Toronto Marlies Fall To Abbotsford Canucks In First Half Of Back-To-Back

The Toronto Marlies fell 4-0 to the Abbotsford Canucks on Tuesday night. The Canucks now lead the season series 2-1.

In the first period, it was the home team that got on the board first with a goal from Nils Höglander just over halfway through the frame. The Canucks would take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

In the second period, both teams exchanged chances, but the score remained 1-0 after 40 minutes of play.

In the final frame, the home side continued to push. Nils Höglander, Phil Di Giuseppe, and Justin Dowling all scored within three minutes of each other near the end of the period to secure a 4-0 victory for the Canucks.

The two teams meet again on Wednesday night for the second half of a back-to-back. Puck drop is at 10:00pm EST on AHLTV.

Game Notes: 

GAME SUMMARY    |    GAME SHEET  |      PHOTOS   |      SCRUMS

SCORING SUMMARY

Toronto: No goals
Goaltender: J. Woll (41/44) L

Abbotsford: N. Hoglander (4) (W. Kalynuk, K. Rau), N. Hoglander (5) (K. Rau), P. Di Giuseppe (11) (J. Dowling), J. Dowling (10) EN (Unassisted)
Goaltender: A. Silovs (18/18) W

ON THE SCORESHEET

• Joseph Woll stopped 41 of 44 shots he faced. He is 11-1-0 this season with a 2.59 goals against average and a 0.925 save percentage.

TEAM NOTES

• This is the first game this season where Toronto has been shutout.
• The Marlies went 7-for-7 on the penalty kill and 0-for-2 on the power play. Toronto is 5-6-0-0 when not scoring on the power play and 13-6-0-1 when not allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
• Abbotsford had a 45-18 edge in shots in all situations. Mikko Kokkonen led the Marlies with four shots on goal. Toronto is 13-5-1-1 when outshot by their opponent.
• The Marlies are 1-2-0-0 against the Abbotsford Canucks which is the only team Toronto plays in the Pacific Division. Abbotsford has outscored Toronto 9-8 through three games.
• Toronto is on their annual Boat Show Road Trip which includes eight games from Jan. 14 to Jan. 29. Toronto is 4-1-0 and have outscored their opponents 21-20.

POSTGAME QUOTES

HEAD COACH GREG MOORE

On tonight’s game:
We certainly weren’t playing to their pace for the majority of the game. They had a lot of good momentum especially in our defensive zone. They were able to just keep moving. We struggled with stalls and stops which has been a strength of ours throughout the season. If it wasn’t for Joseph Woll today giving us a chance to keep this to a 1-0 game towards the end, it could have been ugly.

UPCOMING GAMES:
*All times Eastern Standard Time

January 25 at Abbotsford – 7:00 p.m. (PST)
January 27 at Manitoba – 7:00 p.m. (CST)
January 29 at Manitoba – 2:00 p.m. (CST)
February 3 vs. Laval – 7:00 p.m.
February 4 vs. Laval – 4:00 p.m.

Game Preview: 

The Toronto Marlies head out west to visit the Abbotsford Canucks on Tuesday night in the first half of a back-to-back. This marks the third of four matchups between the two clubs so far this season. The series is split with each team taking home a win.  

The two teams last met on November 20th when the Marlies lost 3-2. Currently, Toronto sits third overall in the league with a 27-9-1-1 record, while Abbotsford is in eighth place with a 22-12-2-2 record. 

Toronto heads into Tuesday’s game with a 4-3 shootout win over the Laval Rocket, extending their win streak to eight. While Abbotsford is coming off a 5-3 loss to the Calgary Wranglers. The Marlies are currently 16-3-1-0 on the road and lead the AHL in winning percentage with 0.825. 

Players to look out for on the Marlies side include Logan Shaw who has points (6-12-8) in eight consecutive games, and Nick Abruzzese who has points (5-7-12) in seven consecutive games and is tied second overall amongst all rookies in points (13-18-31). On the Canucks side, Christian Wolanin leads the way with 45 points (4G, 41A).  

Puck drop is at 10:00pm EST on AHLTV.