Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs Pipeline Report: Marlies OT Split and a Shootout Loss

In this Toronto Marlies report, overtime was a key part of the team’s games. The Marlies lost two in overtime and won one. Who played well?

by
Stan Smith
November 19, 2024

Over the past week, the next generation of Toronto Maple Leafs players were busy with the Toronto Marlies. They played three games, losing two in close matchups with the Cleveland Monsters and Belleville Senators. Here are the reviews of these games.

Game One: Cleveland Monsters 3, Marlies 2 Overtime

The Toronto Marlies ventured into Cleveland on their way home from North Carolina to take on the Monsters, but they lost 3-2 in overtime.

Like most games this season, the Marlies gave up the contest’s first goal. Matt Benning did not have a good start in his first AHL game since clearing waivers. He was caught puck-watching and let Owen Sillinger get in behind him to score a backdoor goal on a pass from Rocco Grimaldi just 1:26 into the first period. That was all the scoring in a period where neither team generated much offense.

The Marlies Dominated the Second Period

The Marlies dominated the second period, outshooting Cleveland 12-3 and creating numerous scoring chances. The only goal came off the stick of Fraser Minton. It was scored off the rush as Topi Niemela hit Minton with a blue-line-to-blue-line stretch pass. Minton carried the puck into the Monsters’ zone and fired a wrist shot from the bottom of the faceoff circle to the right of Cleveland goalie Zach Sawchenko, beating him cleanly on his glove side.

Toronto carried their dominance into the third period and was rewarded early. After a faceoff win in the Cleveland zone by Jacob Quillan, the Marlies moved the puck around to set up a one-timer by Robert Mastrosimone. Sawchenko made the save but failed to control the rebound. Quillan gained control of the puck and returned it to Mastrosimone in the slot. This time, Mastrosimone stepped around a Monsters defenseman and beat Sawchenko on his glove side with a wrist shot.

The Monsters Tied the Score with Five Minutes Left

Cleveland tied the game at two with just over five minutes to go in the third period. During a mad scramble in front of the Toronto net, nine of the ten skaters were looking for the puck. It was Monsters forward Curtis Hall who got his stick on it. He flipped it over a sprawling Matt Murray to send the game into overtime.

Forty-three seconds into the extra frame, Grimaldi was rewarded for a nice individual effort. After circling the Toronto zone once with the puck, Grimaldi turned toward the goal, stepped around Minton, pulled the puck from his backhand to his forehand, and waited for Murray to go down before sliding it past his outstretched glove into the net.

Game Two: Belleville Senators 4, Marlies 3 Overtime Shootout

The Marlies not only gave up the first goal in this one but also the first three goals.

At 12:07 of the first period, a point shot by Zack Ostapchuk bounced off a couple of bodies in front of Toronto goalie Dennis Hildeby before landing on the stick of Angus Crookshank. Crookshank deposited the puck into the net before Hildeby could react.

Wyatt Bongiovanni added two goals in the second period. The first was a deflection of a point shot by Cole Reinhart on the power play. The second was a gift from Niemela, whose clearing attempt hit Roni Hirvonen’s skate as he exited the zone and bounced right to Bongiovanni in the slot. Without hesitation, Bongiovanni fired the puck, beating a surprised Hildeby.

The Marlies Stormed Back in the Third Period

Whatever was said in the dressing room at the end of the second period worked, as the Marlies stormed in the third. Just under five minutes in, Minton scored his second goal in as many games, batting his rebound out of mid-air past Senators goalie Malcolm Subban.

Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten are young Maple Leafs prospects.

At the 13-minute, Nikita Grebenkin put on a one-man show to score Toronto’s second goal. After a faceoff win by Minton in the Belleville zone, the puck came back to Grebenkin, who stickhandled past two Senators defenders. He seemed poised to carry the puck into the corner but stopped at the last second, spun, and fired a wrist shot past a surprised Subban on his stick side. The official score credited the goal as unassisted, robbing Minton of an assist off his faceoff win.

The Marlies and the Monsters Have the Longest Shootout in Marlies History

Zach Solow tied the game 3:49 later on what looked like a designed play. After a faceoff win in the Belleville zone, the Marlies defensemen swapped positions at the point while in possession of the puck. William Villeneuve one-timed a pass from Mikko Kokkonen at the goal, and Solow deflected it into the net. Regulation ended 3-3.

After a scoreless overtime, the two teams engaged in the longest shootout in Marlies’ history (according to the announcers). Minton and Bongiovanni swapped goals in the second round before both goalies stopped the next 19 shots. Ostapchuk finally beat Hildeby in the 12th round for the winner.

Game Three: Marlies 2, Rochester Americans 1 Overtime

For the fourth game in a row, the Marlies went to overtime. For the first time in those games, they won.

Despite being the most wide-open game of the three, with lots of end-to-end action and great scoring chances, it was also the lowest-scoring. Both goalies were outstanding.

For a change, the Marlies struck first. Philippe Myers, on a conditioning stint, sent Logan Shaw and Nick Abruzzese on a 2-on-1 against Amerks goalie Felix Sandstrom. Shaw held onto the puck until he was almost past the net, drawing Sandstrom and the lone defender to him before hitting Abruzzese with a late pass. Abruzzese flipped the puck over Sandstrom and into the net.

After a scoreless second period, a turnover by Solow in the Toronto zone led to the tying goal. Brendan Warren intercepted Solow’s attempted pass to Shaw and stepped around him, beating Artur Akhtyamov on the glove side.

Thirty-six seconds into overtime, Alex Nylander (William Nylander‘s brother) scored on a long breakaway. With all three Rochester players caught deep, Nylander intercepted a cross-crease pass and raced 180 feet to beat Sandstrom high over his glove, giving the Marlies the win.

Marlies Individual Performances

Multi-point performances were scarce, with the Marlies scoring only seven goals across three games. Minton led with two goals, giving him four points in his first five professional games. He also scored in the Belleville shootout and was robbed of an assist on Grebenkin’s goal. Minton has looked like the real deal, standing out as the Marlies’ best player this week.

Two defensemen also had multi-point weeks: Niemela recorded three assists, and Kokkonen added two helpers in the Belleville game. Akhtyamov secured the only win, improving to 5-0-1 with a .926 SV% and a 1.95 GAA. Hildeby holds a 1-0-2 record with a .920 SV% and a 2.21 GAA. Murray remains the only Marlies goalie with a regulation loss.