Neither side was particularly sharp defensively in the opening period, but the Marlies were the more clinical in front of net and held a one-goal advantage after 20 minutes.
The Marlies were on their mettle from the opening face-off; Carl Grundstrom’s work ensured the puck squirted loose in the slot and Trevor Moore reacted quicker than any Hartford player to sticklift a defender and fire home from the slot on the turn.
Ahead with only 55 seconds on the clock, Toronto’s early lead was almost thrown away by Jeff Glass. Outside of his crease to play the puck, the Marlies goaltender made a mess of swiping the puck clear — promptly falling on his backside — and was fortunate that the Wolf Pack failed to take advantage.