Marlies Sink Rivermen 3-2

December 30, 2009
Marlies End Losing Streak with 3-2 Win over Peoria Rivermen
Greg Scott and Ben Gordon’s Two-Point Nights Propel Marlies to Victory

(TORONTO) – The Marlies ended the 2009 calendar year with a 3-2 victory over the Peoria Rivermen on Wednesday night. Joey MacDonald snapped a seven-game losing streak in the win and was named the game’s third star.

After shutting out the Rivermen through two periods, MacDonald allowed a pair of goals late in the third period, but then made key saves in the final minutes of the game for Toronto.

“MacDonald had a big game for us tonight and made some massive saves to keep us in the game,” head coach Dallas Eakins said after the game. “He deserves a lot of the credit in the win we got tonight.”

MacDonald’s last win came on October 30 against Adirondack.

Greg Scott opened the scoring early in the first period on a power play goal. Ben Gordon had the puck behind Peoria’s net and fed a pass to Scott who beat Rivermen starting goalie Hannu Toivonen glove-side. Ashton Rome, who signed with the Marlies earlier in the day, registered an assist on Scott’s second goal of the season.

Ben Gordon netted his second goal of the season with a wrist shot that went top shelf on Toivonen’s glove-side. Boyce carried the puck down the ice from the Marlies zone and passed it to Gordon who was streaking down the wing. scoring the game's second goal.

Juraj Mikus made it a 3-0 game in the second period with a phantom goal from the red-line. Mikus dumped the puck into Peoria’s zone on a power play and it hit the partition with Toivonen out of position and it bounced into the empty net.

The Rivermen scored two late goals but the Marlies held on and improved their record to 8-0-2 when taking a lead into the third period.

The Marlies open the 2010 year with a home game on Saturday afternoon against the Milwaukee Admirals at 4:00 p.m. at Ricoh Coliseum.

SOURCE: torontomarlies.com