"Bo Groulx drew a tripping penalty inside two minutes in what looked to be a positive start for the Marlies, but the resulting power play lacked fluency and didn't record a shot on goal. Belleville broke the deadlock at the eight-minute mark with a speculative effort. Carter Yakemchuk drove through the right circle and shot low from an acute angle. The puck took a slight deflection off a skate in front, but it's one Artur Akhtyamov would want back."
"Akhtyamov made an important save in between times to turn aside Wyatt Bongiovanni and keep the deficit at one. Michael Pezzetta and Landon Sim generated two separate chances for Ryan Tverberg in the second half of the frame as the fourth line proved a bright spot for the Marlies. Shepard was equal to both efforts from Tverberg, much to the 23-year-old's frustration."
Toronto fell 4-2 as Belleville converted chances and pressured cleanly on both ends of the ice. Early power-play possession failed to produce a shot, then Carter Yakemchuk opened scoring with a low-angle attempt that took a deflection past Artur Akhtyamov. The Marlies generated high-quality chances from Luke Haymes, Travis Boyd and Vinni Lettieri but could not solve Hunter Shepard. Akhtyamov made timely stops, and the fourth line created momentum with Ryan Tverberg chances that went unanswered. Coaches stressed defensive breakdowns and feeding into Belleville's transition game as primary reasons for the defeat.
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