leads the AHL in five-on-five scoring (37 points).
– Three points for Vinni Lettieiri (1G/2A) included his fifth power play goal this season.
– Wednesday’s lineup:
Forwards
Groulx – Shaw – Lettieri
Paré – Tverberg – King
Nylander- Haymes – Valis
Pezzetta – Johnstone – Barbolini
Defensemen
Mermis – Thrun
Chadwick – Benning
Webber – Villenueve
Goaltenders
Akhtyamov
Hildeby
