Toronto Marlies Top Manitoba Moose in First Half of Back-to-Back

November 18, 2023

The Toronto Marlies defeated the Manitoba Moose 7-2 on Saturday afternoon at Coca Cola Coliseum. Toronto is now 8-3-2 on the season.

Logan Shaw opened the scoring for the Marlies just under a minute into the first period. The Moose answered quickly with a goal from Parker Ford just over a minute and a half later, tying the game at one.

Alex Steeves continued his hot streak with a goal seven minutes into the opening frame to reclaim the Marlies lead, and Pontus Holmberg extended the lead to two just under 90 seconds later. The Moose added a late goal at the end of the first, as Nikita Chibrikov scored with just seven seconds left in the period. Through 20 minutes of play, the Marlies led 3-2.

Logan Shaw and Alex Steeves both scored in the second period, extending the lead to 5-2 heading into the third.

Dmitry Ovchinnikov scored just over five minutes into the third period, pushing the lead to 6-2. Ovchinnikov’s third period marker pushes his goal scoring streak to three games. He has scored five goals in that time. Tommy Miller scored his first of the season with just under five minutes remaining in regulation, securing a 7-2 win for Toronto.

With two goals and an assist on Saturday, Steeves extended his point streak to 10 games, the longest active point scoring streak in the AHL. He has compiled 15 points during that time.

After the game, the focus among the players was on the full team effort, rather than the offensive explosion.

“I think we played a full 60 minutes,” Kieffer Bellows said. “Think that was the most important thing. Whenever we had a good shift, we built off it. I think the third period we really stayed strong to our systems. Think that’s why we created more offence as well but we were strong defensively.”

Bellows picked up three assists in Saturday’s game, giving him at least one point in every game he has played this season. Head Coach John Gruden said Bellows’ experience has been a welcome addition to the team.

“Well, he’s a skilled player,” Gruden said. “He’s played five years now in this league. He’s played at the NHL level a long time. He’s a big, strong body. Can make plays. Great release.”

“I like where he’s trending right now.”

Dennis Hildeby stopped 16 of 18 shots in the win. The goaltender is now 3-1-1 on the season.

The Marlies will finish their back-to-back with the Manitoba Moose on Sunday afternoon at Coca Cola Coliseum at 4:00pm. The game can be seen live on the Toronto Maple Leafs app or on AHLTV.

Game notes:

SCORING SUMMARY

Manitoba: P. Ford (2) (D. Chisolm, N. Chibrikov (4) (D. Chisolm, S. Lundmark)
Goaltender: C. Delia (2/5) L, T. Milic (21/25)

Toronto: L. Shaw (4) (K. Bellows, W. Villeneuve), A. Steeves (9) (T. Niemelä, M. Lajoie), P. Holmberg (2) (Unassisted), L. Shaw (5) (K. Bellows), A. Steeves (10) N. Abruzzese, D. Gambrell), D. Ovchinnikov (5) (K. Bellows, L. Shaw), T. Miller (1) (A. Steeves)
Goaltender: D. Hildeby (16/18) W

ON THE SCORESHEET

  • Logan Shaw opened the scoring 54 seconds into the first period and later scored at 2:05 of the second period. He also added the secondary assist on Ovchinnikov’s third period goal. He has 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists) in 10 games this season. This was his second multi-goal game of the season.
  • Alex Steeves scored at 7:02 of the first period and later at 15:42 of the second period. He added the lone assist on Miller’s third period goal. He has 15 points (10-5-15) through 10 consecutive games which is the longest active point streak in the AHL. This was his third multi-goal game this season. Steeves is tied for second overall in goals (10) and tied for third overall in points (17).
  • Pontus Holmberg scored the game-winning goal unassisted at 8:25 of the first period. He has three points (2 goals, 1 assist) in three games with the Marlies.
  • Dmitry Ovchinnikov scored at 5:17 of the third period. He has five goals and one assist through three consecutive games.
  • Tommy Miller scored at 15:10 of the third period. This was his first goal for the Marlies.
  • Kieffer Bellows recorded the primary assists on Shaw’s first period and second period goals. He later added the lone assist on Ovchinnikov’s third period goal He has points (4-6-10) in six consecutive games.
  • William Villeneuve had the secondary assist on Shaw’s first period goal. He has five assists in 11 games this season.
  • Topi Niemelä registered the primary assist on Steeves’ first period goal. He has eight points (2 goals, 6 assists) in 12 games this season.
  • Max Lajoie picked up the secondary assist on Steeves’ first period goal. He has four assists in 10 games with the Marlies.
  • Nick Abruzzese recorded the primary assist on Steeves’ second period goal. He has points (2-7-9) in five consecutive games.
  • Dylan Gambrell registered the secondary assist on Steeves’ second period goal. He has eight points (1 goal, 7 assists) in 13 games with the Marlies this season.
  • Dennis Hildeby stopped 16 of 18 shots he faced. He is 3-1-1-0 this season with a 1.41 goals against average and 0.941 save percentage.

TEAM NOTES

  • The Marlies went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill and 0-for-3 on the power play. Toronto is 5-2-0-0 when not scoring on the power play and 4-2-0-0 when not allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
  • Toronto had a 30-18 edge in shots in all situations. Alex Steeves led the Marlies with five shots on goal. Toronto is 7-2-2-0 when outshooting their opponent. Toronto held Manitoba to two shots in the second period, the lowest this season.
  • The Marlies are 4-1-0-0 against Central Division opponents and are 1-0-0-0 against the Moose.

POSTGAME QUOTES

HEAD COACH JOHN GRUDEN

On the team playing a full 60-minutes:

After giving up that goal late in the first, I thought we did a great job not giving them much more momentum. Especially when you play a team again tomorrow, to take away, sometimes take away their will and not give them much offensively, which they didn’t create much. It was good for our group to feel good about it. Now we have to do it again tomorrow.

On the team’s chemistry:

You can’t fake it. I think at the end of the day teams say they’re close. But at the end of the day our group is close. They go to bat for one another, they look out for one another. It translates to on ice. It’s something that can’t be faked. It has to be real and genuine. We have that. When we go through some adverse times, which we will, that bond really gets you through those times. These guys are great with that. We greatly appreciate it as a staff as well.

KIEFFER BELLOWS (3 ASSISTS)

On the team’s performance:

I think we played a full 60 minutes. That was the most important thing. Whenever we had a good shift, we built off it. I think the third period we really stayed strong to our systems, think that’s why we created more offence as well but we were strong defensively. We also had Hildy back there that was playing big for us. He’s been great for us. Both (Hildeby and Petruzzelli) of them are great.

UPCOMING GAMES:
*All times Eastern Standard Time

November 19 vs. Manitoba – 4:00 p.m.
November 21 vs. Lehigh Valley – 7:00 p.m.
November 24 at Cleveland – 7:00 p.m.
November 26 vs. Cleveland – 4:00 p.m.
December 1 at Syracuse – 7:00 p.m.

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