I’ve been in Toronto over a year now and still not got my lazy ass down to a Marlies game. I spent good money in large amounts going to several Leafs games last year and I even went to numerous OHL games but never got around to going to the American Hockey League level of play. It would lie somewhere in between the NHL and the OHL … the NHL being the stars who have made it, the elite level of hockey in the world and the OHL being the best junior league in the world full of young players trying to make it. The AHL however is the best minor league in the world, the feeder league to the NHL full of players who have made it out of Junior and onto the pro-circuit but who are still trying to take it that extra step. AHL teams tend to be filled with young prospects and grizzly vets who have had their shot and are not either passing on experience or just hanging on for the love of the game.

Either way I was ashamed I had not yet been and when the season started I promised I’d get myself together and get down to see a game. Unfortunately it took until well into the second month of the season before I made good on my promise and went to see them play. The Marlies had actually held their pre-season in Scotland so if I had never immigrated chances are I might well have seen the Marlies in person before I did having immigrated. They went with local rivals Hamilton Bulldogs to play in the Gardiner Cup against the Belfast Giants and Edinburgh Capitals and while, of course, I supported the Giants they were no match for the AHL teams and finished in third place beating Edinburgh on the Sunday … the Marlies finished runners up losing to the Bulldogs.

So on Saturday 21 November I took a path well trodden to go to the game. I say well trodden because I have taken it so many times before. Subway to Dufferin St. and south on the bus into the Exhibition grounds. Normally when I take this route I get off the bus at BMO field to go watch TFC but this time I stayed on a few stops until I reached Ricoh Coliseum just a few hundred yards down the street. But the trip was like all the others – a nightmare filled with tension of making it on time – Sufferin’ Street as I prefer to call it given every time I get on there are road works on Dufferin and I end up almost running late. It took a while to get down Dufferin’ but after a detour I made it to the arena with about ten minutes to spare. I picked up a ticket for $30-odd in seats that I would have paid about eight times the amount for if I was watching similar hockey a few clicks down the street in the ACC.

I say ’similar hockey’ because that is what it is. The NHL is a higher standard but the Leafs of late have not been playing at NHL standard and there has been plenty of talk in the paper I read on the way to this game that a handful of Marlies players might well get called up to get a shot in the NHL so I was looking forward to seeing some potential NHLers of the future as well as some good hockey in good seats for good value.

The game disappointed with regards to the result but not the action. There were nine in goals in all, though just three for the Marlies, one fight and plenty of end-to-end hockey. Okay so it wasn’t a classic but it was better than nothing – this was only my second live hockey game of the season – and it reminded me a lot of the old Superleague days back in Belfast before that league folded to become the EIHL and a lower standard of play. The Superleague was a full import league and excellent quality hockey. This was like a flashback. For those reasons I know I’d want to go back for more and given the teams location to were I lived I should be able to get to quite a few games.

Box Score

Grand Rapids Griffins 6 At Toronto Marlies 3 – Status: Final
Nov 21, 2009 – Ricoh Coliseum

Grand Rapids 1 3 2 – 6
Toronto 1 0 2 – 3

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, McGrath 4 (Kindl), 11:41. 2, Toronto, Rosehill 1 (Festerling, Boyce), 19:38. Penalties-Kindl Gr (tripping), 5:02; Evans Tor (slashing), 9:38; Delmore Gr (hooking), 12:54; Pyett Gr (holding), 14:59.

2nd Period-3, Grand Rapids, McGrath 5 (Kindl, Williams), 3:52 (pp). 4, Grand Rapids, Williams 9 (Tatar, Rissmiller), 11:12 (pp). 5, Grand Rapids, Ritola 4 (Williams, Crosty), 13:50. Penalties-Berry Tor (roughing), 3:22; Williams Gr (roughing), 8:25; Evans Tor (cross-checking), 11:02.

3rd Period-6, Grand Rapids, Tardif 6 (Tatar, Rissmiller), 5:51 (pp). 7, Toronto, Foster 4 (Mikus, Stalberg), 8:15 (pp). 8, Toronto, Foster 5 (Stalberg, Frogren), 15:15. 9, Grand Rapids, Tatar 2 (Kindl), 18:07 (en). Penalties-Crosty Gr (fighting), 5:02; Deveaux Tor (roughing, fighting), 5:02; Williams Gr (hooking), 7:17; Frogren Tor (holding the stick), 9:14.

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 8-10-5-23. Toronto 7-11-10-28.
Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 3 of 5; Toronto 1 of 5.
Goalies-Grand Rapids, Larsson 8-4-0 (28 shots-25 saves). Toronto, MacDonald 2-4-0 (22 shots-17 saves).
A-4,126
Referees-Kyle Rehman (37).
Linesmen-Derek Nansen (70), Matt Traub (11).

Read more about: AHL, Grand Rapids Griffins, Marlies, Toronto Sports | ALL SUBJECTS |

............................................................................................................................................................................