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Marlies Rally To Beat Griffins In OT

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By on Apr 7th, 2012

Going into today’s game, the Marlies were able to look at the standings with a ton of excitement. Now that the worry of making the playoffs is long gone, the next step was to focus on where exactly they’ll line up in the Western Conference standings. This is a team guaranteed to reach no lower than 3rd, with the North Division title locked up, but they’re now in a territory that nobody expected. With just four more points, Toronto could leapfrog the Oklahoma City Barons for first in the conference and second in the AHL. The Norfolk Admirals, who have clearly lowered the difficulty settings, are now untouchable in the standings as a result of their 24 game (and counting!) win streak, but second place would be far from anything to scoff at. Today, the Marlies had an opportunity to bring that even closer, facing the Grand Rapids Griffins for the third game in a row. And they didn’t disappoint, ending the season series with an overtime victory.

The first period started off just as the Marlies wanted it to – with heavy possessional control. Toronto continuously peppered Thomas McColloum throughout the frame, taking 15 shots. The one that mattered was Jerry D’Amigo’s midway through the period, as he scored his 15th of the season on a shot from the hash marks.  The blue and white had the period’s lone powerplay shortly after, but couldn’t convert.

The second period didn’t fare as well. The tables turned on the Marlies, with Grand Rapids taking 15 shots on Jussi Rynnas, and ultimately being more successful in that regard. Doug Janik led the way, scoring the tying goal just thirty seconds in. Five minutes later, Fabian Brunnstrom, a former Marlies forward himself, gave the Griffins a 2-1 lead that they would keep through the period.

The third period featured a lot of effort by the two teams, both being equally opportunistic. Ryan Hamilton was perhaps the best forward on the ice, but he wasn’t able to convert. With five minutes to go, though, Marcel Mueller tied things up, adding a celebration as big as the goal. The Marlies carried the 2-2 scores into overtime.

Overtime was solved quickly, in a way that left the crowd happy. Phil Dupuis was the hero, striking just fourty seconds into the extra frame.

Other Notes

Jussi Rynnas made 3 saves, and played another relatively consistent game. He seems calmer between the pipes, which has helped him out a lot. Another fantastic start for the Finnish netminder.

Nazem Kadri was a scratch today, as was Mike Zigomanis. Both have minor injuries. Kadri is a rib or back injury, Zigomanis a hyperextended elbow. One can’t help but think that they both could’ve played, but it was probably wise that he didn’t.

Carter Ashton returned to the lineup today, after fulfilling his emergency call up with the Maple Leafs. There wasn’t much to be seen on his part, though. Barely noticeable on the ice, but considering the fact it was his first game back, that isn’t a big deal.

The special teams were Toronto typical – a heavily armoured penalty kill, and a finger-gun powered powerplay.

The attendance continues its upward trend. Today’s announced total of 5868 brings their average to 5599, leaving the Marlies at 12th in the league. One can hope this momentum can carry itself into the playoffs. I remain slightly pessimistic in this regard, but I’d like nothing more but to be proven wrong.

The next game, which is the last home game of the regular season, is tomorrow afternoon against the Hamilton Bulldogs. Can the Marlies continue their push to #1? Find out at 3PM, using your choice of LeafsTV, AM640, or coming by Ricoh Coliseum and seeing for yourself in person.

Marlies Defeat Griffins 4-2

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By on Apr 6th, 2012

While the Toronto Marlies had their division lead locked in on Tuesday night, that by no means is an excuse for mailing in the final five games of the year. Teams still need momentum come playoff time, and the Marlies could still end up anywhere between first and third in the conference. Getting the right opponent, after all, is important for any playoff run. Right now, though, the Marlies have a current opponent to focus on, one that could become a playoff opponent if they push themselves, in the Grand Rapids Griffins. Yet another game against the division rival, but looking at this in a positive note, the second last that they’ll likely have against them this season. One question was left to be asked – could Toronto take the same momentum from late in last their last matchup and repeat it?

The first period gave a very early indication that this wasn’t going to be the case. Just fourty seconds into the game, Chris Minard scored the game’s opening goal, beating Jussi Rynnas. Thankfully for the blue and white, indications can sometimes be wrong, and the team rebounded well. Nazem Kadri responded less than four minutes later with his 18th of the year, which was a fantastic drag and snipe effort.  At the half way point in the period, Ryan Hamilton changed that tie game into one where the Marlies had a lead, taking advantage of Brendan Smith being in the penalty box to score his 24th goal of the season. The next shift saw a fight, David Broll’s first of his professional career, though it would be hard to say he won it. The period ended with an unsuccessful Marlies powerplay.

The second period saw the opposite result of the opening frame, with Philippe Dupuis scoring his 13th less than a minute in. Tomas Tatar brought the game back within one five minutes later, but Grand Rapids was unable to bring it in closer. Jerry D’Amigo had an opportunity to widen the gap to 4-2 with a penalty shot, but hit the post.

The third and final period was all Grand Rapids, who heavily outshot the Marlies, 11-5. Though, with that said, the Marlies fought through it, and ended up coming out of the period in better shape. Nicolas Deschamps made the game 4-2 at the seven minute mark, and the score stood still until the final buzzer. There was some doubt as the Marlies, who got penalty happy in the final minutes, were shorthanded as much as 6-on-3 with the Griffin’s net empty, but the team persevered.

Other Notes

Jussi Rynnas made 32 saves on 34 shots. An impressive showing for him, making some big saves when necessary.

Nazem Kadri now has goals in his past 5 games, and points in his last 6. If there’s a time to heat up in the season, this is certainly it.

Marcel Mueller lead the team in assists, with 3. He was also a +2.

Joe Colborne was a team worst -2.

Nicolas Deschamps was the first star of the game, with a goal, two assists, two penalty minutes, and five shots.

Josh Leivo made his Marlies debut tonight, with Mike Zigomanis taking the night off. He was held pointless, and shotless, and was a -1. For those curious, Leivo is wearing #32.

The Marlies play their final two home games of the season on Saturday and Sunday. Tomorrow’s game is a rematch against Grand Rapids, and starts at 3PM.

Leafs Sign Spencer Abbott, Will Join Marlies

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By on Mar 28th, 2012

If there’s anybody out there other than Don Cherry that believes in the whole “Leafs need players from Ontario” theory, they’re certainly going to take notice today. The Toronto Maple Leafs, the team that has made “free wallets” into a “thing”, picked up another today in Hobey Baker finalist Spencer Abbott. There’s a few things to note about him.

First off, the part referenced in the opening sentences – he’s another Ontario prospect with a chance of eventually making the Leafs roster. Born and raised in Hamilton, to be exact, and perhaps most important to those who care, as a Leafs fan.

If that doesn’t matter to you, what might is his progression. Abbott played out all four years at the University of Maine, steadily improving by the season, up to his current year of 21 goals and 41 assists in just 39 games. This was good for a strong lead among his teammates – 14 points more than Brian Flynn, the man in second place. As if that wasn’t already impressive, Abbott actually lead the entire NCAA Division I system in points.

To go with the production, Abbott grew up a fan of Doug Gilmour and Pavel Datsuyk, and is determined to show himself as a two way forward. I wouldn’t go and say he’d be anything close to either of those two, but it’s something worth mentioning.

The biggest knock on Abbott is his size – as skilled as he is, he’s at best 5’10, and 175 pounds. But muched-hyped trainer and former NHLer Gary Roberts has been working with him, giving hope that he’ll fill out his frame a bit more.

Now, does this mean he’s a sure thing? Far from it. Abbott is nearly 24 years old, so there may not be a ton left to his development. As well, we all know that these kind of signings tend to be hit or miss – for every Tyler Bozak, there’s multiple Brayden Irwin’s and Tyler Brenner’s. So I wouldn’t go parading this as a game-changer any time soon. That said – adding prospects for nothing is never a bad thing, and it’ll be interesting to see what he becomes.

On that note, it may not be long until the organization will get a glimpse. Abbott will likely be assigned to the Marlies, and due to his age and experience, may leapfrog Broll and Olden in the list of players to play. At worst, it wouldn’t be a surprise in the slightest to see him as a roster regular on the Marlies next year.

UPDATE: Abbott will indeed report to the Marlies on an ATO for the rest of the season, with a 1 year contract to be used next season.

Oh, by the way..

A goaltending swap has occured. Jussi Rynnas, after actually playing some of yesterday’s game and doing well, has been sent back down to the Marlies, with Ben Scrivens joining the Leafs. I guess the thought is that they don’t trust Gustavsson between the pipes, yet at the same time don’t think Rynnas can replicate his last game. Or they felt like giving Scrivens a practice and Reimer will be back tomorrow. Honestly, the Leafs approach to this emergency call up stuff has me forever confused at this point, and it’s not even worth speculating. Point is, Big Ben is with the big club, and the Juice is back. Mark Owuya is still in Reading while this all goes on.

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