Toronto Marlies Top Griffins In First Half Of Back-To-Back

The Toronto Marlies defeated the Grand Rapids Griffins 4-1 on Saturday evening. The Marlies improve to 2-1 on the season while the Griffins fall to 2-2.

In the first period, it was Noel Hoefenmayer who got the home side on the board first with a hard one-timer from the point. Alex Steeves continued his hot start to the season, adding a power-play goal midway through the frame, giving the Marlies a two-goal lead after the first.

In the second period both teams exchanged chances, but it was Cross Hanas who brought the visitors within one.

In the final frame, Nick Abruzzese scored his first AHL goal late in the frame to give the Marlies a 3-1 lead. Alex Steeves potted an empty net goal in the final minutes of the game, bringing his season total to four goals in his last three games. Logan Shaw and Joey Anderson both recored three assists in the game. This is their first three-assist game in their AHL careers. Keith Petruzzelli stood tall in the Marlies crease, stopping 16 or 17 shots in the victory.

The two teams are back in action on Sunday at Coca-Cola Coliseum to complete the back-to-back. Puck drop is at 4:00pm ET.

SCORING SUMMARY

Grand Rapids: C. Hanas (2) (J. L’Esperance)
Goaltender: J. Olkinuora (28/31) L

Toronto: N. Hoefenmayer (1) (L. Shaw, M. Johnstone), A. Steeves (3) PP (J. Anderson, L. Shaw), N. Abruzzese (1) (L. Shaw, J. Anderson), A. Steeves (4) EN (J. Anderson)
Goaltender: K. Petruzzelli (16/17) W

‍

ON THE SCORESHEET

• Noel Hoefenmayer opened the scoring at 3:46 of the first period. This was his first goal of the season.
• Alex Steeves scored the game-winning goal on the power play at 11:22 of the first period and on the empty net at 17:24 of the third period. He has points (4-2-5) in three consecutive games and has scored the game winner in consecutive games. Steeves is tied for league lead in goals (4).
• Logan Shaw recorded the primary assist on Hoefenmayer’s opening goal and the secondary assist on Steeves’ power play goal, both in the first period. He also picked up the primary assist on Abruzzese’s third period goal. He has four points (1-3-4) in three games with the Marlies. This was his first career three assist game.
• Marc Johnstone had the secondary assist on Hoefenmayer’s first period goal. This was his first career AHL point.
• Joey Anderson picked up the primary assist on Steeves’ power play goal in the first period. He also had the secondary assist on Abruzzese’s goal and the lone assist on Steeves’ empty net goal, both in the third period. This was his first career three assist game.
• Keith Petruzzelli stopped 16 of 17 shots he faced.

‍

OF NOTE

• The Marlies went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and 1-for-4 on the power play.
• Toronto had a 32-17 edge in shots in all situations. Joey Anderson led the Marlies with four shots on goal.

‍

POSTGAME QUOTES

‍

HEAD COACH GREG MOORE

‍

On how the defensive structure performed:

Protecting the middle of the rink. I thought all five guys on the ice did a good job of executing our structure. We’ve talked about being connected in all three zones, and we executed that plan today.

On Marc Johnstone and his first career AHL point:

He’s an impressive player. There’s not a single person in that room who competes harder than him. It was him, Douglas and Blandisi who did a great job in the first period transporting the game. Every shift they went out they set up the o-zone, whether it was the faceoff or just them changing and getting the ice tilted. A lot of momentum and energy for us and that’s something that Johnstone brings to our system.

On Nick Abruzzese:

He’s a bit of a wizard with the puck. He sees the ice really well … He’s always thinking a couple of steps ahead. He’s a guy that can build momentum for your team with how plays the puck.

NOEL HOEFENMAYER (1 GOAL)

On winning a tight game:

I think everyone was really working together as a team. I think we maybe stepped off the gas a little bit in the second, but coming out in the third, we really brought it back together. Good teams find ways to win those games, so that was a good start for us to finish that off.

UPCOMING GAMES:
*All times Eastern Standard Time

October 23 vs. Grand Rapids – 4:00 p.m.
October 26 vs. Syracuse – 7:00 p.m.
October 28 at Syracuse – 7:00 p.m.
November 2 at Laval – 7:00 p.m.
November 4 at Laval – 7:00 p.m.