Toronto Marlies Top Utica Comets In Family Day Matchup

The Toronto Marlies defeated the Utica Comets 3-1 on Monday in their Family Day game at Scotiabank Arena. Toronto improves to 3-0-0-0 when playing at Scotiabank Arena and 35-13-2-1 for the season. 

In the first period, Matthew Hellickson earned his first of the season with a goal at 5:07 to open the scoring and give Toronto the early lead. Shortly after, Utica responded with a goal by Graeme Clarke at 8:58 to tie the game at one apiece.  

Late in the second, the goals for Toronto kept coming. Bobby McMann scored a power-play goal at 15:53 to earn his 17th of the season and make it 2-1. Currently McMann has six goals in four consecutive games. Less than a minute later, Max Ellis added another for Toronto at 16:38 to extend Toronto’s lead to two. Currently Toronto is 24-0-2-1 when leading after two.  

In the final frame, both teams exchanged chances, but Toronto held on to their 3-1 lead to secure the win.  

Keith Petruzzelli stood tall in the Marlies crease stopping 33 of the 34 shots he faced.  

The Marlies return to action on February 25th when they host the Laval Rocket. Puck drop is at 4:00pm on the Toronto Maple Leafs app and AHLTV.  

GAME SUMMARY    |    GAME SHEET  |      PHOTOS   |      SCRUMS

SCORING SUMMARY

Utica: G. Clarke (18) PP (R. Walsh)
Goaltender: N. Daws (36/39) L

Toronto: M. Hellickson (1) (M. Johnstone, Z. Solow), B. McMann (17) PP (N. Abruzzese, A. Steeves), M. Ellis (6) (P. Holmberg, K. Clifford)
Goaltender: K. Petruzzelli (33/34) W

ON THE SCORESHEET

• Matthew Hellickson opened the scoring at 5:07 of the first period. This was his first goal of the season. He has points (1-1-2) in consecutive games.
• Bobby McMann scored the game-winning goal on the power play at 15:53 of the second period. He has goals (6) in four consecutive games. McMann has tied his career-high in power play goals (8) through 26 games with the Marlies.
• Max Ellis scored at 16:37 of the second period. He has four points (3 goals, 1 assist) through his last four games.
• Marc Johnstone recorded the primary assist on Hellickson’s first period goal. He has 15 points (6 goals, 9 assists) in 48 games this season.
• Zach Solow had the secondary assist on Hellickson’s first period goal. This was his first point with the Marlies through four games. He has 42 points (14 goals, 28 assists) in 41 games with Newfoundland (ECHL).
• Nick Abruzzese registered the primary assist on McMann’s second period goal. He has 37 points (15 goals, 22 assists) in 51 games with the Marlies.
• Alex Steeves picked up the secondary assist on McMann’s second period goal. He set a career-high in assists (24) in one season. Steeves has 41 points (17 goals, 24 assists) in 48 games this season.
• Pontus Holmberg recorded the primary assist on Ellis’ second period goal. He has eight points (2 goals, 6 assists) in 17 games this season.
• Kyle Clifford had the secondary assist on Ellis’ second period goal. He has 12 points (4 goals, 8 assists) in 27 games this season.
• Keith Petruzzelli stopped 33 of 34 shots he faced. He is 12-5-0 this season with a 2.92 goals against average and a 0.904 save percentage.

TEAM NOTES

• Greg Moore recorded his 100^th career AHL win as a coach. He is 100-80-6-5 with the Marlies.
• Toronto is 18-15-1 when playing at Scotiabank Arena and 3-0 this season.
• The Marlies went 2-for-3 on the penalty kill and 1-for-3 on the power play. Toronto is 26-7-2-1 when scoring on the power play and 19-8-2-0 when allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
• Toronto had a 39-34 edge in shots in all situations. Bobby McMann led the Marlies with six shots on goal. Toronto is 16-7-0-0 when outshooting their opponent.
• The Marlies are 23-9-0-1 against North Division opponents and 5-0-0-0 against the Utica Comets.

POSTGAME QUOTES

HEAD COACH GREG MOORE

On today’s game and the importance of winning against divisional rivals:
It’s massive right now. The standings are really tight in our division. Obliviously where we’re placed right now, there’s bullseye on our back. Every time these teams play us, they’re all trying to climb and get into playoffs as are we to ensure our position. I was really proud of the team today. First period, you could say was a little bit back and forth. Early in the second, there were a few things that you could tell our players knew we had to do a little better especially when we were changing, managing the puck but as soon as Logan Shaw’s line changed in the o-zone, set up the guys behind him and then Johnstone had a good line change in the o-zone that set up Ellis’ goal, that kind of shifted the whole momentum and we got back to shorter shifts and changing at the right time and doing things to set up the guy behind you.

On winning his 100^th career AHL game as a coach:
Certainly, it’s been a long road since I’ve been here. I had only been a head coach for a year and a half prior to having the honour to step into this organization and coach with the Marlies. There’s been a lot of growth to be honest with you. Building relationships with these men, learning structurally the style of play and what it takes to win at this level, and just everything that kind of is encompassing with the position. You know, it’s a milestone but I’m nothing without the players and our support staff and our coaching staff that’s they’re pushing me and challenging me every day and helping support me. As good as it feels, it’s hard to make it about me as there’s a lot of people that go into this that are involved to get us into these situations.

On the line of Nick Abruzzese, Bobby McMann and Logan Shaw:

The line is playing really well, I think all those guys are feeling confident individually as well, not only just as a line. We’re going to need to lean on them, much like a lot of guys but they’re matched up against the top lines of the other teams most given nights and still finding ways to produce offensively. They’ve been really impressive, so, that was a really strong line for us tonight.

NICK ABRUZZESE (1 ASSIST)

On the power play:

It’s just a lot of really good players who can make plays, and I think everyone kind of knows where everyone’s at. I think we’ve done a good job of establishing what our game plan is and being able to come through on that game plan.

BOBBY McMANN (GAME-WINNING GOAL)

On Logan Shaw:
You see he’s an experienced guy, you see the way he carries himself, the way he controls the bench, our team, all of those things. It’s a good energy to feed off of and it’s great to have him in the locker room.

UPCOMING GAMES:
*All times Eastern Standard Time

February 25 vs. Laval – 4:00 p.m.
February 26 vs. Syracuse – 4:00 p.m.
March 1 vs. Rockford – 11:00 a.m.
March 3 at Hershey – 7:00 p.m.
March 4 at Lehigh Valley – 7:05 p.m.

The Toronto Marlies host the Utica Comets on Monday afternoon in their Family Day game at Scotiabank Arena. This will be the fifth of six matchups between the two clubs this season.  

The two teams last met on February 15th where the Marlies won 2-1. Toronto has currently won all the four previous matchups.  

Toronto heads into Monday’s game with a 5-1 win over the Rochester Americans on Saturday, improving to 34-13-2-1 on the season. Utica is coming off a high-scoring 8-5 loss to the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday, falling to a 23-19-5-2 record. Currently both teams sit at the top of the North division standings with Toronto in first and Utica 18 points behind in second place.  

Players to look out for on the Marlies side include Bobby McMann who has eight goals through his last seven games, and Logan Shaw who sits fourth overall in points (17-40-57) in the AHL. On the Comets side, Graeme Clarke leads the way with 38 points (17G, 21A). 

Puck drop is at 3:00pm on the Toronto Maple Leafs app, TSN, and AHLTV.