The Toronto Marlies gave a listless performance in the second of back-to-back home games, losing 4-0 to the Lake Erie Monsters in front of 4,472 fans at Ricoh Coliseum Sunday. Former WHL All-Star Calvin Pickard made 40 saves for his first victory of the season and the first shutout of his professional career.
The Marlies, who wore their throwback third jerseys for the first time, were unable to duplicate the same energy level and defensive conscientiousness displayed in the season opener Saturday night. Lake Erie took a 1-0 lead just over eight minutes into the opening period as defenseman Mark Fraser misplayed a dump-in which resulted in a turnover and Geoff Walker beating Ben Scrivens for his first goal of the season.
Toronto had a number of chances to equalize as a result of three power plays, including 39 seconds with a two man advantage, but were unable to beat goalie Pickard, who made 14 stops in the opening twenty minutes.
Monsters’ blueliner Tyson Barrie made it 2-0 late in the first, as he spinned past winger Leo Komarov near the blueline and beat Scrivens with a short side backhander.
“I can’t let it happen like that, it’s a junior mistake” Komarov said, “I’m not happy with my game right now. It’s pretty fast hockey out there and I need to get used to it.”
The Monsters increased their lead to 3-0 in early in the second as defenseman Thomas Pock scored on the power play, after Scrivens failed in an attempt to clear the puck out of the defensive zone.
Toronto had many chances to climb back into the contest, courtesy of undisciplined play by Lake Erie that resulted in 12 power plays, but unlike the previous night where the special teams were effective in moving the puck swiftly and generating point blank chances, Toronto’s units mostly rotated the puck around the periphery and seldom got a close in chance on Pickard.
With seven minutes remaining, Coach Dallas Eakins pulled Scrivens in favor of an extra attacker, but Walker scored his second of the game to remove any doubt of the final outcome.
The first fight of the Marlies season; Carter Ashton vs. Mitchell Heard
Toronto drops to 1-1-0 on the season and will not play until Friday, when they face Hamilton in the first of a home-and-home series at Copps Coliseum.
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Leafs prospect Matt Finn scored two goals Sunday in Guelph's 7-6 overtime victory over Peterborough. Toronto's second pick, 35th overall in 2012, Finn has three goals and six assists for nine points in nine games for the Storm so far this season.
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