Toronto Marlies Fall To Syracuse Crunch In Saturday Matchup

The Marlies fell 3-1 to the Crunch on Saturday afternoon at Coca Cola Coliseum. Toronto is now fourth in the North Division with an 8-7-3-1 record.

The Crunch opened the scoring on Saturday with a power play goal from Joe Carroll just over 16 minutes into the first period. Mitchell Chaffee added the Crunch’s second goal just over two minutes later, giving Syracuse a 2-0 lead heading into the second.

Logan Shaw added the Marlies first goal just under two minutes into the third period, cutting the Crunch lead in half. Mitchell Chafee added Syracuse’s third goal with just under four minutes remaining in the third period. Head Coach John Gruden said after the game that they’re focussed on moving on to the next game, “Next up mentality. Can’t sit and dwell on things,” Gruden said. “Have to learn from our games. We always have to get better and find it, fix it, and forget it. At the end of the day we can’t sit and hang our heads too long. It’s a tough league and if you do that it’s going to be a long season.”

Defenceman Tommy Miller agreed, adding that the players want to emphasize small details of their game moving forward.
“I think it’s getting back to working hard on the little things. When you work hard things kind of tend to fall into place,” Miller said. “Right now, it’s about going back to the details. Small things. Getting your checks, good sticks, good gaps, crisp passes. Things will follow our way.”

The Marlies will be back in action on Tuesday at Coca Cola Coliseum against the Grand Rapids Griffins at 7:00pm. Fans can watch the game on the Toronto Maple Leafs app or on AHLTV.

SCORING SUMMARY

Syracuse:  J. Carroll (4) PP (G. Goncalves, D. Carlile), M. Chaffee (7) (G. Goncalves, D. Stephens), M. Chaffee (8) SH (M. Groshev)
Goaltender: H. Alnefelt (35/36) W

Toronto: L. Shaw (6) (M. Rifai, T. Miller)
Goaltender: K. Petruzzelli (22/25) L

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ON THE SCORESHEET

• Logan Shaw put the Marlies on the board at 1:56 of the third period. He has six goals and six assists through 16 games this season. This was the third game Shaw has recorded seven or more shots on net.
• Marshall Rifai recorded the primary assist on Shaw’s third period goal. He has fives assists in 15 games.
• Tommy Miller had the secondary assist on Shaw’s third period goal. He has four points (1 goal, 3 assists) in 17 games this season.
• Keith Petruzzelli stopped 22 of 25 shots he faced.

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TEAM NOTES

• The Marlies went 2-for-3 on the penalty kill and 0-for-4 on the power play. Toronto is 5-5-1-0 when not scoring on the power play and 4-4-3-0 when allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
• Toronto had a 36-25 edge in shots in all situations. Logan Shaw led the Marlies with seven shots on goal. Toronto is 7-5-2-1 when outshooting their opponent.
• The Marlies are 3-3-3-1 against North Division opponents and are 0-2-0-0 against the Crunch this season.

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POSTGAME QUOTES

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HEAD COACH JOHN GRUDEN

On moving forward from today’s loss:

Again, it’s next day. The next up mentality, next day. Can’t sit and dwell on things. Have to learn from our games. We always have to get better and find it, fix it, and forget it. At the end of the day, we can’t sit and hang our heads too long. It’s a tough league and if you do that it’s going to be a long season. We have to continue to keep that positive reinforcement with our players. Key guys, big guys, took some big hits tonight. At the end of the day, we’ll get a day off and then we’ll go back to work on Monday.

TOMMY MILLER (1 ASSIST)

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On the message from the leadership group:

I think it’s getting back to working hard on the little things. When you work hard things kind of tend to fall into place. When you do the right things, they tend to go your way. Right now, it’s about going back to the details. Small things. Getting your checks, good sticks, good gaps, crisp passes. Things will follow our way. We know when we play well and we play our game we can beat any team in this league. Just about getting back to that.

UPCOMING GAMES:
*All times Eastern Standard Time

December 5 vs. Grand Rapids – 7:00 p.m.
December 10 vs. Grand Rapids – 4:00 p.m.
December 15 at Providence – 7:00 p.m.
December 17 at Hartford – 3:00 p.m.
December 20 vs. Providence – 7:00 p.m.