The Toronto Marlies took down the Providence Bruins 7-3 on Wednesday night at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Toronto is now third in the North Division with a 13-7-3-1record.
Zach Solow opened the scoring for the Marlies just over a minute into the first, giving Toronto a quick 1-0 lead. Georgii Merkulov answered for the Bruins at 6:37 in the first, tying the game at one.
Dan Renouf scored 38 seconds into the second period for theBruins, but Kieffer Bellows answered with a goal just under eight minutes later to keep the game tied at two through forty minutes of play.
Topi Niemelä scored 14 seconds into the third period, kick starting a five-goal period for the Marlies. Justin Brazeau scored to tie the game at three just under two minutes after Niemelä, but Logan Shaw fired home the game-winner just over five minutes later. Max Lajoie fired home his first of the year just over a minute after Shaw, giving the Marlies a two goal cushion. Kieffer Bellows added an empty net goal 15:53 into the third andJosiah Slavin wrapped up the win with his third goal of the year with 18 seconds remaining in regulation.
After turning aside 16 of 17 shots in the first period, and31 of 34 overall, Dennis Hildeby backstopped the Marlies to his fourth straight win.
"Yeah, Hildeby has been great,” Kieffer Bellows said after the game. “Honestly, he's been the backbone of our team right now. He and KP have been fantastic throughout this season for us. Without them, I don't know, it'd be a lot closer games. They've been huge for us. Very thankful we have them back there.”
Along with Hildeby’s win streak, five Marlies are currently on point or goal streaks of at least three games, including Alex Steeves who currently owns the longest point streak in the AHL this season. Overall, Toronto has averaged 5.4 goals per game over the last five games.
"Well, I think confidence when it comes to that,” Head Coach John Gruden said on the increased offensive production of late. “Guys struggle with goal scoring confidence. I've always told them, and we've always told them as a staff to make sure it's about your style of play and your chances, if you're creating anything. But still it's going to waver on your confidence to do so. They're feeling good about it, especially at this time of the year.”
The Marlies will be back in action on Friday in Belleville against the Senators. The game can be seen live onAHLTV.
Game notes:
SCORING SUMMARY
Providence: G. Merkulov (11) (J. Boqvist), D. Renouf (4) (J. Brazeau, G. Merkulov), J. Brazeau (9) (J. Farinacci, G. Merkulov)Goaltender: B. Bussi (19/25) L
Toronto: Z. Solow (3) (K. Clifford, J. Blandisi), K. Bellows (9) (M. Kokkonen, R. Tverberg), T. Niemelä (6) (A. Steeves, N. Abruzzese), L. Shaw (9) (N. Abruzzese, M. Lajoie), M. Lajoie (1) (R. Tverberg, T. Niemelä), K. Bellows (10) EN (J. Slavin), J. Slavin (3) PP (M. Rifai, J. Blandisi)Goaltender: D. Hildeby (31/34) W
ON THE SCORESHEET
Zach Solow opened the scoring at 1:09 of the first period. He has goals in (2) consecutive games. Solow has seven points (3 goals, 4 assists) in 19 games this season.Kieffer Bellows scored at 8:18 of the second period and later on the empty net at 15:53 of the third period. He has points (4-1-5) in three consecutive games. Bellows has 17 points (10 goals, 7 assists) in 17 games with the Marlies this season.Topi Niemelä scored 14 seconds into the third period and later added the secondary assist on Lajoie’s third period goal. He has points (4-1-5) in four consecutive games. Niemelä has 17 points (6 goals, 11 assists) in 22 games this season.Logan Shaw scored the game-winning goal at 7:38 of the third period. He has 18 points (9 goals, 9 assists) in 21 games this season.Max Lajoie scored at 8:50 of the third period and earlier added the secondary assist on Shaw’s third period goal. This was his first goal with the Marlies.Josiah Slavin scored on the power play at 19:42 of the third period and earlier added the lone assist on Bellows’ third period goal. He has eight points (3 goals, 5 assists) in 23 games this season.Kyle Clifford recorded the primary assist on Solow’s first period goal. He has eight points (3 goals, 5 assists) in 18 games this season.Joseph Blandisi picked up the secondary assists on Solow’s first period goal and on Slavin’s third period goal. He has assists (5) in three consecutive games. Blandisi has 19 points (5 goals, 14 assists) in 23 games this season.Mikko Kokkonen registered the primary assist on Bellows’ second period goal. He has seven points (3 goals, 4 assists) in 21 games this season.Ryan Tverberg had the secondary assist on Bellows’ second period goal and the primary assist on Lajoie’s third period goal. He has eight points (1 goal, 7 assists) in nine games this season.Alex Steeves had the primary assist on Niemelä’s third period goal. He extended his AHL leading point streak to 16 games (11-11-22). Steeves has 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 19 games this season with the Marlies.Nick Abruzzese picked up the secondary assist on Niemelä’s third period goal and the primary assist on Shaw’s third period goal. He has points (2-6-8) in four consecutive games. Abruzzese has 22 points (5 goals, 17 assists) in 24 games this season.Marshall Rifai recorded the primary assist on Slavin’s third period power play goal. He has six assists in 18 games this season.Dennis Hildeby stopped 31 of 34 shots he faced. He is 7-3-2 this season with a 0.927 save percentage and a 1.92 goals against average.TEAM NOTES
The Marlies went 1-for-1 on the penalty kill and 1-for-4 on the power play. Toronto is 6-2-21 when scoring on the power play and 6-3-0-1 when not allowing a goal on the penalty kill.Providence had a 34-26 edge in shots in all situations. Kieffer Bellows led the Marlies with five shots on goal. Toronto is 5-2-1-0 when outshot by their opponent.The Marlies are 4-2-0-0 against Atlantic Division opponents and finish their regular season series 2-0-0-0 against the Bruins. Toronto outscored Providence 15-5. Dennis Hildeby made 63 saves in his two starts and three Marlies recorded four points – Joseph Blandisi, Kieffer Bellows, Dylan Gambrell. Logan Shaw recorded both game-winning goals against the Bruins.RECORD WHEN
Scoring first 12-0-3-1Tied after 1st 1-2-2-1Tied after 2nd 2-0-0-1At home 7-4-2-0December 5-2-0-0Wednesday 1-1-0-0
MARLIES LEADERS *Amongst active AHL players
Goals 11 (A. Steeves)Assists 17 (N. Abruzzese)
Points 24 (A. Steeves)PPG 3 (D. Ovchinnikov)Shots 63 (L. Shaw)+/- +13 (J. Blandisi)PIMS 51 (K. Clifford)
POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH JOHN GRUDEN
On the recent increase in offensive production:I think confidence when it comes to that. Guys struggle with goal scoring confidence. I've always told them, and we've always told them as a staff to make sure it's about your style of play and your chances, if you're creating anything. But still it's going to waver on your confidence to do so. They're feeling good about it, especially at this time of the year. When we do go on our break after the next game they can feel good about their game. We can go back to work once we get back after it.
On what he’s learned about the team:They’re resilient. I'm fortunate to come into this group to have a pretty tight-knit, a lot of returning players, a lot of returning captains and veteran leadership. Very fortunate. It's been awesome, it's been great to work with them. Very enjoyable. Every day is a new adventure. They're always up to the task. It's been exciting we just got to keep it going.
On what changed after the first period:We didn't have our legs. There's no excuses in this game. Every team kind of goes through them. We did have a tough travel day. We had to spend an extra day in Boston. Some guys didn't get in until yesterday afternoon. We just were able to survive. Our goalie was good. We were able to find a rhythm in our group. A lot of credit to our players and our leadership group for making that happen.
DENNIS HILDEBY (31 SAVES)
On his mindset after facing 17 shots in the first period:I mean, it's hockey. It goes back and forth. Especially the momentum. Boys have proven that they can score goals over the entire season. I know for a fact that if I can step up, keep them in that first period, I know they're going to score goals. I have confidence in the guys.
On his season:It's been a good start. Feel confident out there. We have a good team. Really fun to play with these guys. A lot of wins. We know it's hockey, it changes. A season in general goes pretty much up and down. It's all about trying to be consistent. Just a lot of work.
UPCOMING GAMES:*All times Eastern Standard Time
December 22 at Belleville – 7:00 p.m.December 26 vs. Belleville – 2:00 p.m. (ScotiaBank Arena)December 27 at Cleveland – 7:00 p.m.December 30 vs. Belleville – 4:00 p.m.January 3 vs. Cleveland – 4:00 p.m.
