Toronto Marlies Fall Utica Comets In Game Two – Series Tied at 1

The Toronto Marlies fell 7-2 to the Utica Comets in the Game Two of the North Division Semifinals. The best-of-five series is now tied at one.

In the first period, Utica jumped out to an early lead after Brian Halonen scored just 1:46 into the opening frame. Aarne Talvitie later scored at 12:40 to give the visitors a 2-0 lead. But before the period was over, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev and Kyle Clifford both scored on the power play to tie the game at two.

In the second period, Nolan Stevens, Ryan Schmelzer and Xavier Parent all scored to give the Comets a 5-2 lead after 40 minutes of play.

In the third, Utica kept pressing, as Graeme Clarke and Brian Pinho tallied two more goals for the visitors to send them home with a 7-2 victory.

“Obviously, the score is what it is but I don’t think it’s a reflection of where our team’s mentality is at or emotions are at,” said Head Coach Greg Moore. “We’re going to stay positive, it’s a series for a reason, it’s a one off game so, I think the whole hockey world has been talking about goldfish, so we’ll try and put that behind us quick and get on to the next game.”

The series shifts to Utica, NY for Games Three and Four. Puck drop for Game Three is Wednesday, May 3rd at 7:00pm on AHLTV.

Game Notes:

GAME SUMMARY    |    GAME SHEET  |      PHOTOS   |      SCRUMS

SCORING SUMMARY

Utica: B. Halonen (1) (A. Holtz, R. Schmelzer), A. Talvitie (2) (T. Thompson, R. Russo), N. Stevens (1) (S. Nemec, J. Gambardella), R. Schmelzer (3) (T. Wotherspoon), X. Parent (2) (B. Pinho, J. Hawryluk), G. Clarke (2) PP (R. Walsh, A. Holtz), B. Pinho (2) (J. Hawryluk, R. Russo),
Goaltender: N. Daws (28/30) W

Toronto: S. Der-Arguchintsev (2) PP (J. Blandisi, N. Abruzzese), K. Clifford (1) (A. Steeves, T. Niemelä)
Goaltender: K. Petruzzelli (19/26) L, D. Hildeby (2/2)

ON THE SCORESHEET

• Semyon Der-Arguchintsev put the Marlies on the board at 13:42 of the first period on the power play. He has goals (2) in consecutive games. Der-Arguchintsev has 40 points (12 goals, 28 assists) in 50 games this season with the Marlies.
• Kyle Clifford scored on the power play at 15:09 of the second period. He has points (1-1-2) in consecutive games.
• Joseph Blandisi recorded the primary assist on Der-Arguchintsev’s first period goal. He has points (1-3-4) in consecutive games. Blandisi had 39 points (15 goals, 24 assists) in 61 games this season.
• Nick Abruzzese registered the secondary assist on Der-Arguchintsev’s first period power play goal. He has assists (3) in consecutive games. He had 17 power play assists through 69 games this season.
• Alex Steeves picked up the primary assist on Clifford’s first period goal. He has assists (2) in consecutive games. Steeves had 51 points (19 goals, 32 assists) in 65 games this season.
• Topi Niemelä had the secondary assist on Clifford’s first period goal. He had one goal and one assist through six games with the Marlies this season.
• Keith Petruzzelli stopped 19 of 26 shots he faced in 49:00 of action. Dennis Hildeby stopped the two shots he faced in relief.

TEAM NOTES

• The Marlies went 3-for-4 on the penalty kill and 2-for-5 on the power play. Toronto is 1-1 when scoring on the power play and 1-1 when allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
• Toronto had a 30-28 edge in shots in all situations. Semyon Der-Arguchintsev led the Marlies with four shots on goal. Toronto is 1-1 when outshooting their opponent.

POSTGAME QUOTES

HEAD COACH GREG MOORE

On the bench in today’s game:
There’s a lot of great voices on the bench, our leadership, they’re all saying the right things. I don’t think our team today at any point got down on themselves. Obviously, the score is what it is but I don’t think it’s a reflection of where our team’s mentality is at or emotions are at. We’re going to stay positive, it’s a series for a reason, it’s a one off game so, I think the whole hockey world has been talking about goldfish, so we’ll try and put that behind us quick and get on to the next game.

LOGAN SHAW

On managing the emotions in playoffs with a young team:

Have fun. Play hard. Don’t let the noise distract you and just enjoy it. We have a good group in there, a good group of guys. Everyone plays the right way and when we don’t, bad things happen. For us, it’s just okay to make mistakes but learn from them and just keep working hard.

On Keith Petruzzelli:
There’s nothing to say to him. We’ve got to win both nets. Tonight we obviously didn’t win the battles around our net. Nothing bad to say about Keith. We have to be better in front of him. He’ll bounce back for us next game.

Game Preview:

The Toronto Marlies host the Utica Comets in Game Two of Round Two of the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs. Toronto currently leads the best of five series 1-0.  

Game One between the divisional rivals was closely fought. Similarly to the regular season series, Toronto won the game by just a single goal. The Marlies battled back from a 3-0 deficit to win the game 6-5 in overtime, thanks to a goal by Joseph Blandisi. Toronto went 2-for-3 on the penalty kill and 1-for-3 on the power-play, and had a 49-45 edge in shots in all situations. 

Seven Marlies – Nick Abruzzese, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, Pontus Holmberg, Marc Johnstone, Topi Niemelä, Matteo Pietroniro and Alex Steeves all recorded their first career AHL point in the postseason in Thursday’s game. 

“Especially in a playoff series, it’s not a one-off game,” said Marlies Head Coach Greg Moore. “We’ve got to keep chipping away.” 

Keith Petruzzelli is the projected starter for Game Two, after stopping 40 of the 45 shots he faced on Thursday in his first career AHL playoff start. 

“To go down the way we did at 3-0 and to stay in it, that’s what he’s done all season,” said Greg Moore. “He has a great mindset for being a goalie. He’s really consistent and doesn’t let a lot rattle him. He’s the perfect personality to have in net.” 

Players to look out for on the Marlies side include Logan Shaw who had two goals and an assist on Thursday’s game, as well as Joseph Blandisi who scored the overtime goal and had two assists. On the Comets side, Reilly Walsh led his team in Game One with two goals.  

Puck drop is at 4:00pm on the Toronto Maple Leafs app and AHLTV.