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

The Toronto Marlies fell 4-1 to the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday evening in the final matchup between the two clubs this season.  

In the opening period, it was the visitors who got on the board first. John Ludvig scored at 8:58 in the frame to give the Checkers the early 1-0 lead.  

In the second, both teams exchanged chances, but the score remained 1-0 after two periods of play.  

Early in the third, Charlotte extended their lead to two with a goal by Grigori Denisenko at 2:27. Shortly after, Connor Bunnaman added another at 5:27 to make it 3-0. Later, Toronto responded with a goal by Pontus Holmberg at 9:58 to keep within two. Before the period was over, Cameron Morrison added a late empty net goal at 18:53 to make it 4-1 for Charlotte and secure the win.  

The Marlies return to action on March 22nd when they host the Milwaukee Admirals. Puck drop is at 7:00pm on the Toronto Maple Leafs app and AHLTV.

SCORING SUMMARY

Charlotte: J. Ludvig (3) (H. Bowlby, A. Heponiemi), G. Denisenko (11) (C. Morrison), C. Bunnaman (12) PP (M. Kiersted, S. Kinnunen), C. Morrison (4) EN (L. Carlsson)
Goaltender: A. Lyon (21/22) W

Toronto: P. Holmberg (8) (L. Shaw, F. Král)
Goaltender: E. Källgren (23/26) L

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ON THE SCORESHEET

• Pontus Holmberg put the Marlies on the board at 9:58 of the third period. He has 16 points (8 goals, 8 assists) in 27 games this season.
• Logan Shaw recorded the primary assist on Holmberg’s third period goal. He is fifth overall in points (18-44-62) through 58 games this season.
• Filip Král had the secondary assist on Holmberg’s third period goal. He has six points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 21 games this season.
• Erik Källgren stopped 23 of 26 shots he faced.

TEAM NOTES

• This is only the third time this season Toronto has lost consecutive games.
• The Marlies went 4-for-5 on the penalty kill and 0-for-2 on the power play. Toronto 12-10-0-0 when not scoring on the power play and 21-13-2-0 when allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
• Charlotte had a 27-22 edge in shots in all situations. Joseph Blandisi, Noel Hoefenmayer, Pontus Holmberg and Matteo Pietroniro led the Marlies with three shots on goal. Toronto is 18-11-2-1 when outshot by their opponent.
• The Marlies are 5-4-1-0 against Central Division opponents and finish the regular season series 1-2-1-0 against the Checkers.

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POSTGAME QUOTES

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HEAD COACH GREG MOORE

On whether there was a better performance than yesterday:
Compared to yesterday’s (game), yes. Still, what we need and wanted, no. We fell short of the mark. I think right now we’re going through a little bit of trying to identify with what we want to do at this point of the season. We certainly need to have more pride and just consistency in our effort and our winning habits and making sure that we’re pushing. We’re pushing to get better every day and I thought this weekend fell flat.

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JOSEPH BLANDISI

On clinching a spot in the postseason:
We’re excited about the post season obviously. I think that’s just a feather in our cap. We got bigger goals, so we just need to start working towards those.

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UPCOMING GAMES:
*All times Eastern Standard Time

March 22 vs. Milwaukee – 7:00 p.m.
March 24 at Cleveland – 7:00 p.m.
March 25 vs. Cleveland – 4:00 p.m.
March 29 vs. Hershey – 11:00 a.m.
April 1 at Belleville – 7:05 p.m.