Two assists, the game’s opening goal, which turned out to be the game winner, some crunching hits, face off wins, and just to be interesting, some emergency defence. Don’t be surprised if your mail didn’t include a promotional picture of the guy who accomplished this on Sunday versus Syracuse.

A few months ago, in Albany, Brad Lynn, the Marlies Hockey Ops Maestro and I had breakfast with the completely fascinating Colin Greening. Serendipitously, we had all chosen the same little diner to sit down and comb through the usual offerings of [...]]]> Two assists, the game’s opening goal, which turned out to be the game winner, some crunching hits, face off wins, and just to be interesting, some emergency defence. Don’t be surprised if your mail didn’t include a promotional picture of the guy who accomplished this on Sunday versus Syracuse.

A few months ago, in Albany, Brad Lynn, the Marlies Hockey Ops Maestro and I had breakfast with the completely fascinating Colin Greening. Serendipitously, we had all chosen the same little diner to sit down and comb through the usual offerings of pancakes and poached eggs. This is what human beings do when they are on the road together. While the players often travel in small packs seeking out sustenance in safe locales close to the hotel, some are seen wandering the urban wilderness alone in search of something unique in a place they may never be again. (This is usually broadcaster behaviour when they are trying to come up with material for Walk to the Rink segments on Facebook Live)

Conversation with Greening is easy. You might tell that from his interviews. In those minute bites his information is clear and apart from the usual practiced phrase that comes with a post game synopsis. His Dad, (Fred Greening) who creates at the CBC making some truly amazing visual concoctions, counselled him to say more than just those little droplets that make up the rain of commentary. It also helps that Greening didn’t just go to a school, he went to Cornell. For those unimpressed, it is ranked in the top ten universities…in the world…and the school convinced Monty Python’s John Cleese to join their faculty. How, in that well rounded a place, do you not hone the ability to converse? No one walked away that morning dissatisfied with the discourse. Just as no one has walked away from a game dissatisfied with the commitment of the St. John’s born veteran.

It would have been easier this season to mail it in, and collect the big league level cheque. It might have been healthier not to crash the front of the net and just pay lip service, mail it in, and then collect the big league cheque. However, you can only surmise, from his fierce level of play, the education from a school that boasts 29 Nobel Laureates, and a Dad who is an award winning documentarian, he hasn’t been at all interested in how the post office works.

Now face the North Division

One of the tougher things to do is look beyond the points in the standings. Why? Because it really doesn’t matter. The only thing that does matter is the points come April 15th. The rest of it just an exercise in interest. But, who doesn’t like exercise?

As of right now the Marlies along with the Albany Devils have the most wins and the most losses of teams in the North Division that are in serious playoff contention. Thirty-four and twenty six respectively.

The Syracuse Crunch have the [...]]]> Now face the North Division

One of the tougher things to do is look beyond the points in the standings. Why? Because it really doesn’t matter. The only thing that does matter is the points come April 15th. The rest of it just an exercise in interest. But, who doesn’t like exercise?

As of right now the Marlies along with the Albany Devils have the most wins and the most losses of teams in the North Division that are in serious playoff contention. Thirty-four and twenty six respectively.

The Syracuse Crunch have the most extra time losses of all teams in the division and tie Hershey at 11 lone loser (or extra effort depending on your POV) points in the conference.

The Crunch and the Ice Caps are over a thousand penalty minutes for first and second in the league, the Marlies and the Devils will likely finish the year above the millennial mark.

The Marlies lead the North with 33 ROW (regulation and OT wins) with only one shootout win and one shootout loss.

The Marlies have the most goals for with 210 and are the only team above 200 in the North.

They also lead the division in goal differential with a +14

Now consider this: Right now the team in fifth in the Atlantic has more points than the first place team in the North. That could be an interesting argument for change but with an unbalanced schedule that is unlikely to change…there isn’t much of an argument at all.

And what does all that mean? It means you get to rumble it all around in your mind as the last 11 games get played this season. The only thing that will matter in the end is did you win more than anyone else. That alone will get you home ice in the first round. The round where you get to decide in a five game set whether to start at home or on the road in what is most often a 2 and 3 setup.

We may have opened a pleasant can of worms here. The kind where you’re going fishing on a misty morning and catch nothing but relaxation. Casey Winter the Marlies Bus Boss, has five more guys to find in what looks like it’s going to be a regular feature.

First up Justin Pogge: The 2006 World Junior goals medalist came to the Marlies in 2006. Optimism was raining down in torrents. He spent three years at Ricoh as fans down Lakeshore kept asking how he was doing, when would he be ready. [...]]]> We may have opened a pleasant can of worms here. The kind where you’re going fishing on a misty morning and catch nothing but relaxation. Casey Winter the Marlies Bus Boss, has five more guys to find in what looks like it’s going to be a regular feature.

First up Justin Pogge: The 2006 World Junior goals medalist came to the Marlies in 2006. Optimism was raining down in torrents. He spent three years at Ricoh as fans down Lakeshore kept asking how he was doing, when would he be ready. He only had six deciders with the big Buds. He’d never make it back to the NHL after his debut win versus Atlanta and losses that followed. He still holds the Marlies marks for wins (71) and games played as goaltender (142) his first playoffs for the Marlies you may remember he came late to the table vs Chicago and split the two final games as the Marlies lost their first run at a conference title. Pogge is in the KHL working as tandem with Barry Brust with Bratislava.

Andre Deveaux the surprising 6th round pick of Montreal took the long way round but ended up in Toronto and actually snagged himself 22 games with the Leafs in his time with the Marlies. 66 points in 110 games for the right shooting centreman in 2008 and 2009 made him an important part of transition from Greg Gilbert to Dallas Eakins as Head Coach. Deveaux played some games this year in Praha with Sparta in the Czech League. That’s a long way away for the Bahamas born Deveaux but not as far as Welland where he grew up.

Scrivey. A fan fave if ever there was one at Ricoh. And for good reason. 17 games played in the 2011-12 playoffs. Yes those playoffs. Yes that run. The Cornell product came to the Dallas Eakins coached teams with solid credentials. A western kid from Spruce Grove he did nothing but win with the Marlies taking them as far as they ever have before or since. Scrivens got some time with Montreal the last time he was in the NHL in 2015-16 and now tends the crease Dynamo Minsk in the KHL.

Jeff Finger. Considered one of the weirder contracts the Leafs ever put together the defensemen came the other way to the Marlies. He was with the big club for two years before being waived and ending up at Ricoh. After finishing it out in 2011-12 Finger walked out the door and not a lot was heard from him again. Fact is we couldn’t find out anything about Jeff Finger and in this digital age, that’s almost unheard of.

Finally: Darryl Boyce who played 191 games as a Marlie started out in PEI went to Parry Sound, down to St, Mike’s over to Fredericton and UNB, signed with the Marlies in 2007, went down the street soon after and found himself in Columbus then Hamilton before a trip to Springfield then off to Europe for some time in the Liiga and now with Inglostadt in the DEL. Oh the places you’ll go with the game of hockey.

In 1975, ties were wide and collars were conspicuous. Bob Seger released the album Beautiful Loser which was a take on Canadian Leonard Cohen’s poetry. The song is about being okay with being second best. Check this lyrical phrasing;

He’ll never make any enemies, enemies, no

He won’t complain if he’s caught in a freeze

He’ll always ask, he’ll always say please

-Bob Seger

Is the point for losing in OT in the AHL (and NHL) a good fit for that sentiment?

Losing is hard. Anyone who has sat in a room after a hard loss [...]]]> In 1975, ties were wide and collars were conspicuous. Bob Seger released the album Beautiful Loser which was a take on Canadian Leonard Cohen’s poetry. The song is about being okay with being second best. Check this lyrical phrasing;

He’ll never make any enemies, enemies, no

He won’t complain if he’s caught in a freeze

He’ll always ask, he’ll always say please

-Bob Seger

Is the point for losing in OT in the AHL (and NHL) a good fit for that sentiment?

Losing is hard. Anyone who has sat in a room after a hard loss that feels like it should have been in a good win knows this. Few who become champions don’t feel losses deeply. Before the analysis, before the post game interview, before video breakdowns, there is a raw emotional reaction to losing. It is incredibly difficult to see people lose a meaningful encounter, but there is some positive in that darkness. Winning is far more satisfying when it comes with greater risk.

If all the teams had been given nothing instead of the point for those losses in OT and the shootout, Syracuse would have lost ten more games and own a 28-27 record to sit in third in the North Division. This isn’t a whine from over here in Toronto about that particular situation it’s simply an illustration to show that a point for losing might drastically alter the perception of how good a team really is. Not Syracuse particularly but any team. Albany has two points from OT and would be in first with a 31-26 record, the Marlies have four and would only be slightly ahead of the Crunch with a 29-27 mark. St. John’s and Utica would take big hits with 25-31 and 23-32 records respectively but wouldn’t change their position in the standings.

Probably the toughest example in the conference, if not the league, are the Hershey Bears (the Marlies last opponent) who hold down fifth in the Atlantic and if the playoffs started today would be clearing out lockers. Without the point for losing, the Bears would only be a .500 club with a 28-28 record and 56 points. Bridgeport (the Marlies next opponent) whom the Bears have battled with for the final spot for what seems like the whole season, would be ten points ahead of them in the standings. Does Hershey really earn a playoff spot over team that currently has six more outright wins by losing eleven times in extra time?  That is nine more losses than the Sound Tigers using the same metrics. It can happen.

Losing in OT is mentally tough. Is it tough enough statistically? Does it deserve a Beautiful Loser point? Does it seem anti-competitive? With the addition of the entertaining and somewhat appropriate 3-3 OT is the OT point a stat that should go missing in action? 3-3 seems to solve the majority of extra time opportunities quickly and sometimes severely. There have only been 110 shootouts in the league this year so far, approximately 3 a team. Could those three games have been solved with just a minute or two more 3-3 OT? Would they have been solved in regulation or shortly after if everyone knew the loser wasn’t getting anything for it? It seems like that solution favours the risk taking team which is usually the offensively gifted team which also seems to be where everyone in hockey wants to get to. Would it eliminate the road team playing kitty bar the door for the point in a tie game? Would it create better individual stats? Or would it hurt the fans, players, coaches and management too deeply to see the immense effort to get to extra time go unrewarded?

This is sports. That means drama, excitement, tension. That means clear winners and losers. Is it time that point go the way of bell bottoms and powder blue leisure suits?

Beautiful loser

Never take it all

‘Cause it’s easier

And faster when you fall

– Bob Seger

He’s got questions.

Casey the Marlies transportation coach, wanted to know where some of the guys who have boarded the land plane have ended up. The truth is he often knows exactly where most of his former bus buddies have gone but this time he provided a list of 5 names. With razor sharp keyboarding skills and a detective like cunning…I asked Samantha Houser who did all the work.

Greg Scott – The Victoria B.C left wing came to the Marlies out of the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL where he finished [...]]]> He’s got questions.

Casey the Marlies transportation coach, wanted to know where some of the guys who have boarded the land plane have ended up. The truth is he often knows exactly where most of his former bus buddies have gone but this time he provided a list of 5 names. With razor sharp keyboarding skills and a detective like cunning…I asked Samantha Houser who did all the work.

Greg Scott – The Victoria B.C left wing came to the Marlies out of the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL where he finished his junior career with 76 points in 65 games. He was signed by the Leafs to a entry level deal and put together 4 respectable season with the Marlies. He left the Ricoh for the Swedish league but just this year he signed in the KHL with Moscow.

Adam Munro – Originally signed by Chicago out Erie (and a short stint with the Son Greyhounds) he came to Toronto out of free agency via Syracuse and the Columbus organization. He last played goal for Innsbruck in the Austrian league in 2014-15. Living back in Canada he had ACL surgery this past January.

Mark Moro – The Marlies first Captain he was originally drafted by the Ottawa Senators in 1995 27th overall. A couple of trades later and Moro ended up with the Leafs…out on the Rock. Moro also hold the distinction of being the last Captain of the St. John’s Maple Leafs. With his AHL, IHL and 30 games in the NHL he played 740 pro games. Retired since 2007 he is the Executive Vice President of TMG Builders.

Christian Hanson – After his senior season at Notre Dame Hanson joined the Maple Leafs organization. His time with the Marlies in 2009 and 2010 was interspersed with call ups to the Leafs. The Marlies saw him a few times as an opponent after he left in Hershey and Chicago. He last played for the Sun Valley Suns of the Black Diamond League ( Senior A ) He’s living in Pittsburgh and currently doing some fundraising for Spinal and Brain injuries with Donateaphoto.

Alex Foster – Signed out of Bowling Green the son of NHler Dwight Foster and nephew of former Leaf Wes Jarvis he became a Marlies mainstay. From 2006-2010 he played 313 games with the Marlies. In his last season with the team he was named team Captain. After the AHL he went to the Czech league and then the German league. He is currently in Belfast siting up for the Giants where plays with Adam Keefe, Marlies Head Coach Sheldon Keefe’s brother.

Casey has questions. We have answers.

January 14th was a Saturday. It didn’t start with the usual Saturday stuff; getting out the vacuum, moving the laundry to the washing machine, taking the dog for a long walk, directly tapping into the coffeemaker. It started with a goal from Colin Greening and another point for Brendan Leipsic.

It didn’t end the way the usual Saturday ended either. There was no hand shaking and laughing about a great party. There was no coming home to kids who stayed up too late. There wasn’t a cold few minutes of waiting [...]]]> January 14th was a Saturday. It didn’t start with the usual Saturday stuff; getting out the vacuum, moving the laundry to the washing machine, taking the dog for a long walk, directly tapping into the coffeemaker. It started with a goal from Colin Greening and another point for Brendan Leipsic.

It didn’t end the way the usual Saturday ended either. There was no hand shaking and laughing about a great party. There was no coming home to kids who stayed up too late. There wasn’t a cold few minutes of waiting for the dog while he sniffed about the yard. It ended with another loss. A loss that proved to be rock bottom.

At the end of that day the Marlies were in last in the North division with a .446 win percentage. It would be a week before they could prove statistically that they were better than that. Keep that day in mind though. January 14th. Last place in the division and nearly last in the conference. Not that the other division matters beyond the games played against them. There is no playoff crossover as much as Hershey and Bridgeport might want it to happen again this year. (Bridgeport is 9-1 in their last ten and still find themselves battling for fourth in the Atlantic Division)

As of right now the Marlies are 3rd in the division courtesy of two goals from Kerby Rychel, two points from the difference make Seth Griffith and some solid tending from Garret Sparks versus Utica. Yes just under a month and they have climbed past four teams. (although it is winning percentage not points that has them above St. John’s) The spot is highly fluid. Just five points away from last and eight points out of first makes for interesting stories the rest of the way. Better get ready for some more interesting Saturdays.

For a long time I’d been getting this document. One of the hardest working guys in Hamilton would create it while he worked for the Bulldogs and then for years after he was let go. Dedication likely doesn’t go far enough to describe Mike Marasco. But this isn’t about him, and to be forthright, he wouldn’t love the attention.

The document that passed between us was something he called Wherearetheynow? At first the whole title ran all together because that’s how computer files had to be named. It was an immense [...]]]> For a long time I’d been getting this document. One of the hardest working guys in Hamilton would create it while he worked for the Bulldogs and then for years after he was let go. Dedication likely doesn’t go far enough to describe Mike Marasco. But this isn’t about him, and to be forthright, he wouldn’t love the attention.

The document that passed between us was something he called Wherearetheynow? At first the whole title ran all together because that’s how computer files had to be named. It was an immense amount of work to locate every Bulldog who ever played for the team and figure out whom they were playing for or coaching or if they were retired.

Enter Jayden Morrison, who made the mistake of asking one day of I had anything else to add to her work load. Jayden was the Marlies communications assistant the past two seasons. So I gifted her the task of finding out where every single Marlies player and coach had gone and what they were doing. Some gift. I expected it back sometime in the next decade. What, and when I got it back it stunned me. I should have known. Jayden has the enthusiasm of a puppy on caffeine. It wasn’t just who was playing where but what some guys were doing now that they had left the game.

When current Marlies communications assistant Sam Houser got a hold of the document she became the latest to upgrade and enhance the information and it just keeps getting better and more fascinating. Although information is far more readily available since Macarena Mike (don’t ask) was digging through hard copies of team fact books and dialling up the internet, it is sometimes tougher to weed out one person from another in the big wide world.  Some folks are missing in non action. Multiple Jeffs seem to have vanished.

So, here’s your chance Marlies Fans, to put their work to the test. Go ahead and ask. Where are they now? I’ll answer both here and on the broadcasts.

Here’s the first ask: Where is former Marlies Captain Ryan Hamilton? He just competed in his third outdoor game tying him with former Marlies D-man Kevin Marshall in AHL outdoor games at three. He did this while the rain poured down in Bakersfield with the Condors. Kevin Marshall is in in the Swedish HL playing for Rogle where he sometimes faces former Marlies netminder Mikael Tellqvist…this could be the ultimate six degrees of separation.

If you’ve been watching Facebook Live we’ve been taking you on a walk to the rink some mornings when the team is on the road. What can be remarkable about seeing some of these old cities like Utica or Hartford is the slow positive changes they are making after years of steady decline. It’s sometimes hard to pinpoint a project a decision that began the change but it is always pretty easy to see the point it did change.

For the Marlies, 2016 was the most successful this Leafs development team [...]]]> If you’ve been watching Facebook Live we’ve been taking you on a walk to the rink some mornings when the team is on the road. What can be remarkable about seeing some of these old cities like Utica or Hartford is the slow positive changes they are making after years of steady decline. It’s sometimes hard to pinpoint a project a decision that began the change but it is always pretty easy to see the point it did change.

For the Marlies, 2016 was the most successful this Leafs development team has ever had. Wait!  What? The Calder Cup final? The game-seven conference final? Both were farther progressions than this team carried off last season even though rocketed through the regular season as champions. No. This team exists solely for the purpose of giving value to the Leafs and no year has been better at that than this one. Ever.

While you could trace back where the Marlies winning started and be pretty accurate that the ball started rolling with Dallas Eakins and the success he had in taking a great team to the Calder Cup Final it culminates with the movement and belonging of players this past year.

Credit lies mostly with those players whose achievements are now being heralded on national TV with dramatic out of focus slow motion reveals and slow building music. Also in that story of success is a coaching and support staff that in the past two season has been prolific in their production of NHL level talent. The only slow motion reveal they get is the real time AHL season.

At the end of the season pencils and dry erase markers are being heavily deployed in an effort to figure out who might be on the AHL roster next season and who might be a starter in the NHL. Much was erased and changed when the Marlies season began.

In the 2016 calendar year look at what Sheldon Keefe, Gord Dineen, A.J. Maclean, Piero Greco and Justin Bourne, as well as Marlies training and equipment staff can hang their hat on as the most successful AHL year ever for the Leafs:

William Nylander – lots and lots of Leaf number one picks never developed, those who watched him from AHL day one to AHL final day saw tremendous growth. Had he played the full season last year he would have been player of the year by leaps, strides and bounds

Nikita Soshnikov – just pure joy to see a guy love this game so much, get direction that allowed him to shave edges off a rough game and make a more than useful mark in the NHL

Zach Hyman – praised for work ethic it’s often lost that Hyman used his time in the AHL to get smarter and stronger. His enthusiasm for the detail of the game was cultivated to an NHL level.

Connor Brown – do you wonder why anyone doubts Brown anymore? He outcompeted for a job at the ACC. Flat out. Outcompeted. He brought that to the Marlies and it might even be a toss up as to how much he gained and how much he gave to the team. One thing he certainly gained was strength and size while keeping his agility. That’s support staff work.

Josh Leivo – this is progression at its AHL best. Leivo grew more last season as a complete player than he had in his previous two.

Frederik Gauthier – getting a real shot at the end of 2016 after a brief one last season, no player has ever received more benefit from the entire development system the Leafs have in place. From nutrition to strength to skating to stick handling Gauthier, one of the smarter players you’ll meet, took advantage of every piece of information and training available.

Connor Carrick – can the Marlies really hang their hat on developing Carrick? Absolutely. His playoff performance as the team’s leading scorer was an incredible confidence boost into summer that landed him firmly in the defensive mix with the Leafs.

Antoine Bibeau – getting in just under the wire for 2016 Bibeau has exported his manner of calm play to the backup spot with the Leafs.  It is the very thing that makes him valuable to either team.

Add to all this the players on this Marlies team who jumped into the Leafs mix at one time or another in 2016 and some who may do so again in 2017 Leipsic, Kapanen, Valiev,  Loov, Lindberg, Campbell, Clune, Brennan, Arcobello, Percy, Sam Carrick  or made an impact starting in 2015 that carried to 2016, Sparks for the shutout, Froese from ECHL to NHL in one year.

When Kyle Dubas and Brad Lynn map out each season for things like team nutrition, how to travel, how call ups and send downs are handled, development days, rinks to use, and about a million other major and minor details, they are guided with one thought process: Are we doing this better than anyone else in the AHL? That doesn’t just mean wins and it doesn’t just mean creating value. It’s a commitment to make the best environment possible so that it translates to organizational success.

Marlies fans can point to 2016 with confidence and say it has never been better.

More than a third of a way into the season the Marlies find themselves in fourth in the North division based on points and winning percentage. Although percentages won’t figure into the Eastern Conference in how things shake out its a good indicator in a league that can see a variance of more than a few games in the games played column. While fans at Ricoh are still seeing their fair share of wins with a home record of 9-4, the road has been less than charitable as the team [...]]]> More than a third of a way into the season the Marlies find themselves in fourth in the North division based on points and winning percentage. Although percentages won’t figure into the Eastern Conference in how things shake out its a good indicator in a league that can see a variance of more than a few games in the games played column. While fans at Ricoh are still seeing their fair share of wins with a home record of 9-4, the road has been less than charitable as the team holds a 4-8-1-1 line outside Toronto.

Coming back from their break of a week the team will need to build off a game versus Albany that didn’t feature their two top scorers in Kasperi Kapanen and Brendan Leipsic. Nothing too serious in both their injuries and both should return with the time off behind them. What the last game did show the rest of the group was that they do have a style of game that can win games. They have been lucky to in their geography as the North Division has a good number of teams that don’t seem too keen on running away from the pack. Bridgeport has four more points than the Marlies in the same amount of games and is currently outside the playoff picture in the Atlantic division.

Matt Lorito with 27GP has 30 points to lead the league, Brendan Leipsic in just 22GP has 27 points. That’s with a nod of knowledge. Kapseri Kapanen is a point a game guy with 25 including 13 goals who along with Byron Froese with 12 are near the tops in the AHL. Kapanen and Leipsic also are near the lead league in PP stats, Kapanen with 7PPG and Leipsic with 13PPA. They are second and third in the league in PP points with 17 and 16 respectively.

Andrew Nielsen hasn’t missed a game this year and finds himself tenth in rookie scoring and leads all rookies in power play assists and points. Nielsen is also 8th amongst all defensemen in the league in scoring with his 19 points.

Of note in teams stats are that the Marlies are seventh in penalty minutes league wide. 458 minutes were highlighted by 154 minors. It hasn’t exactly been unfair as their opponents have racked up 410 minutes against them.

Only Rochester has gone to OT less than the Marlies. With three OT games the Marlies are 1-1-0-1 for 4 points and a .333 winning percentage.

Sixteen times the Marlies have scored first with a record of 10-4-1-1

Maybe the most concerning team record so far is the 7-8-1-1 divisional won/lost. By contrast North division leading Syracuse has lost 2 amongst the Northerners this season.

Home through a snow storm. It seems somewhat appropriate. The Marlies road trip and past six weeks was a storm of games that saw some bright spots but has been hard to assess while in the middle of it. And they remain somewhere in it that hasn’t quite defined itself because they haven’t come out the other side. While forecasters are usually pretty good about the amount of snow that will fall there are times they are wildly off the mark. Right now the Marlies might like a brief respite to check [...]]]> Home through a snow storm. It seems somewhat appropriate. The Marlies road trip and past six weeks was a storm of games that saw some bright spots but has been hard to assess while in the middle of it. And they remain somewhere in it that hasn’t quite defined itself because they haven’t come out the other side. While forecasters are usually pretty good about the amount of snow that will fall there are times they are wildly off the mark. Right now the Marlies might like a brief respite to check their bearings and re-start on the course they set out on three months ago. The course that had them out to an 8-2 start.

Starting off in Utica the Marlies took a tough loss in a building where winning is an extremely tough endeavour. That it came on a third period goal after a particularly good few minutes of gritty play was even tougher. Some nights when the wheels start down the road after a loss there is some satisfaction out of knowing that there was effort and all that was missing was a good bounce or two. This night had a touch of that and a dose of disappointment.

Providence offered a look into the difficulty this team has had in finding it’s way. A second period that wasn’t near what they are capable of was something that sends fingers flying in video sessions and skates moving in practices. Except the Marlies haven’t had a chance to practice. They did get late goals by Timashov and Johnsson, two players they need to contribute in order to find the offence that is currently missing. It didn’t help that the team’s leading scorer, Brendan Leipsic was out after an injury in the Utica game.

Losses force change and change was good. Daniel Maggio found himself called on in Hartford. He ended up being a catalyst for the energy that was needed. The Wolf Pack had split the previous weekend with the Marlies and were struggling at the bottom of the Atlantic division. This time the second period would be what this team can be. It looked like Wednesday morning on the job site, everyone had their tools and everyone used the ones they were experts at. The Marlies left for a two day mid trip break in a good mood and with a solid win.

Rochester. The last stop on the trip. A place the Marlies for whatever reasons have had trouble this season. Two losses in two games, including one in the early season when the team was flying, were in the books. This third in the series of ten went the same way. The team’s usual suspects found some success: Kasperi Kapanen notched another and leads the league in goals. Colin Smith extended his point streak to three games. But, the supporting cast who had came charging out in Connecticut just couldn’t seem to produce in the same way. The sneaky, gritty, in close, dirty ways.

And now home through a storm. As for a respite? It will take getting through two this weekend against a tough Albany Devils team before they get a break to better understand how to clear the way in front of them.