The Toronto Marlies fell 4-3 to the Cleveland Monsters on Saturday afternoon at Coca-ColaColiseum.
Justin Pearson scored the Monsters first goal at 14:59 in the second period. Pearson added his second goal of the game at 4:46 in the second. Tyler Angle scored the Monsters’ third goal at 13:10 in the second period.
Kieffer Bellows scored the Marlies’ first goal just over a minute into the third period. Zach Solow added a second Toronto goal 15 minutes later, cutting theMonsters lead to one. Justin Pearson scored his third of the game 40 seconds later, restoring Cleveland’s two-goal lead. Alex Steeves added a third Marlies goal with just under two minutes remaining in regulation.
Head CoachJohn Gruden said the team played well, but they couldn’t convert on their chances.
“I thought we played pretty well, we just couldn't score,”Gruden said after the game. “The score was different, but I didn't think that we played that bad.”
Toronto outshot Cleveland 14-4 in the third period and 42-24in total.
“The difference was we were probably a little bit more desperate,” Gruden said about the team’s third period pushback. “Started putting more pucks to the net. They started to go in. We were a little bit more hungrier on their net. But other than that, we didn't really give them all that much. Unfortunately, we lost the game. That's what it's all about at this time of year.
Mikko Kokkonen added that the team’s third period pushback proved that they’re ready for the postseason.
“I think that last period showed us we were ready,” Kokkonen said. “Now we just have to play hard tomorrow, get ready on Monday.”
The Marlies will wrap up their regular season schedule on Sunday afternoon against the Cleveland Monsters at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Puck drop is at 4:00pm on the Toronto Maple Leafs app or on AHLTV.
