Toronto Marlies Fall To Hershey Bears In Overtime

The Toronto Marlies fell to the Hershey Bears 4-3 in overtime on Sunday night.

In the first period, Chase Priskie opened the scoring at 19:27. But, Toronto responded quickly, with a goal from Logan Shaw just 17 seconds later to tie the game at one.

In the second, Jimmy Huntington gave the Bears the lead back at 5:05.

In the third, Joseph Blandisi scored on the power play at 10:02 to even the score at two. Kieffer Bellows scored his 18th of the season just over a minute later to give the Marlies a 3-1 lead. But, with the goaltender pulled for an extra attacker, Hershey tied the game at three with 20 seconds remaining.

In overtime, Joe Snively secured the win for the home side with just two seconds remaining in the extra frame.

Toronto returns to action on Wednesday when they visit the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Puck drop is at 7:05pm on AHLTV.

SCORING SUMMARY

Toronto:  L. Shaw (14) (R. Hirvonen, N. Abruzzese), J. Blandisi (11) PP (N. Abruzzese, M. Lajoie), K. Bellows (18) (J. Blandisi, R. Tverberg)Goaltender: D. Hildeby (28/32) OT/L

Hershey: C. Priskie (4) (H. Rybinski, R. Sutter), J. Huntington (9) (C. Priskie, J. Massie), J. Huntington (10) (I. Miroshnichenko, M. Vecchione), J. Snivley (9) (C. Priskie)Goaltender: H. Shepard (27/30) W

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ON THE SCORESHEET

Logan Shaw put the Marlies on the board at 19:44 of the first period. He has points (4-2-6) in his last five games. Shaw has 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) in 35 games this season.Joseph Blandisi scored on the power play at 10:02 of the third period and later added the primary assist on Bellows’ third period goal. He has points (2-4-6) in three consecutive games. Blandisi has 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) in 37 games this season.Kieffer Bellows scored at 11:21 of the third period. He has points (3-2-5) in four consecutive games. Bellows has 32 points (18 goals, 14 assists) in 31 games this season.Roni Hirvonen recorded the primary assist on Shaw’s first period goal. This was his first career AHL point.Nick Abruzzese had the secondary assist on Shaw’s first period goal and the primary assist on Blandisi’s third period goal. He has 28 points (6 goals, 22 assists) in 38 games this season.Max Lajoie had the secondary assist on Blandisi’s third period power play goal. He has 16 points (2 goals, 14 assists) in 28 games this season.Ryan Tverberg registered the secondary assist on Bellows’ third period goal. He has points (1-6-7) in five consecutive games. Tverberg has 25 points (7 goals, 18 assists) in 23 games with the Marlies.Dennis Hildeby stopped 28 of 32 shots he faced.

TEAM NOTES

Toronto is 2-6 in overtime this season.Roni Hirvonen returned to the lineup following a 35-game absence due to an eye injury incurred on Oct. 15, recording his first AHL point with the primary assist on Shaw’s first period goal.The Marlies went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill and 1-for-5 on the power play. The Marlies have recorded a power play goal in nine of their last 10 games (26.5). Toronto is 10-5-5-1 when scoring on the power play and 9-6-1-1 when not allowing a goal on the penalty kill.Hershey had a 32-30 edge in shots in all situations. Joseph Blandisi and Robert Mastrosimone led the Marlies with four shots on goal. Toronto is 6-3-2-0 when outshot by their opponent.The Marlies are 7-2-1-0 against Atlantic Division opponents and 0-0-1-0 against the Bears this season.Toronto is 3-2-1-0 on their annual Boat Show Road Trip. The club will face six different clubs in seven games and return to Coca-Cola Coliseum on Feb. 9.

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RECORD WHEN

Not scoring first                                  1-11-2-0

Tied after 1st                                        4-5-3-1

Trailing after 2nd                                  2-10-2-0

On the road                                        9-7-2-1

January                                               4-4-2-0

Sunday                                                5-2-3-0

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MARLIES LEADERS *Amongst active AHL players

Goals               18 (K. Bellows)

Assists            23 (J. Blandisi)

Points              34 (J. Blandisi, A. Steeves)

PPG                 4 (A. Steeves, R. Tverberg)

Shots               105 (L. Shaw)

+/-                    +18 (J. Blandisi)

PIMS                72 (K. Clifford)

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POSTGAME QUOTES

HEAD COACH JOHN GRUDEN

On Roni Hirvonen returning to the lineup:I thought he brough some energy just the way he carries himself, how can you not like him and pull for him. I think that definitely carried over into the locker room today and gave our guys some energy that they well needed … His teammates really enjoy having him around. It was definitely nice to see him in the lineup today.

On how the team is trending:I do (like where the team is trending). It still stings. It’s not fun to lose but at the end of the day when you learn from it and you move forward, it’s been a positive road trip. Something we can definitely build on.

RONI HIRVONEN (1 ASSIST)

On returning to the lineup:Feels great. Three months off is a lot of time so the first couple of shifts, I wasn’t really used to that pace of the game. The further the game went, it felt better all the time.

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UPCOMING GAMES:*All times Eastern Standard Time

January 31 at WB/Scranton – 7:05 p.m.

February 2 at Utica – 7:00 p.m.

February 3 at Utica – 5:00 p.m.

February 9 vs. Laval – 7:00 p.m.

February 10 vs. Laval – 4:00 p.m.

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