Toronto Marlies Fall To Belleville Senators In Boxing Day Classic

The Marlies fell 4-2 to the Senators on Tuesday afternoon at Scotiabank Arena. Toronto is now third in the North Division with a 13-9-3-1record.

Kieffer Bellows opened the scoring for the Marlies, giving Toronto a quick 1-0 lead 3:26 into the game. The Senators tied the game just over 11 minutes later with a goal from Matthew Highmore.

Zack Ostapchuk scored 1:26 into the second period, giving the Senators a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes of play.  

Joseph Blandisi tied the game at two just over two minutes into the final frame, but Zack Ostapchuk netted his second goal of the game six minutes later, giving the Senators a late 3-2 lead. Roby Jarventie also added an empty net goal for Belleville with just under 45 seconds remaining in regulation.  

Luke Cavallin made his first career AHL start on Tuesday afternoon, turning aside 19 of 22 shots against.

“Yeah, I mean, obviously I want to get the win there,” Cavallin said after the game. “Thought it was an amazing atmosphere out there. Fans were awesome. So, it's a lot of fun playing in that one. Thought the team did great in front of me. Hope for abetter result there. Had a lot of fun doing it.”

Despite the loss, Head Coach John Gruden keyed in on some lessons the Marlies can carry forward as they finish a three-game week on Wednesday and Saturday.

“It's not always going to be one of those games where it's going to go your way,” Gruden said. “We have to fight for our ice out there. Have to get inside a little bit more. For the most part we didn't give them all that much. They're able to find a way to get the puck in the net and we're not right now. So, we gotta find a way to turn that around.

The Marlies will be back in action on Wednesday night in Cleveland. Puck drop is at 7:00pm on AHLTV.

SCORING SUMMARY

Belleville:  M. Highmore (4) (R. Jarventie, G. Pilon), Z. Ostaphcuk (7) (J. Larsson, E. Sokolov), Z. Ostapchuk (8) PP (J. Currie, L. Thomson), R. Jarventie (6) EN (M. Guenette)Goaltender: K. Mandolese (29/31) W

Toronto: K. Bellows (11) (L. Shaw, T. Tverberg), J. Blandisi (6) (A. Steeves, K. Clifford)Goaltender: L. Cavallin (19/21) L

ON THE SCORESHEET

Kieffer Bellows scored at 3:25 of the first period. He has points (5-2-7) in five consecutive games. Bellows has 19 points (11 goals, 8 assists) in 19 games with this season.Joseph Blandisi scored at 2:07 of the third period. He has 20 points (6 goals, 14 assists) in 25 games this season.Logan Shaw recorded the primary assist on Bellows’ first period goal. This was his 250th AHL point. He has points (2-1-3) in three consecutive games. Shaw has 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in 23 games this season.Ryan Tverberg had the secondary assist on Bellows’ first period goal. He has nine points (1 goal, 8 assists) in 11 games this season.Alex Steeves registered the primary assist on Blandisi’s third period goal. He has 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in 21 games this season.Kyle Clifford picked up the secondary assist on Blandisi’s third period goal. He has points (2-2-4) in three consecutive games. He has 11 points (5 goals, 6 assists) in 20 games this season.Luke Cavallin stopped 19 of 22 shots he faced. This was his first career AHL start. He is 9-3-2 with the Newfoundland Growlers (ECHL) with a 2.88 goals against average and a .918 save percentage.TEAM NOTES

Toronto is 7-7-1-0 on Boxing Day and 1-4-0-0 on the holiday against Belleville.The Marlies went 1-for-2 on the penalty kill and 0-for-3 on the power play. Toronto is 7-7-1-0 when not scoring on the power play and 7-5-2-0 when allowing a goal on the penalty kill.Toronto had a 31-23 edge in shots in all situations. Max Ellis led the Marlies with four shots on goal. Toronto is 8-7-2-1 when outshooting their opponent.The Marlies are 3-5-3-1 against North Division opponents and are 1-2-1-0 against the Senators.RECORD WHEN

Scoring first                                        12-2-3-1Tied after 1st                                        1-4-2-1Trailing after 2nd                                  2-7-1-0At home                                              7-5-2-0December                                            5-4-0-0Tuesday                                               2-2-0-0

MARLIES LEADERS *Amongst active AHL players

Goals               11 (K. Bellows, A. Steeves)Assists            17 (N. Abruzzese)
Points              25 (A. Steeves)PPG                 3 (D. Ovchinnikov)Shots               72 (L. Shaw)+/-                    +14 (J. Blandisi)PIMS                53 (K. Clifford)

POSTGAME QUOTES

HEAD COACH JOHN GRUDEN

On today’s game:They make it hard. But once we get inside, we had our opportunities. Unfortunately, we weren't able to score, but the effort was there. The style of play, I liked our group. I liked how we kept getting better as the game went on. But, unfortunately it still wasn't good enough.

On Luke Cavallin's first start:I thought he looked comfortable. He played the puck well. Thought he looked comfortable in net. Just a couple tough bounces for him. All in all, thought he did a good job. Hopefully next night he'll get the results that he's looking for, that we're looking for.

LUKE CAVALLIN (FIRST AHL START, 19 SAVES)

On his first start:Obviously, I want to get the win there. Thought it was an amazing atmosphere out there. Fans were awesome. So, it's a lot of fun playing in that one. Thought the team did great in front of me. Hope for a better result there. Had a lot of fun doing it.

On his takeaways from his first career AHL start:Clean up your mistakes a little bit. Get used to the gameplay here. Just refocus. Few things that I can take with me. Just play a better game next time.

UPCOMING GAMES:*All times Eastern Standard Time

December 27 at Cleveland – 7:00 p.m.December 30 vs. Belleville – 4:00 p.m.January 3 vs. Cleveland – 4:00 p.m.January 6 vs. Syracuse – 4:00 p.m.January 7 vs. Syracuse – 4:00 p.m.