The IceCaps finished up their eight-game homestand against their divisional rivals, the Toronto Marlies. Before facing the Marlies, the IceCaps were batting .500, only able to pick up six out of a possible 12 points.
On the plus side they’re ahead of the Marlies in the standings, currently sitting in third while the Marlies have slipped to fifth place.
Friday
Bobby Farnham, Joel Hanley and Yannick Veilleux were three IceCaps who showed up to take on the Marlies this weekend, each taking home two points on Friday night.
Farnham got the IceCaps on the scoreboard right off the bench at just 1:31 into the opening period, with Hanley grabbing the assist. Just before the midway mark, the Marlies started to fight back when, within one minute, they managed to slip two behind Charlie Lindgren.
At 16:04 into the second period, Veilleux took a pass from Farnham to notch his third goal of the season. But alas, the tie was short-lived when Viktor Loov took the lead for the Marlies just 34 seconds later.
A beauty goal by Ryan Johnson, from Hanley and Chris Terry, made it neck-and-neck again early in the third.
Bobby Farnham with the set up down low and Yannick Veilleux cashes in for his third goal as an IceCap. pic.twitter.com/IG0C6O84nc
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla) January 28, 2017
However, as seemed to be the theme of the night, the Marlies answered quickly with two unanswered goals, just over one minute apart.
It was a penalty-filled third period with each team pushing for the win. Starting at one minute in when Andrew Tippen got called for tripping all the way up to 19:13, when Michael McCarron concluded the game with a two-minute charging penalty against Travis Dermott, and topped it off with a 10 minute unsportsmanlike conduct.
End of the game, Michael McCarron lays out Travis Dermott, getting two for charging, then an extra ten for unsportsmanlike conduct pic.twitter.com/gfto27CQJX
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla) January 28, 2017
The Marlies got the upper-hand in the first game of the series, with a 5-2 victory over the IceCaps.
Three stars:
- Seth Griffith (2A) – TOR
- Bobby Farnham (1G, 1A) – STJ
- Colin Greening (1G) – TOR
Saturday
The IceCaps didn’t fare any better during Saturday afternoon’s game. In fact, it was much, much worse. Out-shot 13-5, they managed to keep it scoreless until Seth Griffith and his fantastic goal made it 1-0 for the Marlies with 1:16 left in the first period.
Early in the middle frame, Dmytro Timashov gave the Marlies a two-goal lead. Toronto made it 3-0 just 22 seconds into the third, and called it a shutout when Timashov notched the fourth of the night before the halfway mark, to give the Marlies a 4-0 win and to sweep the weekend series.
Yann Danis was the busier of the two goalies, facing 44 shots to Garret Sparks’ 27.
Even though the IceCaps were kept off the scoreboard during this contest, they managed to keep their cool, taking just three penalties for the whole 60 minutes. Which is pretty impressive for this team.
Captain Max Friberg said it best when he spoke to the media after the game: “They were hungrier than we were.”
Three Stars:
- Dmytro Timashov (2G) – TOR
- Andrea Johnsson (1G) – TOR
- Garret Sparks (27SV) – TOR
The IceCaps are still vying for a spot in the playoff race, currently sitting in third place in the North Division (20-18-5-1).
After the All-Star break the IceCaps will hit the road and head straight into a three game back-to-back weekend.
They’ll kick off the road trip with a meeting against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on February 3, and follow it up with a series against the Hershey Bears on February 4 and 5.
