The Toronto Marlies set a new American Hockey League record with their 29th road win of the season on Saturday in Manitoba.
They surpassed the mark set by the Norfolk Admirals (2011-12) by defeating the Moose in a nine-goal shootout split 5-4. All 29 of Toronto’s road wins have been achieved in regulation.
First Period
The opening period was a tale of two halves, with the Marlies on top for the first ten minutes.
After Rich Clune and Adam Brooks came close, Toronto took the lead with two seconds left on the game’s first power play when a booming shot from Andrew Nielsen produced a rebound for Miro Aaltonen to bury.
Toronto struck for a second time just two minutes later. Trevor Moore intercepted a pass and surged into the Moose zone before seemingly running out of space as he hit the goal line. Despite the tight angle, Moore sneaked a backhand shot through Michael Hutchinson with ten minutes on the clock.
Manitoba was gifted a way back into the game thanks to a no-look reverse pass gone wrong from Martin Marincin in the corner of his own zone. Darren Kramer made Toronto pay for the mistake with a nice finish for just his third goal of the season.
Both teams exchanged chances before the Moose tied the game late in the period on the power play.
A give-and-go play between Mason Appleton and Buddy Robinson did the damage but again Marincin should’ve done better — caught on the wrong side of Appleton — and the rookie proceeded to score his 21st of the year by beating Garret Sparks five-hole.
Second Period
After coughing up their two-goal lead, the Marlies responded with an excellent start to the middle frame. Colin Greening’s wraparound attempt was denied while efforts from Calle Rosen and Dmytro Timashov both hit the post.
After making three fantastic stops, two while scrambling on his behind, Sparks caught out too far to his left when challenging the shooter and C.J. Suess had the easiest of tasks to finish off his first professional goal.
A series of penalties followed, with Toronto’s penalty kill keeping them in the game and Michael Hutchinson robbing Jeremy Bracco with a glove save during a man advantage for the Marlies.
After a second straight power play, the Marlies tied the game up just seconds after the penalty expired. A booming shot from Rosen again struck the iron and rebounded into the back of Hutchinson, whereupon a mass scramble ensued in the crease. The puck crossed the line — and the goal awarded to Rosen — with the replay indicating it may have been Hutchinson himself who provided the last touch.
Third Period
With the game tied at three apiece through 40 minutes, Toronto got off to a less-than-ideal start to the third period, taking a penalty with just 1:09 played.
Up stepped the Marlies impressive penalty kill to turn adversity into advantage with a shorthanded marker. Frederik Gauthier and Ben Smith clogged up the neutral zone and the captain stripped the puck before racing in on goal. Hutchinson made the initial save and the rebound fell between Smith and Spacek; it was unclear which of them had the final touch, but either way, the puck ended up in the Manitoba net.
The lead was shortlived as the Moose responded shortly after the power play expired. Standing out in front of Sparks, Brody Sutter redirected a shot from impressive young defenseman Sami Niku to level the score again.
Both coaches would have been frustrated by their players’ lack of discipline late in the game, with Moore followed into the box 10 seconds later by Brendan Lemieux.
Lemieux’s penalty was a double minor, and Toronto re-took the lead on the resulting power play. After a shot from the left side by Pierre Engvall was met by a blocker save from Hutchinson, Bracco was in the right place to slap home the rebound and give Toronto a 5-4 lead with 12 minutes remaining.
The Marlies did an excellent job of protecting the lead, limiting the Moose to just seven shots on net throughout the third period to complete the weekend sweep.
Post Game Notes
– This victory was also the 50th of the season, a mark achieved just twice before in franchise history. The Marlies require just four points to clinch the North Division title.
– Jeremy Bracco‘s two-point game (1-1-2) included his first game-winner of the season. He’s recorded at least a point in six of his last eight games (1-8-9) as the consistency is starting to come together for the rookie offensively.
– A second multi-point haul of the season for Calle Rosen (1-1-2) gives him four points in his last six games.
– Ben Smith’s goal was the 100th of his AHL career and his first shorthanded marker this season.
– Andrew Nielson recorded his 15th assist and 20th point of the year.
– It wasn’t his best performance, but Garret Sparks won his 29th game, which ties Drew MacIntyre for most wins single season by a Toronto Marlies goaltender. Sparks is now 29-9-2 on the year with a 1.81 GAA and .936% save percentage.
