Toronto Marlies Top Grand Rapids Griffins In Tuesday Tilt

The Toronto Marlies took down the Grand Rapids Griffins 5-4 in overtime on Tuesday night at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Toronto improves to a 9-3-7-1 record.

Dmitry Ovchinnikov opened the scoring six minutes into the game, giving the Marlies a quick 1-0 lead. Joel L’Esperance answered for the Griffins just under two minutes later, tying the game at one. Mikko Kokkonen added the Marlies second goal 11 minutes later, giving Toronto a one goal lead through 20 minutes of play.

Albert Johansson scored for the Griffins just over 11 minutes into the second period, tying the game at three, before Kyle Clifford reclaimed the Marlies one goal advantage three minutes later.

The Griffins added two quick goals in the third period from Jonathan Berggren and Zach Aston-Reese, giving them a 4-3 lead. William Villeneuve answered for the Marlies with his first of the season just under 13 minutes later, tying the game at four. The back-and-forth contest required overtime, but Joseph Blandisi ended the game quickly with a goal just under a minute into the extra frame, capping a three-point night.

Blandisi’s line, which included Kyle Clifford and Logan Shaw, combined for seven points in the win. For Head Coach John Gruden, it wasn’t surprising to see the line excel together.

“No, and there’s a reason why we put that line together. The three captains,” Gruden said. “They gave us everything they got – it was good to see. Glad Joe got rewarded because he’s been getting a lot of chances, just hasn’t been finishing them. Really glad for his confidence that he got that one down.”

Villeneuve added after the game that it was a nice reward to score his first of the year.

“Yeah, I think it’s a relief,” Villeneuve said. “I think I haven’t been having a great start of the season so far. Still trying to find my game. Still felt like I’m trying to implement a pro hockey game, simplify my game a little bit. To get that goal was a bit of a weight off my shoulders.”

The Marlies are back in action on Sunday at Coca-Cola Coliseum when they host the Griffins again. Puck drop is at 4:00pm  on the Toronto Maple Leafs app or on AHLTV.

SCORING SUMMARY

Grand Rapids:  J. L’Esperance (4) (T. Gettinger, Z. Aston-Reese), A. Johansson (1) (Z. Aston-Reese, J. Berggren), J. Berggren (5) (A. Johansson, S. Edvinsson), Z. Aston-Reese (4) PP (J. L’Esperance, T. Hirose)
Goaltender: M. Hutchinson (21/26) OT/L

Toronto: D. Ovchinnikov (7) (Z. Solow, P. Holmberg), M. Kokkonen (2) (L. Shaw, J. Blandisi), K. Clifford (3) (L. Shaw, J. Blandisi), W. Villeneuve (1) (M. Kokkonen, L. Shaw), J. Blandisi (5) (Unassisted)
Goaltender: D. Hildeby (23/27) W

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ON THE SCORESHEET

• Dmitry Ovchinnikov opened the scoring at 6:01 of the first period. He has eight points (7 goals, 1 assist) in 13 games this season.
• Mikko Kokkonen scored at 18:52 of the first period and later added the primary assist on Villeneuve’s third period goal. He has four points (2 goals, 2 assists) in 17 games this season.
• Kyle Clifford scored at 14:23 of the second period. He has six points (3 goals, 3 assists) in 14 games this season.
• William Villeneuve scored at 16:12 of the third period. This was Villeneuve’s first goal of the season. He also has six assists through 17 games.
• Joseph Blandisi scored the game-winning goal unassisted 56 seconds into overtime. He earlier picked up the secondary assists on Kokkonen’s first period goal and Clifford’s second period goal. His second period assist was his 150^th career AHL assist. Blandisi has 10 game-winning goals with the Marlies.
• Zach Solow recorded the primary assist on Ovchinnikov’s first period goal. He has five points (1 goal, 4 assists) in 15 games this season.
• Pontus Holmberg had the secondary assist on Ovchinnikov’s first period goal. He has eight points (5 goals, 3 assists) in 10 games with the Marlies this season.
• Logan Shaw registered the primary assists on Kokkonen’s first period goal and Clifford’s second period goal. He later had the secondary assist on Villeneuve’s third period goal. This was his fourth multipoint game of the season. He has six goals and nine assists through 17 games.
• Dennis Hildeby stopped 23 of 27 shots he faced.

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TEAM NOTES

• This was Toronto’s first overtime win of the season (1-3).
• The Marlies went 2-for-3 on the penalty kill and 0-for-3 on the power play. Toronto is 6-5-1-0 when not scoring on the power play and 5-4-3-0 when allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
• Grand Rapids had a 27-26 edge in shots in all situations. Mikko Kokkonen led the Marlies with five shots on goal. Toronto is 2-2-1-0 when outshot by their opponent.
• The Marlies are 5-2-0-0 against North Division opponents and are 3-0-0-0 against the Griffins this season.

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POSTGAME QUOTES

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HEAD COACH JOHN GRUDEN

On tonight’s game:

They just didn’t quit. It’s just nice that they play a game, (Grand Rapids) get hard. Sometimes things don’t go your way, got a tough call there, I thought. You know, next thing you know they take the lead. There’s no quitting with this group. They haven’t quit all year. Didn’t expect them to. Just nice for them to get rewarded and not hauled off at the end there.

On the line of Joseph Blandisi, Kyle Clifford and Logan Shaw:

There’s a reason why we put that line together. The three captains. Again, they, they were the ones that were going get a stop. They gave us everything they got, it was good to see. Glad Joe got rewarded (in overtime) because he’s been getting a lot of chances, just hasn’t been finishing them. Really glad for his confidence that he got that one down.

WILLIAM VILLENEUVE (1 GOAL)

On if it was nice to get his first goal of the season:

I think it’s a relief. I think I haven’t been having a great start of the season so far. Still trying to find my game. Still felt like I’m trying to implement a pro hockey game, simplify my game a little bit. To get that goal was a bit of a weight off my shoulders. Just trying to keep building on that, keep getting better, stay positive and get things rocking.

On how this win helps the group’s confidence:

It’s great. We came up short a lot in the last couple of games. So to finally get a win, it brings the mood up. Good feeling around our locker room. We love the group that we have here. We knew it was coming, so it feels good to happen tonight.

UPCOMING GAMES:
*All times Eastern Standard Time

December 10 vs. Grand Rapids – 4:00 p.m.
December 15 at Providence – 7:00 p.m.
December 17 at Hartford – 3:00 p.m.
December 20 vs. Providence – 7:00 p.m.
December 22 at Belleville – 7:00 p.m.