Toronto Marlies Fall To Syracuse Crunch In First Of Home-And-Home – Toronto Marlies

The Toronto Marlies fell 4-3 to the Syracuse Crunch on Friday night. Toronto is now 8-6-3-1 on the season.

In the first period, it was the home team that struck first, as Mitchell Chaffee scored on the power play to give the Crunch a 1-0 lead. With just 2 seconds remaining in the period, Shawn Element scored again for Syracuse, giving them a 2-0 lead at the break.

In the second, the Crunch added another from Gage Goncalves to give them a three goal lead after two periods of play.

In the third Toronto managed to break through. Pontus Holmberg score two power play goals in the final frame. Robert Mastrosimone scored his first professional goal before the game was over, but it wasn’t enough. Syracuse added an empty net goal to take home a 4-3 victory. Despite the loss, Alex Steeves extended his point streak (11G, 8A) to 12 games.

The two teams meet again on Saturday afternoon at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Puck drop is at 4:00pm on the Toronto Maple Leafs app and AHLTV.

Game Notes: 

GAME SUMMARY    |    GAME SHEET  |      SCRUMS

SCORING SUMMARY

Toronto:  P. Holmberg (4) PP (N. Abruzzese, T. Niemelä), P. Holmberg (5) PP (A. Steeves, T. Niemelä), R. Mastrosimone (1) (J. Slavin, T. Niemelä)
Goaltender: D. Hildeby (22/25) L

Syracuse: M. Chaffee (6) PP (J. Thompson, G. Dumont), S. Element (2) (J. Thompson, W. Merelä), G. Goncalves (4) (P. Myers, M. Chafee), D. Walcott (8) EN (G. Dumont, S. Day)
Goaltender: M. Tomkins (28/31) W

ON THE SCORESHEET

• Pontus Holmberg put the Marlies on the board at 8:21 and scored his goal of the game at 18:24, both in the third period on the power play. He has seven points (5 goals, 2 assists) eight games with the Marlies this season.
• Robert Mastrosimone scored at 19:51 of the third period. This was his first professional goal.
• Nick Abruzzese recorded the primary assist on Holmberg’s first third period goal. He has 14 points (3 goals, 11 assists) in 18 games this season.
• Topi Niemelä had the secondary assists on all three goals scored against Syracuse. He has 12 points (2 goals, 10 assists) in 16 games. He is the second Marlies defenceman with a three-assist game this season. Niemelä has 12 points (2 goals, 10 assists) in 16 games this season.
• Alex Steeves picked up the primary assist on Holmberg’s second third period goal. He extends his AHL leading 12-game point streak (11-6-17).
• Josiah Slavin registered the primary assist on…