TORONTO, ONTARIO – The Syracuse Crunch had the lead on two separate occasions, but were unable to hold on in the third period and fell to the Toronto Marlies, 3-2, today at Ricoh Coliseum.
Jeff Tambellini opened scoring for the Crunch, followed by Tye McGinn. Both forwards notched their 12th goal of the season today.
Crunch goaltender Kristers Gudlevksis made 32 saves in his first game with the Crunch since Dec. 9. His counterpart, Rob Madore, recorded the win, turning aside 26 of 28 shots. Syracuse was unable to convert on three power play opportunities, while the penalty kill unit shut down all four Toronto man-advantages.
The Crunch were first to light the lamp 3:20 into the first period. Matthew Peca skated the puck into the zone down the left wing side on a two-on-one with Tambellini. He threw it across the slot for Tambellini to redirect from behind a Marlies defender. McGinn earned a point on the opening tally.
It took the Marlies just 13 seconds of the middle stanza to get on the board. Matt Frattin was knocked down at the end boards, but was able to recover and passed the puck out from behind the cage for Sam Carrick to score on a sharp angle. The secondary assist went to Brendan Leipsic.
With 5:23 remaining in the second, the Crunch took back the lead. Jake Dotchin carried the puck across the blue line and pushed it ahead to McGinn. A quick release beat Madore from the slot.
The lead didn’t last long and the Marlies struck again a minute later. Gudlevskis made a series of saves, but the final rebound went off his toe and out to Justin Holl at the right wing. His shot knotted the teams for the second time. Zach Hyman and Josh Leivo were credited with the helpers.
Toronto took over the lead for the first time early in the final period. Hyman’s shot was stopped, but the rebound came out to the left circle for Andrew Campbell to send home. Casey Bailey picked up a point on the game-winner.
You must be logged in to post a comment.