"For whatever reason, we didn't start on time. They took it to us. We were on our heels and fortunate to get the one goal. After a wakeup call between periods, our guy responded, and I thought we got a lot of pushback."
"Two icings in 30 seconds and three 10-bell saves by Artur Akhtyamo on high-danger chances inside the opening minute were a fair representation of the difference between the two teams in the first period."
"Roman Ahcan got in behind Matt Benning, received a great feed from Lucas Pinelli, cut right across the crease, and beat Akhtyamov's attempted toe save before chipping the puck behind the netminder with a fantastic backhand finish."
The Toronto Marlies faced a challenging first period against Cleveland, struggling defensively and being outplayed in most facets. Cleveland dominated early, scoring first on a well-executed play by Roman Ahcan. Despite being second-best, Toronto managed to tie the game when Logan Shaw scored after Vinni Lettieri created a turnover. Cleveland responded aggressively, scoring twice more before the period ended. Goaltender Artur Akhtyamov made several high-danger saves that kept Toronto within reach. Coach John Gruden acknowledged the slow start but credited his team's response and pushback after receiving a wakeup call between periods.
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