After the game in which the Marlies had to make a comeback, it was the same story on Saturday in Game 2 against Rochester.
The game did not start great as Marlies captain Logan Shaw took a penalty kick, giving Rochester a fairly early playing opportunity eight minutes into the game.
Jiri Kulich gets Rochester on the board first with their fifth goal in six playoff games.#Marlies Down 1-0 in the middle of the first period. pic.twitter.com/XWtYS9IJwg
– Nick Barden (@nick Barden) May 13, 2023
On the man advantage, Jiri Kulich, who scored in every game he participated in, added another credit to his already impressive stat streak.
It was the 19-year-old’s fifth goal in the Calder Cup qualifiers in as many games.
Toronto found a little life early in the second period with a power play goal courtesy of Nick Abruzzo. But shortly afterwards, it breaks down, again to Marlies.
Rochester began scoring at an alarming rate with four goals in less than three minutes, putting the Marlies in the position of having to come back for the second time in as many games.
Eric Calgren allowed four goals on 19 shots against him and Marlies head coach Greg Moore elected to change goaltenders.
Keith Petrozzelli entered and allowed a goal on the first shot he faced. For the rest of the match, the 24-year-old stopped eight of 10 shots.
“The second period certainly saw some interesting events,” said Moore.
“(We) got a little distracted in the second period. There was maybe a two-to-three-minute window of two quick goals that was little more than our defensive breakdown and then our group was visibly frustrated with the way things were going in the second.”
Toronto gained a little life in the third period with a Pontus Holmberg power play goal, holding the Marlies to just three goals behind. If there was anything that would turn the momentum in their favor, it would be it.
#Marlies With some nice passing on the power play, Pontus Holmberg finished it off with his third goal of the postseason.
Rochester now leads Toronto 5-3. pic.twitter.com/AMcVnTnMVm
– Nick Barden (@nick Barden) May 13, 2023
However, 40 seconds later, Joseph Blandesi kicked a penalty that sent Rochester to the man advantage. Immediately, the Americans found the back of the net, potentially choking out any running back Toronto might be in.
“There was a lot of adversity we had to play through that match.” said demure Kyle Clifford after the game. “We will not go quietly here.”
Toronto had a lot of trouble this series finding goals at five-on-five.
Five of the seven the Marlies scored in this series were at the man advantage, meaning that only two were at equal strength. They had a lot of great chances, but they just couldn’t find the net.
Part of that was due to the play of Malcolm Subban, who stopped 7 of the 61 shots he faced over two games. The other part can come to luck.
“Today, it wasn’t because there was a lack of opportunity,” Moore said. “Sometimes they don’t go in, and sometimes you go through some parts of the game and everything seems to happen.
“We just have to stay with him. If we don’t get chances, I’ll be worried. But we definitely create offense, we just have to find the back of the net.”
It’s a do-or-die game now for the Marlies as the series heads to Rochester. If they can win both games, it will take both teams back to Toronto for Game 5.
For the Marlies in these playoffs, the message has always been to take it one game at a time. The message before Game 3 in Rochester, though?
“We’ll leave everything on the line.” Clifford said.