Needing victory to avoid elimination, the Toronto Marlies dug themselves a hole heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation. Trailing 3-1 and having only registered 12 shots on net, Toronto required a big effort in a do-or-die third period.
After surviving a couple of early scares, relying on Antoine Bibeau to bail them out, the Marlies began to look like the team we’ve enjoyed watching this season. Two minutes in, Nikita Soshnikov appeared odds on to score, but — with Justin Peters beaten — defenseman Aaron Ness dived in front of the shot to deny the Russian forward.