Toronto Marlies Drop Two Games To St. John’s, Hold Precarious Division Lead

The Toronto Marlies had another busy weekend with three games in three days. The Marlies managed only one win out of the three, losing consecutive games for the first time all season.

Toronto Marlies @ Syracuse Crunch: 3-1 Marlies

The Toronto Marlies travelled southeast into upstate New York for a cross-border clash against the Syracuse Crunch. The Marlies pulled out the 3-1 win thanks to goals from Josh Leivo, Sam Carrick and Frederik Gauthier, and newly signed Ryan Massa made 16 saves for the win in his American Hockey League debut.

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The University of Nebraska-Omaha product didn’t see a ton of work, but made some key stops to give the Marlies offense the breathing room they needed to pull out the victory. The Marlies outshot the Crunch 30-17.

Gauthier, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ first-round pick in 2013, scored only his second goal of the season but showed the possession and defensive skills that got him drafted in the first round. His three shots on goal put him in a tie for second on the team behind only Leivo’s four.

T.J. Brennan finished the game with two assists, while William Nylander was given the night off.

St. John’s IceCaps @ Toronto Marlies: 6-2 IceCaps

The Toronto Marlies came home for a back-to-back against familiar foes in the St. John’s IceCaps on unfamiliar Air Canada Centre ice, and were very uncharacteristically blown out.

It was another game to forget for Antoine Bibeau in the Marlies net, as he allowed five goals on 27 shots. Nylander, the league’s leading scorer, also struggled with a bad giveaway in his own end that led to the IceCaps’ first goal. He produced only one shot on goal in the game.

Brandon Leipsic was one of the few bright spots for the Marlies with four shots on goal including a beautiful first-period power-play goal. Matt Frattin had the only other Marlies goal.

St. John’s IceCaps @ Toronto Marlies: 5-1 IceCaps

A terrible weekend for the Toronto Marlies concluded with their season-high second loss in a row. The Marlies were outscored 11-3 by the Montreal Canadiens affiliate IceCaps over the two days in Toronto.

Bibeau picked up his second straight loss as well, giving up five goals again, this time on 31 shots. With Garret Sparks being called up to the Toronto Maple Leafs with James Reimer injured, Bibeau did nothing with the rare opportunity to have the Marlies’ crease to himself.

Brennan had the lone Marlies’ goal, a booming one-timer on the power play. The Toronto Marlies peppered Zachary Fucale with 38 shots, including Nikita Soshnikov’s team-high five, but Fucale was equal to the task.

Three Stars of the Week

3. Josh Leivo (3 games played, 1 goal, 1 assist, 9 shots on goal)

On a weekend with very few bright spots, Leivo at least got his chances with nine shots on goal.

2. T.J. Brennan (3 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 8 SOG)

Brennan sits second in AHL scoring among defensemen with 18 points in 20 games. Unfortunately, he had a horrible giveaway that led to an IceCaps goal yesterday. That kind of carelessness in his own zone will not do him any favours in his battle to become an NHL regular.

1. Brandon Leipsic (3 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 10 SOG)

For the second week in a row, Leipsic is my first of the week. With Connor Brown injured and Nylander dominating the headlines, the 21-year-old has stepped up to show his usefulness in a all situations and at both centre and wing positions.

For Your Reading Pleasure

• As mentioned earlier, Toronto Marlies goaltending stalwart Garret Sparks was called up to the Toronto Maple Leafs over the weekend. With Jonathan Bernier struggling, Sparks will make his NHL debut tonight versus the Edmonton Oilers. Our own Tim Chiasson chronicled Sparks’ unlikely journey from the ECHL to the NHL in just one year.

• While Sparks is trending up, Antoine Bibeau is headed in the other direction. After getting called up to the Leafs to back up James Reimer with Bernier on the shelf in early November, Bibeau has given up 22 goals in four starts. Kyle Cicerella spoke with Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe about Bibeau’s struggles.

• In a quiet move last week that I completely missed, the Leafs promoted Marlies video coach Ryan Ward to the big club and replaced him with Justin Bourne, a former minor-league hockey player and one of the best writers and analysts in the game. I’m a huge fan of his stuff, especially his Systems Analyst pieces. Mark Rackham of Maple Leafs Hot Stove broke down the hire.

Next: Garret Sparks Career Turnaround

Looking Ahead

The Marlies are in Rochester for a Friday night tilt against the Americans before hosting the Manitoba Moose on Saturday and Sunday. Be sure to dress up as your favourite character (unless your favourite character is Jar Jar, then you should probably stay home and rethink your life) if you’re planning to come to the Ricoh Coliseum for Star Wars Night on Saturday.