With the St. John’s IceCaps in town for a doubleheader, the Toronto Marlies needed a bounce back performance coming off of consecutive defeats to Bridgeport and Hershey.
The IceCaps were riding a good run of recent form and also sport the best road record in the North Division. This Saturday night tilt was played at a frantic pace befitting the importance of the two points on offer.
On ‘Superhero Day’ at Ricoh Coliseum, Antoine Bibeau was Toronto’s man of steel between the pipes with a much-needed bounce back performance after some shaky showings of late.
First Period
The first whistle wasn’t blown until the three-minute mark, with neither team able to sustain significant time in the offensive zone. Seth Griffith carved out the first chance of the game, but Colin Greening’s one-time shot nestled into the chest of IceCaps goaltender Charlie Lindgren. Griffith again played provider on the Marlies first powerplay five minutes into the game, but Mike Sislo whistled a shot wide from the left circle.
The IceCaps began to assert some pressure following their successful penalty kill and came close to opening the scoring on their first powerplay at the nine-minute mark. After Toronto failed to clear their zone twice, Chris Terry clipped the crossbar with a wicked one-time effort.
A chippy game from the outset, Jeremy Gregoire took a roughing penalty 11 minutes into the period and Toronto capitalized on their second powerplay opportunity of the game. Andreas Johnsson redirected Griffith’s pass to Trevor Moore, who struck the post with a short-side attempt before recovering the rebound and finishing with a quick wraparound.
Bibeau, a passenger up until the opening goal, was called on to make some crucial saves to keep the Marlies lead intact. Charles Hudon set up Terry after Toronto got caught out by a stretch pass, but Bibeau turned him aside with a blocker save. Bibeau then had to be alert seconds into St. John’s next powerplay with a pair of excellent stops on Terry and Zach Redmond.
At the other end, Sergey Kalinin was unable to corral a rebound with half a net to aim at inside the last minute, while a slashing penalty from Andrew Nielsen with 15 seconds remaining meant the Marlies began the middle frame down a man.
Second Period
A superb diving play from Steve Oleksy denied St. John’s on their one clear chance with the extra man before the IceCaps nearly tied the game at even strength. Bibeau came to the rescue after a turnover found Mark MacMillan in the slot.
Toronto responded by hemming the visitors in their own zone for over a minute. William Wrenn fired wide after a set up from Griffith before Andrew Nielsen struck the post moments later. Griffith’s backhand wraparound attempt brought an impressive shift to an end as Lindgren held on to give his team a breather.
The turning point of the game came eight minutes into the middle frame when Jeremy Gregoire failed to test Bibeau in alone after Nielsen coughed up the puck into the slot. Seconds later, the puck was in the IceCaps net.
Tobias Lindberg and Frederik Gauthier combined with tape-to-tape passes to send Tony Cameranesi away. The centerman split the two defensemen and finished in alone on his backhand.
Upon the resumption of play, new recruit Steven Oleksy dropped the gloves with Bobby Farnham, with the Toronto man coming out on top in a spirited bout.
A third Marlies goal wasn’t long in coming. After Travis Dermott plucked a clearance attempt out of mid-air and won a battle in the neutral zone, Brett Findlay patiently swung around the net, came out the other side and delivered a perfect pass to a pinching Dermott. The rookie defenseman beat Lindgren glove side with a snapshot off of the post and in.
A let off from Toronto allowed the IceCaps to respond inside 37 seconds through Keegan Lowe’s fourth of the season, and Hudon nearly pulled his team within a goal just after the restart if not for a sharp right pad save from Bibeau.
The two teams traded powerplay opportunities before the end of the second period but neither side added to the scoreline.
Third Period
The sloppy play from both teams that characterized the end of the middle frame carried over into the third period. Off-target passes and careless puck management were the main feature until a hooking penalty sent Toronto back to the powerplay at the 3:25 mark.
Griffith was yet again the architect with the man advantage, but Lindgren denied Moore of his second of the game.
Four-on-four action provided a fantastic chance for the IceCaps at the eight-minute mark — Nikita Scherbak ran rings around Dermott, but Bibeau made his best save of the game to deny the Russian forward his 13th goal of the season.
St. John’s was starting to make a push at the midway point; a 2-on-1 break materialized after a long outlet pass, with Dermott forced into a hook on Hudon after getting caught flatfooted. On the following powerplay, Terry tee’d up Steffan Matteau but Bibeau was equal to the one-timer and gave out no second chance.
Daniel Audette was the next to be shut down by Bibeau on a pair of chances back at even strength play. A turnover looked certain to cost the Marlies with a litte under four minutes remaining, but Bibeau robbed Terry with a fantastic save in tight.
A dubious penalty on Andrew Campbell gave the IceCaps one last powerplay with over two minutes left on the clock. After a timeout, St. John’s sent six skaters over the boards but the Marlies penalty killers were fully up to the task, with Bibeau only called on to make a couple of routine stops.
A hooking call on Charles Hudon meant Toronto comfortably saw out the final 40 seconds to secure the two points.
Post Game Notes
– With their 30th win of the season and 18th on home ice, the Marlies have now drawn within one point of second-place Albany in the North Division.
– A two-point game for Trevor Moore, including goals in consecutive outings, is his sixth multi-point effort in his last 20 contests.
– Tony Cameranesi snapped a nine-game pointless streak with his fourth goal of the season.
– With an assist, Andreas Johnsson extended his points streak to four games and now has 17 points in his last 17.
– Antoine Bibeau recorded 26 saves for his victory. It’s the first time he’s allowed one goal or less since December 18 (11 games).
– Tobias Lindberg returned to action for his first game since January 14 and picked up an assist on Cameranesi’s second-period goal. Brett Findlay was also back in the lineup after leaving the game injured in the recent victory over Binghamton.
– Kasperi Kapanen was rested for tonight’s game but is expected to feature on Sunday.
– With his goal, rookie defenceman Travis Dermott now has 14 points in his last 20 games.
Game Highlights
Post-Game: Sheldon Keefe
Game Sheet – Toronto 3 vs. St. John’s 1
| Skater | G | A | PIM | Shots | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell, Andrew | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Holl, Justin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 |
| Oleksy, Steve | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| Nielsen, Andrew | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Wrenn, William | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Dermott, Travis | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| Sislo, Mike | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Johnsson, Andreas | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| Kalinin, Sergey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Findlay, Brett | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gauthier, Frederik | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Rychel, Kerby | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| Lindberg, Tobias | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Greening, Colin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Griffith, Seth | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Timashov, Dmytro | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cameranesi, Tony | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Moore, Trevor | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
