Marlies Downed In Gardiner Cup Final

September 27, 2009
Marlies Lose to Bulldogs in Gardiner Cup Final

(Edinburgh, Scotland) – The Toronto Marlies fell to the Hamilton Bulldogs 3-1 on Sunday afternoon in the Gardiner Cup championship game in Edinburgh.

Toronto was fresh off a 6-1 thrashing of the hometown Capitals from Saturday, but fell behind early when Brock Trotter slid a puck past a screened James Reimer to open the scoring four minutes into the game.

The Marlies had a 5-on-3 to close out the first period but weren’t able to get the puck past Bulldogs starting goalie Cedrick Desjardins.

The Bulldogs extended their lead in the second period when Andre Benoit netted a goal on a slapshot while Hamilton was on a two-man advantage.

The Marlies got on the board when Dale Mitchell took a slapshot that beat Desjardins five-hole in the second period, cutting Hamilton’s lead to 2-1. Stefano Giliati started the play with a spin-a-rama pass to Mitchell who broke into the Bulldogs zone and fired a shot between the legs of the Bulldogs netminder.

Trotter notched his second goal of the game late in the second period to give Hamilton a 3-1 lead at the second intermission.

The Marlies best chance of the third period came when Joe Ryan hit the post mid-way through the third frame.

Despite pulling their goalie with over two minutes remaining in regulation, the Marlies weren’t able to beat Desjardins and the Bulldogs again, dropping the final game 3-1.
Giliati was named the Marlies player of the game.

The Marlies are back in action on Wednesday night in Oshawa at the General Motors Centre against the Hamilton Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m.

SOURCE: torontomarlies.com