As the New Year arrived, my beloved Toronto Marlies played host to their cross-border rivals Syracuse Crunch.
The New York team is well named, with a history of pounding their opponents physically if not always on the scoreboard…and the local boys were ready to give as good as they got.
Saturday, January 2: Toronto 3 – Syracuse 2 (YouTube highlights)
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- As the teams took the ice to warm up, things got heated
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- Even after dispersing to practice, the combative clot reformed at centre ice.
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- Frederik Gauthier practically buries his head into the opposing centre to win the face-off
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- Giving up height, Ryan Rupert refuses to cede the crease
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- Puck frozen along the boards, Frederik Gauthier holds his man tight while Viktor Loov waits for an opening
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- Even flat on his back, goaltender Rob Madore has his eye on the puck
Sunday, January 3: Toronto 3 – Syracuse 2 (OT) (YouTube highlights)
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- Despite the screen, Antoine Bibeau gets just enough of the puck to see if fly wide of the net
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- Justin Johnson and David Broll clear hostilities early in Game Two of the weekend series
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- David Broll manages the upper hand in the fight before finally taking to one knee
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- Clear in the mid slot, Nikita Soshnikov fires a bullet at Kristers Gudlevskis
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- As fast as he was, Antoine Bibeau couldn’t stop the puck from finding the five-hole for Syracuse’s first goal
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- Crowding the goalie, Casey Bailey chases a juicy rebound
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- After taking a shot off the collarbone, Kristers Gudlevskis takes a moment to regroup
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- Through a multi-layered screen, Nikita Soshnikov tries to thread the needle
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- With everyone busy, Nikita Soshnikov reaches in to clear the puck from the danger zone
The hard-hitting series sets up an interesting three-quel when Syracuse visits Toronto’s Ricoh Coliseum yet again on Wednesday, January 20.
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