Marlies Get Blown Out But Win Hockey game

I have no idea what Utica’s mascot is supposed to be, but I must say, he makes me appreciate Duke the Dog so much more. Being a dog has nothing to do with being the Duke of Marborough, but at least I can relate to owning a dog. This thing? Not so much. At the end of the day though, they’re just mascots, and the game is what matters. In today’s game, the Toronto Marlies squeaked out a 3-2 victory.

SHOTS SHOTS, SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS. Somewhere, Lil’ Jon was watching this game (hey, he *was* a former Thrashers fan), happy that the Utica Comets shared his philosophy, but disappointed at their ultimate result. If we can be honest, the Comets completely controlled this game, outshooting the Marlies 18 to 6 in the first, 15 to 9 in the second, and 20 to 4 in the third. That makes the Leafs at their worst look good by comparison.

But in the short term, the important thing is the goals for, and thankfully, the Malries were able to pick up a few before the Comets could. Just two minutes into the game, William Nylander scored his first professional goal in North America, finishing off a play that Greg McKegg and Eric Knodel started. Connor Brown and Matt Frattin followed in the second period, and things on the whole looked good; at least on the scoresheet. Brandon DeFazio broke Gibson’s shutout midway through the third, and Tom “#TopSixtito” Sestito turned the Comets’ domination into something concerning a few minutes later. In the final minute of regulation, Sam Carrick took a badly-timed slashing penaly, but the Marlies were able to kill it and escape the game with a victory.

How can you not give this to Christopher Gibson? The Marlies were clearly outclassed tonight. Without a dominant performance between the pipes, this could have been a blowout, but Gibber made an astonishing 51 saves on a night that will go into Comets history as their most shots for in a game.