Monday, January 25, 2010

Marlies Crunched in Shootout

January 24, 2010
Marlies Edged in Shootout by Crunch on Sunday afternoon
Greg Scott Extends Point Streak to Five with Assist

(TORONTO) – The Marlies fought back from a 3-1 third period deficit, but eventually fell to the Syracuse Crunch in a shootout on Sunday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum. The Marlies' 4-3 loss was their first home shootout defeat of the season.

Former Marlie, Bates Battaglia, was too much for Toronto in the second period, setting up both of the Crunch’s goals.

Tomas Kana beat Joey MacDonald twice in the middle frame to give Syracuse a 2-1 advantage at the second intermission.

Derek MacKenzie scored his 10th goal of the season at the 14:03 mark of the third period to put the Crunch ahead by two goals.

Less than a minute later, Brendan Mikkelson carried the puck into the Crunch zone and made a nifty move as he fell onto his knees and slid the puck underneath Syracuse goaltender Kevin Lalande. Tim Brent and Greg Scott collected assists on Mikkelson’s fifth of the season.

With the assist, Scott extended his point streak to five games.

Andre Deveaux redirected a puck past Lalande to tie the game 20 seconds after Mikkelson’s goal.

After a scoreless overtime, Brendan Bell and Kana both beat MacDonald in the shootout, giving the Crunch the 4-3 victory.

MacDonald made 32 saves in the shootout loss and appeared in all three games over the weekend.

Toronto, who snapped their seven game losing skid on Friday night, collected five out of a possible six points over the weekend.

Toronto hosts Justin Pogge and the San Antonio Rampage on Wednesday morning at 11:00 a.m. in their second school day game of the season.

SOURCE: torontomarlies.com

Marlies Bite Dogs

January 23, 2010
Marlies Hold Onto Victory to Down Bulldogs at Ricoh Coliseum
Christian Hanson’s Three-Point Night Paces Marlies to Second Straight Win

(TORONTO) – The Marlies returned home for their first game at Ricoh Coliseum in 21 days on Saturday night and greeted their best crowd of the season with a 4-3 win over the Western Conference’s top team.

Toronto scored the game’s first three goals, with two of them coming in the opening frame.

Newly acquired forward Justin Hodgman scored his first goal of the season five minutes into the game to put Toronto up 1-0. Hodgman's goal was the first of his AHL career.

Tim Brent netted his second goal of the season on the power play four minutes later. Brent, who missed the first 42 games of the season due to injury, returned to the Marlies line-up on Friday night against Grand Rapids and also scored in that game.

Viktor Stalberg banged home his 10th goal of the season, putting the Marlies in front 3-0 one minute into the second stanza.

After Ben Maxwell made it 3-1, Christian Hanson received a pass from Kyle Calder and slid it by Bulldogs netminder Curtis Sanford.

Hanson finished the night with a goal and two assists, earning first star honours.

The Bulldogs chipped away at the Marlies lead, but a four-minute penalty to Brock Trotter late in the game spoiled their chance of a comeback. Trotter received a double-minor for attempting to butt-end.

Greg Scott added an assist in the game, pushing his point streak to four games.

The Marlies improved their record to 11-0-5-2 in games decided by one goal.

Announced attendance was a season-high 7,084.

Toronto hosts Bates Battaglia and the Syracuse Crunch on Sunday afternoon with puck-drop scheduled for 4:00 p.m.

SOURCE: torontomarlies.com

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Marlies Snap Skid in Grand Rapids

January 22, 2010

Tim Brent Scores In His First Game With Toronto

(GRAND RAPIDS, MI) - It was a grand welcome for Tim Brent in his first game with the Toronto Marlies.

After missing the first 42 games of the season injured, Brent made his season debut by scoring the opening goal of the game, as Toronto snapped its seven game losing streak with a 4-1 win over the Griffins in Grand Rapids on Friday night.

Jonas Frogren, Andre Deveaux and Viktor Stalberg also scored for the Marlies, who went 1-5-2-0 on their road trip. John Vigilante had the lone Griffins goal.

With just over a minute to go in the first period, Josh Engel sent a puck in front of the goal, and it bounced to Brent who had the wide open goal, to tap the puck in behind Daniel Larsson, and gave a joyous celebration.

Toronto took a 2-0 lead in the second period as Christian Hanson led a 2 on 1 rush down the wing and sent a pass across to Frogren, who fired the puck in. 3:19 later, Deveaux's snap shot from the top of the circle eluded Larsson for a 3-0 lead.

Vigilante would get Grand Rapids on the board in the third with a weird shot from the corner that got caught up in the skates of Joey MacDonald and found its way into the net. It would break the shutout bid for MacDonald, who made his first start in Van Andel Arena since being a member of the Griffins, the team in which he holds the franchise record for career shutouts with 16.

Stalberg added the empty net goal, on a pass from Greg Scott to seal the win.

MacDonald made 24 saves for the win and was named first star, while Larsson stopped 18 shots in the loss.

Toronto returns home after their 8 game road trip on Saturday night against the Hamilton Bulldogs at Ricoh Coliseum. Puck drop is 7pm.


SOURCE: torontomarlies.com

Friday, January 22, 2010

Marlies Acquire Hodgman

January 21, 2010
Marlies Acquire Hodgman from Rockford

Jeff Jackson, General Manager of the Toronto Marlies, announced today that the club has acquired forward Justin Hodgman from the Rockford IceHogs in exchange for future considerations.

Hodgeman, 21, has played in 33 games this season with the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL, totaling nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points. The Brampton, Ontario native ranks sixth (tie) on the Walleye in goals and eighth (tie) in points.

The 6’1, 196-pound centre played in 254 career games with the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League over four seasons. Hodgman tallied 87 goals and 130 assists for 217 points with the Otters.

The Marlies end their eight-game road trip on Friday night with a matchup against the Grand Rapids Griffins, AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings, at 7:00 p.m. at Van Andel Arena. Toronto returns to Ricoh Coliseum on Saturday when they take on the Hamilton Bulldogs, AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, on Saturday with puck-drop scheduled for 7:00 p.m. For 2009-10 Marlies ticket information, including season ticket packages and group seats, visit www.torontomarlies.com or call the team’s ticket line at 416-597-PUCK.


SOURCE: torontomarlies.com

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Canadians Prove Hockey is OUR Game in All-Star Game Victory

January 19, 2010
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PORTLAND, Maine … After an 18-12 win in Monday’s Skills Competition, the Canadian AHL All-Stars completed a sweep of the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic tonight with a come-from-behind 10-9 shootout win over PlanetUSA in the 2010 AHL All-Star Game at the Cumberland County Civic Center. Rookie Tyler Ennis of the hometown Portland Pirates was selected the game’s most valuable player, notching a goal and two assists for the Canadians.

The Canadians were down by four goals when the Worcester Sharks’ Logan Couture began the comeback at 7:48 of the third period. The Binghamton Senators’ Ryan Keller collected his second goal of the night at 12:30 and Dustin Jeffrey of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins cut the deficit to 9-8 at the 14:41 mark. Then, with their goaltender pulled for an extra attacker, the Canadian squad evened the score when reigning league MVP Alexandre Giroux of the Hershey Bears banged home a shot with 18.0 seconds remaining.

Couture and Hamilton Bulldogs rookie P.K. Subban scored in the shootout while Hamilton’s Cedrick Desjardins stopped four of five PlanetUSA attempts to seal the win, establishing the largest third-period comeback in AHL All-Star Game history.

PlanetUSA’s offense was led by Brett Sterling of the Chicago Wolves, Mikko Lehtonen of the Providence Bruins and Sergei Shirokov of the Manitoba Moose with two goals apiece. Corey Locke of the Hartford Wolf Pack picked up an assist for the Canadian side to set a league record with his ninth career All-Star point. The road to the 2010 Calder Cup Playoffs continues when the American Hockey League’s 74th season resumes on Friday.


SOURCE: theahl.com

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Canadians take win in Skills Competition

January 18, 2010
PORTLAND, Maine

The Canadian AHL All-Stars opened the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic with an 18-12 victory over their PlanetUSA counterparts in the 2010 Ducks Unlimited AHL All-Star Skills Competition at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Monday evening.

Skills Scoresheet

Hamilton Bulldogs goaltender Cedrick Desjardins claimed the Reebok Top Goaltender award by stopping 16 of 19 shots for the Canadian side. Desjardins, a second-year pro, entered the league’s midseason showcase ranking second in the AHL in goals-against average (1.81), tied for fifth in save percentage (.929), and first in shutouts (5) in 26 games for the North Division-leading Bulldogs.

PlanetUSA defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti set an event record by completing the Reebok Fastest Skater competition in 13.677 seconds. A first-round draft pick (21st overall) by the New York Rangers in 2006, the 21-year-old Sanguinetti hit the All-Star break with 26 points (6-20-26) in 38 games as a second-year pro for Hartford.

Canadian forward Blair Jones of the Norfolk Admirals claimed the Reebok Hardest Shot contest with a blast clocked at 100.7 miles per hour, becoming just the fourth AHL player in the event’s history to top the century mark. Jon Matsumoto from the Adirondack Phantoms recorded the best mark in the Ducks Unlimited Accuracy Shooting event by hitting four of five targets.

Desjardins combined with Albany’s Justin Peters (12 saves) and Manchester’s Jonathan Bernier (12 saves) to help the Canadian AHL All-Stars halt a three-year losing streak in the Skills Competition.

The Canadian squad will go for the sweep when the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic continues on Tuesday night (8:00 p.m. ET) with the annual AHL All-Star Game. Check theahl.com for air times and channels along the AHL All-Star Classic television network.

SOURCE: theahl.com

Monday, January 18, 2010

Marlies Rampaged in San Antonio

January 17, 2010
Greg Scott Scores Shorthanded Goal Late In Third, But Not Enough To Avoid Seventh Straight Loss

(SAN ANTONIO, TX) - The AHL All-Star break is upon the Marlies and it's not a moment too soon.

Justin Pogge made 29 saves and Sean Zimmerman's second period goal would stand as the winner, as the Marlies suffered a 5-2 loss to the Rampage in San Antonio on Sunday.
Ryan Hollweg, Chad Kolarik, Sean Sullivan and Mikkel Boedker had the other Rampage goals. Ashton Rome and Greg Scott scored for Toronto.

Andrew Engelage made 39 saves in goal for Toronto.

Rome opened the scoring just over six minutes into the game as Richard Greenop tried a wrap around on Pogge that went off his stick and into the slot, where Rome snapped the shot into the top of the net. Hollweg replied later in the period on the power play, when he tipped a MacGregor Sharp point shot past Engelage to make it 1-1 after twenty minutes.

Kolarik and Zimmerman would score in the second to give the Rampage a 3-1 lead after two periods.

Toronto battled back and Viktor Stalberg, who celebrated his birthday today, set-up Scott for a shorthanded break. He snapped a shot through the pads of Pogge to make it a 3-2 game with just under four minutes left in the third. But 35 seconds later, Sullivan took a pass from Pogge and went end to end on the power play, and finshed with a snap shot through the legs of Engelage to make it 4-2. Boedker added an empty net goal.

Toronto will resume it's 8 game road trip after the All-Star break on Friday night for their final stop on the trip in Grand Rapids.

SOURCE: torontomarlies.com

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Aeros Ground Marlies in Houston

January 16, 2010

Toronto Drops Sixth Straight Game On Road Trip

(HOUSTON, TX) - There is a marathon in Houston tomorrow morning, but for the Marlies, their road trip is already feeling like one.

Nathan Smith had a pair of goals for the Aeros as Toronto dropped it's sixth straight game with a 5-2 loss in Houston on Saturday night.

Jean-Michel Daoust, Matt Kassian and J.P. Testwuide had the other Houston goals. Greg Scott and Kyle Calder netted the Marlies goals, both in the third period.

Daoust put the Aeros out front late in the first period on the power play beating Joey MacDonald with a chip shot in fron the net, that flipped over the goaltender off the crossbar and in for a 1-0 lead.

Houston opened up the game early in the second period when Kassian beat MacDonald through the legs from the wing on a 2-on-1 rush two minutes into the period. Smith then scored three minutes later to make it 3-0 at the five minute mark. Andrew Engelage came in to replace MacDonald, who finished with 7 saves on the night. Just over two minutes later, Smith pounced on a rebound off the pad of Engelage and slipped the puck under his arm to make it 4-0.

Scott put Toronto on the board 32 seconds into the third period when his shot from the left boards, went off the arm of Wade Dubielewicz and rolled over the goal line. Toronto cut the lead in half with five minutes to go as Andre Deveaux took the puck into the Houston zone and went around behind the goal and centered the pass for Calder, who tapped home his second goal as a Marlie.

The Marlies had a chance on the power play with three minutes left in the third, but Danny Irmen led a shorthanded 2 on 1 rush, and fed Testwuide for the goal to make it 5-2.

Toronto finished 0 for 6 on the power play, while holding Houston to just one goal on 10 power play opportunities.

The Marlies play their final game ahead of the All-Star break in San Antonio on Sunday afternoon at 4pm ET.


SOURCE: torontomarlies.com

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Stars Shined as Marlies Drop Game in Texas

January 15, 2010

Greenop Scores First AHL Goal In Loss To Texas

(CEDAR PARK, TX) - Nothing seems to be coming easy these days for the Marlies.

Texas scored three goals in the second period as Toronto dropped their fifth straight game by a 5-1 score to the Stars in Cedar Park, just outside of Austin on Friday night.

Warren Peters, Travis Morin, Greg Rallo, Aaron Gagnon and Francis Wathier all had goals for the Stars, who lead the West division.

Richard Greenop scored his first AHL goal for Toronto, who have yet to earn a victory on their 8 game road trip.

Matt Climie made 23 saves for the win, while Joey MacDonald stopped 15 shots in the loss.

Kyle Calder was awarded a penalty shot just over two minutes into a scoreless second period, but was stopped by Climie. Peters then scored 1:32 later to give the Stars a 1-0, followed by Morin's goal just over 90 seconds later for the 2-0 lead. Rallo would make it 3-0 before the end of the period.

In the third period, Greenop and Robert Slaney lead a rush into the Stars zone as Slaney set-up Greenop in front for his first goal.

Toronto travels to Houston to face the Aeros on Saturday night.

SOURCE: torontomarlies.com

Monday, January 11, 2010

Wolves Bite Marlies in 3-2 OT Loss

January 10, 2010
Toronto Earns Point In The Windy City

ROSEMONT, IL) – The Marlies and Wolves couldn’t have played much closer of a game then they did on Sunday afternoon at Allstate Arena.

Joey Crabb’s goal at the 2:30 mark of overtime lifted the Chicago Wolves to a 3-2 win over the Marlies.

Andrew Kozek and Nathan Oystrick scored the other goals for Chicago, who won their first overtime game against the Marlies in the all-time stats.
Stefano Giliati had his second of the year with Ben Simon adding his first goal for the Marlies.
Giliati struck early for Toronto just 38 seconds into the game, beating Drew MacIntyre to give the Marlies a 1-0 lead.

The Wolves tied the game on Kozek’s goal early in the second period, when he was able to find a rebound behind Joey MacDonald during a scramble in the crease and bat the puck into the empty net. Simon regained the lead for Toronto with 1:05 left in the second period to make it 2-1 after 40 minutes.

In the third, Oystrick tied the game on the power play, jumping on a rebound from Johnny Pohl to make it 2-2.

In overtime, Pohl led the puck into the Marlies zone over the blueline along the boards, then handed it off to Crabb, who rushed the puck through the high slot and scored the winner with a high shot under the crossbar.

Chicago out shot Toronto 31-20 in the game, while going 1 for 6 on the power play. The Marlies were 1 for 4.

Toronto will head south to Texas where they’ll continue their road trip on Friday night in Austin against the Stars.

SOURCE: torontomarlies.com

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Admirals Drop Anchor on Marlies

January 9, 2010
MacDonald Makes 34 Saves, Rogers Scores For Second Straight Game In Loss

(MILWAUKEE, WI) - When it comes to west division opponents, Milwaukee is not one the Marlies enjoy.

Jonathon Blum had the game winning goal in the second period as the Marlies dropped a close 3-1 game to the Admirals in Milwaukee on Saturday. The Admirals are now 9-2-0-2 all-time against Toronto.

Dave Scatchard had the opening goal of the game 3:25 into the first period while Mike Santorelli scored into an empty net with a minute left in the third period.

Kyle Rogers scored the only Marlies goal for the second straight game.

Joey MacDonald returned to the net and was stellar making 34 saves, and holding the Marlies in the game all night long. Mark Dekanich ended with 16 stops for the win in the Admirals goal.
Both teams had three chances on the power play, with Blum's goal being the only power play marker.

The Marlies will continue their 8 game road trip in Chicago on Sunday when they face the Wolves at 4pm ET.


SOURCE: torontomarlies.com

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Rivermen Sink Marlies 5-1

January 8, 2010
Teams Share Five Power Play Goals In Contest

(PEORIA, IL) - The only thing the Marlies didn't throw at Hannu Toivenen and the Peoria goal in the third period was the kitchen sink.

The second best power play in the AHL scored four goals as the Marlies dropped a 5-1 decision to the Rivermen in Peoria on Friday night.

Toivenen made 29 saves on the night, with 18 in the third period alone for the win. Adam Munro made 24 saves for Toronto, who dropped their second game of the road trip.

Nicholas Drazenovic, Barry Tallackson, Steve Wagner, Pascal Pelletier and Tyson Strachan scored the Rivermen goals, while Kyle Rogers scored his second of the season for Toronto.

The Rivermen opened the scoring midway through the first period when Drazenovic tipped a Jonas Junland point shot on Munro, who made the save, but Drazenovic was able to bat the rebound into the net on the power play. Just over three minutes later, Rogers tied the game on the man advantage when he defelcted a Josh Engel point shot. Tallackson put Peoria ahead 2-1 with a late period power play goal.

The Rivermen held a 12-4 shot advantage in the second period, as Wagner fired a one-timer over the shoulder of Munro on the power play with 4.9 seconds left in the period for a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes.

Toronto came out strong in the third period and had several good scoring chances, but were thwarted by Toivenen on several occasssions. Pelletier scored the only non-power play goal of the game into the empty net with 1:02 left in the third, before Strachan added another power play marker with 25 seconds left in the game.

Peoria was 4 for 5 on the man advantage, while Toronto was 1 for 4.

The Marlies continue their 8 game road trip in Milwaukee against the Admirals on Saturday night.

SOURCE: torontomarlies.com

Thursday, January 7, 2010

AHL Announces New "AHL Authentic" Program

January 7, 2010
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The American Hockey League today announced the launch of AHL Authentic, a new program that will offer fans the opportunity to own authentic game-worn AHL jerseys and other game-used league collectibles.

Beginning with the 2010 AHL All-Star Game on January 19, AHL Authentic will auction off a complete set of All-Star Game-worn jerseys. Subsequent auctions will feature All-Star warm-up jerseys and jerseys worn during the Skills Competition as part of the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic.

Pucks and other collectibles will also be available in future auctions, and later in the 2009-10 season AHL Authentic will be offering a variety of game-worn AHL team jerseys and jerseys from the 2010 Calder Cup Finals.

All jerseys in the program will be branded with an AHL Authentic patch and all auctions will include letters verifying the items’ authenticity.

In operation since 1936, the American Hockey League continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 85 percent of today’s NHL players are AHL graduates, and for the eighth year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2008-09.

SOURCE: theahl.com

Marlies Drop OT Heartbreaker

January 7, 2010
OT Winner Sinks Marlies With 0.1 Seconds Left In Extra Period
(ROCKFORD, IL) – The Marlies opened up their 8 game road trip with a hard fought point and a heartbreaking loss.

Jake Dowell scored the overtime winner with one tenth of a second left on the clock as the Marlies dropped a 4-3 decision to the Ice Hogs in Rockford.

Kyle Greentree had a pair of goals for Rockford while Matt Keith added a solo in the win.

Kyle Calder scored his first goal with the Marlies, with Andre Deveaux and Tyler Bozak adding the Toronto markers.

The game was a close game from start to finish, with neither team recording double digit shots on goal in any period. There were only four penalties in the game as well.

Greentree had the only goal of the first period, while Calder tapped home a rebound with less than a minute remaining in the second period to make it a 1-1 after 40 minutes.

Both teams swapped goals in the opening 2:04 of the third period, when Deveaux scored his tenth of the season just 45 seconds into the period. Keith replied 1:19 later to make it a 3-2 game.

It stayed that way until late in the third, when Greg Scott fed Bozak a pass across the zone, and Bozak snapped the shot over the shoulder of Joe Fallon to tie the game 3-3.

It remained a back and forth affair in overtime and looked bound for the shootout, until former Marlie Richard Petiot led a rush into the Toronto zone in the final seconds and worked the puck to the corner, where Dowell grabbed the puck, and threw it towards the goal. The puck bounced on its edge and kicked off the skate of MacDonald and into the back of the net just before the final buzzer.

MacDonald made 24 saves to keep Toronto in the game and help earn the point, while Fallon stopped 17.

Toronto continues the road trip in Peoria on Friday night against the Rivermen.

SOURCE: torontomarlies.com

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Marlies Leave Admirals Up the Creek Without a Paddle

January 2, 2010

Marlies Sink Admirals with 3-2 Shootout Win
Marlies Start 2010 with Comeback Win Over Milwaukee

(TORONTO) – Andre Deveaux’s third period goal tied the game, and Greg Scott’s shootout winner guided the Marlies to their second straight win on Saturday afternoon with a 3-2 victory at Ricoh Coliseum.

Mark Santorelli gave Milwaukee the lead 13 minutes into the game with a wrist shot that beat Marlies starting goalie Joey MacDonald.

Five minutes later at the end of the first frame Brendan Mikkelson’s point shot on the power play tied the game at 1-1. Stefano Giliati and Tyler Bozak collected assists on Mikkelson’s fourth of the season.

In the second stanza, Cal O’Reilly burned MacDonald with a wrist shot that went just under the crossbar, giving the Admirals a 2-1 lead at the second intermission.

The Marlies entered the game with a 3-15-1 record when trailing after two periods.

Deveaux scored the Marlies fourth power play goal over the past two games to knot the contest at 2-2. Ben Gordon, playing in his third game as a Marlie, picked up his fourth point with an assist.

After a scoreless overtime period, Tyler Bozak and Greg Scott netted goals in the shootout and MacDonald made four saves on five shooters to secure the win for Toronto.

Kyle Calder and Ben Simon both made their Marlie debuts in the game on Saturday.

The win improved the Marlies home record to an impressive 11-5-3.

The Marlies begin their eight-game road trip on Wednesday night with a game against the IceHogs in Rockford at 8:05 p.m. (ET).

SOURCE: torontomarlies.com