Toronto Marlies Fall To Charlotte Checkers In First Half Of Back-To-Back

The Toronto Marlies fell 3-2 to the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday afternoon. Toronto is now 1-1-1-0 on the season.

Charlotte opened the scoring with an unassisted goal from Patrick Giles 6:00 into the first period. Joseph Blandisi answered quickly for the Marlies, though, tying the game at one just over 6 minutes later with his first of the season. Josiah Slavin added the Marlies second goal late in the first, with a short-handed marker to give Toronto their first lead at 17:11 in the opening period.

In the second period, Michael Benning scored a game-tying goal for the Checkers at 6:45 and Lucas Carlsson added the game-winner two minutes later.

Despite the loss, head coach John Gruden liked what he saw from the Marlies offensive attack.

“I think at times we had them on their heels,” Gruden said. “Their goalie made some big stops. We had a chance. Started to get more traffic and we were more dangerous as the game went on. But they defended well. They made it hard on us. Our guys didn’t quit.”

Blandisi continued his hot start to the season against the Checkers. With a goal and an assist, he notched his second multi-point game of the season.

“I really liked the way he plays,” Gruden said after the game about Blandisi. “He plays with a lot of energy. You can play him up and down the lineup. His teammates love playing with him. He just brings that speed and that energy that any team needs and wants.”

“He brings so much energy to our team and that’s why he’s got an A on the jersey,” Slavin added. “He’s such a good leader. Just, getting passes like that from him is just a perk.”

The Marlies will be back in action Sunday afternoon against the Charlotte Checkers at Coca-Cola Coliseum at 4:00pm. You can watch the game live on the Toronto Maple Leafs app or on AHLTV.

SCORING SUMMARY

Charlotte: P. Giles (1) (Unassisted), M. Benning (1) PP (R. McAllister, A. True), L. Carlsson (1) (M. Samoskevich, S. Kinnunen)
Goaltender: S. Knight (29/31) W

Toronto: J. Blandisi (1) (M. Ellis, T. Niemelä), J. Slavin (1) SH (J. Blandisi)
Goaltender: D. Hildeby (15/18) L

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ON THE SCORESHEET

• Joseph Blandisi opened the scoring at 12:27 of the first period and picked up the lone assist on Slavin’s first period shorthanded goal. He has recorded four points (1 goal, 3 assists) in consecutive games.
• Josiah Slavin scored shorthanded at 17:11 of the first period. This was his first goal with the Marlies. He now has six career shorthanded goals.
• Max Ellis had the primary assist on Blandisi’s first period goal. He has assists (2) in consecutive games. Ellis recorded 10 assists in 49 games last season.
• Topi Niemelä recorded the secondary assist on Blandisi’s first period goal. He has two assists in three games this season.
• Dennis Hildeby stopped 15 of 18 shots he faced.

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TEAM NOTES

• Toronto recorded their first shorthanded goal of the season from Josiah Slavin. The Marlies picked up nine shorthanded goals in the 20223-23 season.
• The Marlies went 2-for-3 on the penalty kill and 0-for-6 on the power play. Toronto is 1-1-0-0 when not scoring on the power play and 1-1-1-0 when allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
• Toronto had a 31-18 edge in shots in all situations. Dylan Gambrell led the Marlies with five shots on goal. Toronto is 1-1-1-0 when outshooting their opponent.
• The Marlies are 0-1-0-0 against Atlantic Division opponents and are 0-1-0-0 against the Checkers.

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POSTGAME QUOTES

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HEAD COACH JOHN GRUDEN

On today’s game:

At times, we had them on their heels. Their goalie made some big stops when we had a chance. We started to get some more traffic and we were more dangerous when the game went on. Their players defended well, they made it hard on us but again, our guys didn’t quit.

On facing Charlotte tomorrow:
We’ve just got to give (the players) the things that worked and get them excited for tomorrow night’s game. No one likes the outcome but at the end of the day there’s a lot of good things that we did within the game that’s going to give (the coaches) an opportunity to show (the players) and for them to understand and then try to go out tomorrow night and execute.

On Joseph Blandisi:

I really like the way he plays. He plays with a lot of energy. You can play him up and down the lineup and his teammates love playing with him. He just brings that speed and that energy that any team needs and wants.

On Robert Mastrosimone’s first professional game:
He drew a couple penalties. Obviously not afraid to engage. He was in there. By him drawing a couple of penalties is huge. I liked his game for his first game as a Marlie in the AHL. I really liked his game.

JOSIAH SLAVIN (1 SHORTHANDED GOAL)

On the team’s effort:

We played a good game. Thought we maybe deserved a little bit better than the outcome. Sometimes you run into a hot goalie like that. He’s a really good player. So, I’ve got to give credit to him.

On playing with Blandisi and his assist on Slavin’s shorthanded goal:
It’s awesome. He brings so much energy to our team. That’s why he’s got an A on his jersey, he’s such a good leader. Just getting passes like that from him are just a perk.

UPCOMING GAMES:
*All times Eastern Standard Time

October 22 vs. Charlotte – 4:00 p.m.
October 24 vs. Milwaukee – 7:00 p.m.
October 27 at Belleville – 7:00 p.m.
October 28 at Belleville – 7:00 p.m.
November 3 at Laval – 7:00 p.m.