Toronto Marlies Fall to Syracuse Crunch in North Division Battle

The Toronto Marlies fell 3-1 to the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday night in the second game of a 3-in-3 this weekend.  

In the first period, both teams exchanged chances, but the goalies stood tall to keep the score tied at zero heading into the second.

During the second, the visitors opened the scoring with a power-play goal by Alex Barré-Boulet at 2:42 to give the Crunch the early lead. Shortly after, Toronto responded with a power-play goal by Alex Steeves to earn his fourth power-play goal of the season and tie the game at one after 40 minutes.  

In the final frame, the visitors kept pressing. Syracuse added two more goals by Felix Robert and Cole Koepke to make the score 3-1 and secure the win.  

The Marlies return to action on December 4th against the Belleville Senators in their final game of the 3-in-3 this weekend. Puck drop is 4:00pm.

SCORING SUMMARY

Syracuse: A. Barre-Boulet (5) PP (G. Smith), F. Robert (10) (S. Element, D. Carlile), C. Koepke (1) EN (A. Barre-Boulet, T. Carrick)
Goaltender: M. Lagace (26/27) W

Toronto: A. Steeves (7) PP (L. Shaw, W. Villeneuve)
Goaltender: E. Källgren (26/28) L

‍

ON THE SCORESHEET

• Alex Steeves put the Marlies on the board at 9:24 of the second period. This was his fourth power play goal of the season. He has points (2-2-4) in four consecutive games. Steeves has 19 points (7 goals, 12 assists) in 20 games this season.
• Logan Shaw had the primary assist on Steeves’ second period goal. He has points (1-3-4) in four consecutive games. He has 23 points (8 goals, 15 assists) in 20 games this season.
• William Villeneuve recorded the secondary assist on Steeves’ second period goal. He has six points (1 goal, 5 assists) in 14 games this season.
• Erik Källgren stopped 26 of 28 shots he faced.

TEAM NOTES

• The Marlies went 2-for-3 on the penalty kill and 1-for-4 on the power play. Toronto is 11-5-1-0 when scoring on the power play and 6-5-1-0 when allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
• Syracuse had a 29-27 edge in shots in all situations. Alex Steeves led the Marlies with eight shots on goal. Toronto is 4-4-1-0 when outshot by their opponent
• The Marlies are 9-5-0-0 against North Division opponents and are 2-2-0-0 against the Syracuse Crunch. Syracuse has outscored Toronto 14-13 through four games.

‍

POSTGAME QUOTE

‍

HEAD COACH GREG MOORE

On tonight’s game:
I feel like every time we’re going to play this team throughout the year, it’s going to be a bit of a chess match and a tight one. I felt like for the majority of the game, it could have gone either way. Both teams got their looks. Ultimately, they got the extra there in the third, but with the three-in-three this weekend, travel last night, I thought the team competed really hard.

‍

On Max Ellis’ play:
I’m really impressed with Max. He started the season getting little opportunity, having to prove himself and find his way through the ice time he was getting and every game that he’s gotten in to, he’s gotten a little bit better, a little bit tighter, a little bit sharper. Especially when it comes to our defence, our structure and being reliable on the ice, he’s always able with his speed and his skill, to create chances for us. It was yesterday in the third period, he had an unbelievable hard play on the wall to get us out, in a tight game at a pivotal moment in the period, and then today, another wall play in the third, blocked shot in that same sequence. He’s stepping up big time for our team and proving himself to earn more ice time.

‍

WILLIAM VILLENEUVE (1 ASSIST)

On Erik Källgren returning to the Marlies:
He’s solid. He’s also a leader on the back end. He talks a lot, he interacts a lot between the whistles, trying to help us get better and all that. He’s been good for us.

‍

UPCOMING GAMES:
*All times Eastern Standard Time

December 4 vs. Belleville – 4:00 p.m.
December 7 vs. Belleville – 7:00 p.m.
December 9 at Syracuse – 7:00 p.m.
December 10 vs. Rochester – 4:00 p.m.
December 16 at Rockford – 7:00 p.m. (CST)