Marlies young guns shine too bright for Comets

A little over 24 hours after putting five goals past Utica in the season opener, Toronto repeated the effort on Sunday afternoon.

It was a physical affair with 64 penalty minutes dished out, including two fights, as the two divisional rivals have developed a real distaste for each other already. The Marlies, who held the edge with nine of the 16 powerplays handed out, were able to take advantage on two occasions and a third within seconds of another expiring.

First Period

Rich Clune, scratched for the home opener, came out like a bull in a china shop on his first shift. Elbowing Carter Bancks in the head probably wasn’t intentional, but it was a bad hit and the two combatants duelled it out with their fists shortly after.

The Marlies killed the first penalty of the game with ease, but the Comets looked likely to score first back at even strength. Antoine Bibeau was forced into a pair of early saves, including a beauty to deny Curtis Valk.

After coming under pressure for the opening 3:54, a delay-of-game penalty from goaltender Thatcher Demko for handing the puck outside the trapezoid area turned the tide in the Marlies‘ favour. A series of efforts on net from Andrew Nielsen, Brendan Leipsic and Byron Froese was followed by a telling touch from Andreas Johnsson to open the scoring just 13 seconds into the man advantage.

As a four on four with Michael Chaput and Dymtro Timsahov in the box created extra space, Leipsic almost scored a contender for goal of the season. After gaining the zone with speed, he made the last Utica defenseman look silly with a mesmerizing move, but Demko was equal to his backhand effort.

A little over eight minutes into the opening frame, Bibeau was lucky to come away unscathed after four players converged on him in the crease. Thankfully, the netminder was none the worse wear, although somehow Nielsen ended up with the lone penalty for holding. Toronto rode their luck as Alexandre Grenier’s effort rang off the short-side post, but it proved Utica’s only attempt at goal on the powerplay.

The last seven minutes were penalty ridden, with the officials making bad calls all over the place. The Marlies were able to draw themselves two straight powerplays, coming close through Froese and Johnsson, but they were thankful for Bibeau staying alert to deny a shorthanded chance.

After Johnsson and Kasperi Kapanen ended up in the box together after a pair of iffy calls in the span of 46 seconds, Utica capitalized on their good fortune. Jordan Subban ripped a one-timer from the left circle that found the net on Bibeau’s short side, top shelf to even the game.

Second Period

Toronto were unable to convert on yet another powerplay that carried over from the first, but they retook the lead 2:15 into the second on a stunning individual effort. With a burst of electrifying speed, Kapanen swept past three players down the left wing before driving the net and sliding the puck past Demko.

It really should have been 2-2 right away as Utica broke up ice on a four-on-one. Travis Dermott did his best to confuse the play as the lone Toronto player back, but Bibeau was the real hero with a huge double save to keep the Marlies‘ one-goal advantage intact.

In a game of missed opportunities for the visitors, Troy Stecher fired high on a shorthanded breakaway and Toronto made him pay by scoring following the expiration of the powerplay. Kapanen was the architect with a gorgeous backdoor feed to Timashov, who gratefully accepted the invitation to score his first AHL goal.

The officiating may not have been up to standard, but the Comets had no grounds for complaints as they gifted Toronto three powerplays in the final 6:39 of the middle frame, including a little 5-on-3 time. The Marlies were unable to capitalize, in part due to Demko, and held a 3-1 lead heading into the final period.

Third Period

The next goal was critical and Utica would have an early power play to try and bring themselves back into the game. They barely had a sniff and were fortunate not to allow a fourth goal, with Rinat Valiev beating Demko to a long outlet pass, but the defenseman wasted the shorthanded opportunity.

The dagger to the heart of the Comets came at the six-minute mark as two of the older Marlies forwards combined. Colin Greening drove to the net and Colin Smith was on hand to pick up the loose puck for his first of the season.

It was one-way blue and white traffic following the fourth goal, with the Marlies swarming the Comets zone and drawing yet another penalty. From a few feet inside the blue line, Dermott appeared casual in possession before a quick-release wrist shot beat Demko all ends up. A good share of the credit goes to the Marlie forwards providing the screen, particularly Greening, who was a handful in front of Demko.

62 seconds later, Utica was back on the powerplay and once again Subban rifled home past Bibeau to draw his team within three with eight minutes left to play.

Similar to Saturday’s game, Utica never looked likely to threaten Toronto’s advantage, recording only two shots on net the rest of the way. The only real action of note came courtesy of Valiev and Michael Corcone; after exiting the box, the two came together and settled the affair with their fists.

A score draw was the result of the encounter, but that was as good as it got for the Comets. Utica was put in their place over the weekend, allowing ten goals to the Marlies’ potent offense, and they were fortunate it wasn’t worse.

Post Game Notes

– The ten goals in the first two games of the season is the Marlies’ best total since the beginning of the 2007-08 season, when Toronto fired four and six past Rochester and Lake Erie respectively.

– Rookie defenceman Travis Dermott picked up his first professional assist and goal, and his five shots on net were the most by a defenseman.

– Kasperi Kapanen was a real livewire, adding a goal and two assists to his account, appearing full of confidence early in the season.

– Just the one assist for Brendan Leipsic, but again he was a pocket dynamo and caused Utica trouble nearly every shift.

– Antoine Bibeau only made 19 saves, but came up with the crucial stops when the game was still close.

– Dmytro Timashov came on leaps and bounds from his first outing and looks an intriguing prospect. He showed he wasn’t shy about shooting the puck with five efforts on net and took his goal well.

Game Highlights

Game Sheet - Marlies 5 vs. Comets 2