The Marlies certainly had their hands full with an in-form Crunch team that had won seven of their last eight entering the game. The Marlies struggled with their puck management at times and fed into Syracuse’ dangerous transition game, creating a hill to climb despite a pretty strong 40+ shot performance by Toronto.
First Period
The Crunch should have built themselves a lead through 20 minutes.
A turnover from Timothy Liljegren up the right boards in the defensive zone allowed Jonne Tammela to drive to the net unattended, but Garret Sparks bailed his defenseman out.