Marlies vs. Binghampton Senators (October 8th)

This year I'm giong to try and give game recaps of as many Marlie games as I can. These are just a collection of thoughts based on my viewings.

 
First off, this game was pretty big. The Marlies facing off against the defending Calder Cup champions is a good test to start the year. Here was the Marlies line-up:

Caputi - Colborne - Crabb
Mueller - Zigomanis - Hamilton
D'Amigo - Boyce - Scott
Brenner - Ryan - Wilson

Aulie - Finger
Mikus - Holzer
Lashoff - Blacker

Scrivens

Rynnas

The Marlies went down 2-0 in the first period, but I felt they controlled most of the game. They hit a few posts in the first that could have easily swung the game in their favour sooner. Kaspar Daugavins opened the scoring by dancing through Jesse Blacker and going top cheese on Ben Scrivens. Blacker was walked through, but if you take a look at the play Luca Caputi plays it horribly. He does the effort to back check, but then just watches the play when he was right there to stick check or do SOMETHING to prevent Daugavins from going through Blacker. I guess he figured a rookie defender in his first shift could stop a seasoned AHL vet...

After the second goal, Scrivens shut the door. He was a wall coming up with some big saves when they needed it. He stopped at least three breakaways. Was very squared to the puck and didn't allow many rebounds. Great bounce back by him after going down 2-0. He stopped 23 of 25 shots. 

The team in general looked very strong. The cycle game was on display most of the night. The Marlies have a sizable forward group and it showed. It was great to see them come back from being down 2-0 (won the game 3-2). Good confidence builder!

[Joey Crabb - Joe Colborne - Luca Caputi]...Crabb looked like a seasoned AHL player in this game. Had good control of the puck, scored a nice goal. Should be a key veteran scorer if he sticks around long enough. Colborne looked great too. Offensively, he looked very confident. His goal was in classic power-forward fashion. He powered his way down the side boards from the blueline carrying the puck. Cowick (I believe it was) bounced off him with an attempted hit and then followed it up with an attempted stick check that Colborne powered through. He then cut to the hash marks to rip it past McKenna upstairs. Great first game for him..good to build on and hit the crossbar later in the game. Caputi wasn't anything special, but he was injured most of last season so he'll need some time to get back into things here.

[Marcel Mueller - Mike Zigomanis - Ryan Hamilton]...Mueller was one of the Marlies best forwards in my eyes, if not the best. He was throwing his weight around and really controlling the flow of the game. Took hits and threw a few himself. His massive size allowed him to sheild the puck and he had a few opportunities to score. He finished with 1 assist and it was off a nice pass to Crabb. If he can bring that game consistently, he'll float around a PPG in my opinion. Zigomanis was his regular self, and like Crabb will play tough minutes for the Marlies. Hamilton is in the same boat. Strong on the boards, created offense. Probably the teams best line this game. 

[Jerry D'Amigo - Darryl Boyce - Greg Scott]...This line played OK too. Boyce was the best player, he jumped on a lot of pucks and was relied heavily on the PK. D'Amigo showed good speed and a willingness to play physically. Didn't see any special teams action, which limited his overall minutes. He drew a penalty by using his quick feet. Scott took a few hard hits, didn't look too great, but I expect him to get better as the season gets going.

[Kelsey Wilson - Kenny Ryan - Tyler Brennar]...Played their role perfectly. They created some good problems down low in the offensive zone and generated a few quality scoring chances. Brennar specifically was really playing well. Kept his feet moving all night and was throwing his body around. He's not without skill either. Kenny Ryan had a good showing in his first game too. Kept up with the pace and played a safe chip/chase game. Had some opportunities to pot his first goal too. Wilson showed some good offensive ability and saw a little power-play time in the second-half of the game. Will provide the Marlies with a power-forward game.

[Keith Aulie - Jeff Finger]...Thought they played quiet, which is good news. Both were smart in their physical play. Finger looked a step behind, although he missed a good chunk of the year. Aulie played physical and had a few nice hits. Good transition game also.

[Juraj Mikus - Korbinian Holzer]...Mikus was the best defender in my opinion - at least offensively. He showed some nifty offensive ability with pulling a few poised dekes. Saw a lot of ice-time in all situations. His assist on Boyce's goal was a nice heads up play to get it over to him. A number of players would have just shot it on net in a scramble like that - but he showed offensive smarts in deep. Holzer had a quiet game - which is good for him. Had a few turnovers, but nothing serious. 

[Matt Lashoff - Jesse Blacker]...Lashoff saw a lot of ice-time in a variety of different situations. Nothing to much in the way of standing out, he was good overall. Blacker showed off his great skating ability and was used in a quarter-back role at points on the secondary power-play unit. Fell hard in the end-boards and looked seriously injured, but came back later in the game. His speed allowed him to recover quickly, but he was burned a few times on the defensive side of things - strong debut though, he bounced back really well after getting dangled on the first goal. 

[Special Teams]...Here's what I had written down for lines on the PK and PP units:

PK 1: Ryan Hamilton - Mike Zigomanis - Korbinian Holzer - Juraj Mikus

PK 2: Darryl Boyce - Greg Scott - Jeff Finger - Matt Lashoff

Joey Crabb also rotated into the PK taking Greg Scott's spot.

PP 1: Marcel Mueller - Mike Zigomanis - Joey Crabb - Joe Colborne - Matt Lashoff

PP 2: Greg Scott - Darryl Boyce - Ryan Hamilton - Juraj Mikus - Jesse Blacker

Kelsey Wilson also rotated in for Ryan Hamilton and played infront of the net most of the PP.

They had Mike Zigomanis also rotate to the point at times during the power play. Colborne took the spot of a right-defender and did a lot of end-to-end rushing with the pucks. Played the role of the quarter-back at times. The Marlies would push four players deep and have one defender hang back on their PP.

[Notes]...Eakins seemed to roll four lines most of the game...Seemed like Blacker, D’Amigo, Ryan, and Brennar were the ones with the least amount of ice time.... Which isn’t a big surprise given there among the youngest players on the team...There were also 22 minutes devoted to special teams which kept the youngsters out of the loop for the most part...Marlies went 2/7 on the PP (28%) and went 4/4 on the PK (kept everything to the outside and let Scrivens see a lot of shots)...

The Marlies have a huge weekend with three games in three nights. If they can steal two wins against the Lake Erie Monsters, it would be a really good start to the season.

Nazem Kadri may see action with the Marlies this weekend as he progresses from injury, but nothing is set in stone yet. Jamie Devane was sent back to Plymouth for his over-age season. It seems he fell victim to a numbers game with the Marlies forward depth.

Marlies vs. Senators game sheet HERE!

Check out the Marlies Weekly Release HERE!