Marlies Fall 2-1 To Senators In First Game Of 2022

The Toronto Marlies fell 2-1 to the Belleville Senators on Saturday evening. This is their first loss to the Sens this season.

The Marlies had plenty of chances in the first period, but couldn’t solve Senators goaltender Kevin Mandolese. Erik Källgren stood tall in the Marlies net as well, as the game remained scoreless after the firts.

In the second period, it was the Senators who struck first, as Roby Jarventie scored his fourth of the season. They would carry a 1-0 lead into the second intermission.

In the third, the Marlies continued to pressure, and Mikhail Abramov notched his second of the season on the power-play early in the third, tying the game at one. But, the Senators added another before the final buzzer on a shot from Rourke Chartier to give them the edge.

The Marlies are now 6-7-1-1 against North Division opponents and 3-1-0-0 against the Belleville Senators this season. The two teams meet again on Monday afternoon for a 3:00pm puck drop at Coca-Cola Coliseum.

Game Notes: 

GAME SUMMARY    |    GAME SHEET |    PHOTOS    |      SCRUMS

SCORING SUMMARY

Belleville: R. Jarventie (4) (M. Guenette, E. Sokolov), R. Chartier (3) (R. Jarventie, M. Guenette)
Goaltender: K. Mandolese (24/25)

Toronto: M. Abramov (2) PP (F. Kràl, M. Hollowell)
Goaltender: E. Källgren (27/29)

ON THE SCORESHEET

• Mikhail Abramov put the Marlies on the board 6:30 of the third period on the power play. He has nine points (2 goals, 7 assists) in 23 games this season.
• Filip Kràl recorded the primary assist on Abramov’s third period goal. He has assists (5) in four consecutive games.
• Mac Hollowell picked up the secondary assist on Abramov’s third period goal. He has five points (1 goal, 4 assists) in 10 games this season.
• Erik Källgren stopped 27 of 29 shots he faced. He is 5-4-0 this season with a 2.57 goals against average and a 0.923 save percentage.

OF NOTE

• This is the second time in franchise history Toronto has played on New Year’s Day. The club faced off against St. John’s during the 2011-12 season, winning 3-1.
• Toronto went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and 1-for-6 on the power play. Toronto is 7-6-1-0 when scoring on the power play and 7-5-0-0 when not allowing a goal on the power play.
• Belleville had a 29-25 edge in shots in all situations. Joey Anderson and Brett Seney led the Marlies with four shots on goal. Toronto is 8-7-1-1 when outshot by their opponent.
• The Marlies are 6-7-1-1 against North Division opponents and 3-1-0-0 against the Belleville Senators. Toronto has outscored Belleville 16-8 this season.

POSTGAME QUOTES

HEAD COACH GREG MOORE

On tonight’s game:

In the first period, it felt like we got off to a much better start even then we did in the last game against them. We had a hard time getting to their net but I felt that for the most part, we were possessing the puck and controlling the game and things were in our favour. We definitely needed to find another level to find opportunities at the net and around the net. It was tight all the way down through and it was really good to see Abramov get a goal there. He’s a player who’s just been working so hard since the beginning of the year. He’s developed so much and added a lot to his game and rounding it out. In terms of the guys who hadn’t scored yet in this league, he had something like the highest expected goals for. He’s just been unlucky at times. It was good to see him finally get one. He deserves it.

On Erik Källgren’s performance:

It was great. He’s bailed us out of a lot of situations in this one contest, let alone past games. He should feel good about the work that he’s put in and not worry about (this game).

UPCOMING GAMES:
*All times Eastern Standard Time

January 3 vs. Belleville – 3:00 p.m.
January 5 vs. Utica – 7:00 p.m.
January 10 vs. Springfield – 7:00 p.m.
January 12 vs. Belleville – 7:00 p.m.
January 15 at Hershey – 7:00 p.m.

Game Preview:

The Toronto Marlies host the Belleville Senators on Saturday for the second of three straight games against their Ontario rivals. The Marlies begin a stretch of 15 games in 31 days this month.

The two teams last met on Thursday night in Belleville when the Marlies went home with a 5-2 victory. Toronto is 6-6-1-1 against North Division opponents and 3-0-0-0 against the Belleville Senators this season. Toronto has won all three of the previous matchups this season by a score of 5-2. The Marlies will be looking to keep the momentum from Thursday going as they look for their sixth win at home this season.

Some players to watch on the Marlies side include leading scorer Brett Seney. Seney has points (3-2-5) in his last four games with the Marlies. Another player to watch on the Marlies side is leading rookie scorer Alex Steeves. Steeves currently has 14 points (7 goals, 7 assists) in 14 games with the Marlies this season. On the Belleville side, Jake Lucchini leads the team with 19 points.

Puck drops at 3:00 PM EST on Leafs Nation Network, TSN, and AHLTV. Fans can also follow along on Twitter (@TorontoMarlies) for game updates.