Marlies Win Seven Straight With Win Over Senators

The Toronto Marlies defeated the Belleville Senators 4-3 on Friday night in a divisional matchup. With this win, Toronto earns their ninth straight road win, matching a Marlies Franchise record.  

Halfway through the first, Toronto opened the scoring with a goal by Alex Steeves at 9:06 to give the Marlies an early 1-0 lead. Shortly after, Belleville responded with a goal by Cole Reinhardt at 12:16 to tie the game at one apiece. Less than a minute later, Toronto regained the lead with a power-play goal by Logan Shaw at 13:08 to make it 2-1 after 20 minutes. Shaw currently has points (6-10-16) in seven consecutive games and is second overall in the league in points (16-30-46).

In the second period, Belleville added another goal by Egor Sokolov at 12:59 to tie the game at two. The score would stand heading into the third.  

In the final frame, Adam Gaudette scored a power-play goal at 5:02 to regain the lead for Toronto. Gaudette currently leads the team in goals with 17 and has 27 points (17G,10A) in 29 games. Shortly after, Toronto added another goal by Kyle Clifford at 8:54 to extend their lead to two. Later, Belleville responded with a goal by Jacob Larsson at 9:17 to stay within one, but it was not enough.  

Joseph Woll stood tall in the Marlies crease stopping 29 of the 32 shots he faced, earning his 11th consecutive win.  

The Marlies return to action on January 21st when they visit the Laval Rocket. Puck drop is at 3:00pm on AHLTV.

SCORING SUMMARY

Toronto: A. Steeves (13) (A. Gaudette, J. Blandisi), L. Shaw (16) PP (N. Abruzzese, N. Hoefenmayer), A. Gaudette (17) PP (W. Villeneuve, J. Blandisi), K. Clifford (2) (P. Holmberg)
Goaltender: J. Woll (29/32) W

Belleville: C. Reinhardt (6) (C. Cassels), E. Sokolov (12) PP (C. Cassels, J. Lucchini), J. Larsson (2) (Unassisted)
Goaltender: K. Mandolese (27/31) L

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ON THE SCORESHEET

• Alex Steeves opened the scoring at 9:06 of the first period. He has 32 points (13 goals, 19 assists) through 37 games this season.
• Logan Shaw scored on the power play at 13:08 of the first period. He has points (6-10-16) in seven consecutive games. Shaw is second overall in the league in points (16-30-46). He matched a career-high in points recorded in a season.
• Adam Gaudette scored on the power play at 5:02 of the third period and earlier recorded the primary assist on Steeves’ first period goal. He has 27 points (17 goals, 10 assists) in 29 games this season.
• Kyle Clifford scored the game-winning goal at 8:54 of the third period. He has six points (2 goals, 4 assists) through 17 games with the Marlies.
• Joseph Blandisi had the secondary assists on Steeves’ first period goal and Gaudette’s third period goal. He has points (2-4-6) in four consecutive games. Blandisi has 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) in 34 games this season.
• Nick Abruzzese registered the primary assist on Shaw’s first period goal. He has points (3-7-10) in six consecutive games. Abruzzese is tied for third overall amongst all rookies in points (11-18-29).
• Noel Hoefenmayer picked up the secondary assist on Shaw’s first period power play goal. He has points (1-4-5) in three consecutive games. Hoefenmayer is third overall amongst all defencemen in points (10-20-30).
• William Villeneuve recorded the primary assist on Gaudette’s third period goal. He has points (1-1-2) through his last two games.
• Pontus Holmberg had the lone assist on Clifford’s third period goal. Through 11 games with the Marlies, he has two goals and four assists. Holmberg has 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists) in 28 games with the Maple Leafs this season.
• Joseph Woll stopped 29 of 32 shots he faced. He is 11-0-0 this season with a 2.55 goals against average and a 0.925 save percentage.

TEAM NOTES

• The Marlies are 15-3-1-0 on the road and lead the AHL in winning percentage (0.816). This was Toronto’s ninth straight road win, matching a franchise record for consecutive wins on the road set in 2015-16.
• The Marlies went 4-for-5 on the penalty kill and 2-for-3 on the power play. Toronto is 21-4-1-1 when scoring on the power play and 13-4-1-0 when allowing a goal on the penalty kill. Toronto is 10-0-1-1 when scoring two or more power play goals.
• Belleville had a 32-31 edge in shots in all situations. Kyle Clifford led the Marlies with six shots on goal. Toronto is 13-4-1-1 when outshot by their opponent.
• The Marlies are 18-7-0-1 against North Division opponents and are 6-2-0-0 against the Senators this season. Toronto has outscored Belleville 28-25 through eight games.
• Toronto is on their annual Boat Show Road Trip which includes eight games from Jan. 14 to Jan. 29. Toronto is 3-0-0 and have outscored their opponents 17-13.

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POSTGAME QUOTE

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HEAD COACH GREG MOORE

On Joseph Woll’s play:
Solid again. Making big saves when he needs to. At times it’s tough with how much scrambling and plays are around his crease and he’s trying to sift through the mess but he’s been consistent this year and was a big part of this win.

MATTHEW HELLICKSON

On tonight’s game:

I would describe it as very back and forth. Like you said, it’s always a wild game here in Belleville but I thought we did a really good job of weathering the storm. We had a lot of penalty kills but I thought our penalty kill did really great. So did our power play. Special teams came up big and it was great to get the win.

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On the defence:

As a group, we always have each other’s backs, talking to each other on the bench. Our collective thoughts tonight were keep it simple, don’t try to overcomplicate things. Just get pucks out into the neutral zone and let our forwards put pressure on their D and keep the puck out of our D-zone a much as possible. I think it worked out pretty good.

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ALEX STEEVES (1 GOAL)

On what has led to the team’s road record:
Confidence and belief. Pretty crazy game out there. A lot of stuff not really going our way. As a bench I thought we stuck together and we were consciously talking about staying the course and we’ll get our bounces with the ebbs and flows of the game. We just have a belief that we’re going to win and that’s usually a good start. We’re a talented team and we know how to finish our opportunities.

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UPCOMING GAMES:
*All times Eastern Standard Time

January 21 at Laval – 3:00 p.m.
January 24 at Abbotsford – 7:00 p.m. (PST)
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)