The Toronto Marlies took down the Americans 7-3 on Saturday afternoon at Scotiabank Arena.Toronto is now tied for fourth in the North Division with a 26-20-9-2 record.
The game was scoreless through 20 minutes of play, but the teams combined for six goals in the second period.
Nick Abruzzese opened the scoring 1:52 into the middle frame. Dylan Gambrell added a second goal at 5:17. Brandon Biro scored the Amerks first goal at 8:33 and Viktor Neuchev tied the game at two seven minutes later. Logan Shaw scored the Marlies third goal of the game with just over a minute remaining in the second, but Mason Jobst tied the game 20 seconds later, leaving the game tied through 40 minutes of play.
Kieffer Bellows scored twice in the third period to secure a Marlies victory. He fired home the game winner just over a minute into the final frame and then added an insurance marker at 13:58. Joseph Blandisi and Mikko Kokkonen each scored an empty net goal at 17:08 and 19:21 in the third, respectively.
Logan Shaw’s line, which included Nick Abruzzese and Kieffer Bellows on each wing, combined for ten points against the Amerks. Saturday’s game was the third time this season that Abruzzese recorded three points and it was Bellows’ fourth two-goal game.
"I think we just have good chemistry,” Shaw said about his line after the game. “Our message to each other on the bench is just play the right way and good things will happen for us. We like playing with each other, we like having the puck. We are trying to do it right and put the puck in deep when we have to. I think with our line – with Belly and my size andBruiser's ability to make plays – we can out-play teams in their end of the ice.”
“Just a lot more of that,” Abruzzese said when asked what he’d like to see as the Marlies enter their final stretch of the season.“Obviously everyone is kind of in the mix right now. Every team has got an opportunity to make the playoffs, so everyone is going to be fighting for these points. Just expect a lot more of that. Raise the level more.”
The Marlies will close out a busy weekend of three games in three days at Coca-Cola Coliseum on Sunday afternoon against the Laval Rocket. Puck drop is at 4:00pm on the Toronto Maple Leafs app or AHLTV.
Game notes:
SCORING SUMMARY
Rochester: B. Biro (14) (R. Johnson, V. Neuchev), V. Neuchev (10) (B. Biro), M. Jobst (18) (M. Mersch, E. Prow)
Goaltender: D. Tokarski (21/26) L
Toronto: N. Abruzzese (12) (K. Bellows), D. Gambrell (11) PP (N. Abruzzese, K. Bellows), L. Shaw (24) (N. Abruzzese, M. Pietroniro), K. Bellows (24) (L. Shaw), K. Bellows (25) (M. Rifai, M. Pietroniro), J. Blandisi (21) EN (M. Rifai), M. Kokkonen (4) EN (M. Lajoie, L. Shaw)
Goaltender: L. Cavallin (30/33) W
ON THE SCORESHEET
- Nick Abruzzese opened the scoring at 1:52 of the second period. He later added the primary assists on Gambrell’s power play goal and Shaw’s goal, both in the second period. This was his 11th multipoint game this season. He has points (3-4-7) in four of his last five games. Abruzzese has 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists) in 57 games this season.
- Dylan Gambrell scored on the power play at 5:17 of the second period. He has nine power play points (4 goals, 5 assists) through 55 games.
- Logan Shaw scored at 18:44 of the second period. He later added the lone assist on Bellows’ first goal and the secondary assist on Kokkonen’s empty net goal, both in the third period. This was his 13th multipoint game of the season. He has points (4-6-10) in five of his last six games. Shaw has 47 points (24 goals, 23 assists) in 53 games this season.
- Kieffer Bellows scored the game-winning goal at 1:03 of the third period and scored his second goal of the game at 13:58. He earlier recorded the lone assist on Abruzzese’s goal and the secondary assist on Gambrell’s power play goal, both in the second period. This his first career four-point game. This was his 11th multipoint game of the season. He has 45 points (25 goals, 20 assists) in 50 games this season.
- Joseph Blandisi scored on the empty net at 17:08 of the third period. This was his 50th point of the season, recording 21 goals and 29 assists in 56 games.
- Mikko Kokkonen scored on the empty net at 19:21 of the third period. He has 14 points (4 goals, 10 assists) in 52 games this season.
- Matteo Pietroniro had the secondary assists on Shaw’s second period goal and Bellows’ second goal of the third period. He has five points (1 goal, 4 assists) in 25 games this season.
- Marshall Rifai recorded the primary assist on Bellows’ second goal of the third period and the lone assist on Blandisi’s third period goal. He has 17 points (2 goals, 15 assists) in 43 games this season.
- Max Lajoie picked up the primary assist on Kokkonen’s third period goal. This was his 150th career AHL point.
- Luke Cavallin stopped 30 of 33 shots he faced. He is 2-2-2 this season with a 3.14 goals against average and a 0.878 save percentage.
- The Marlies went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and 1-for-2 on the power play. Toronto is 18-6-5-2 when scoring on the power play and 15-8-2-1 when not allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
- Rochester had a 33-28 edge in shots in all situations. Kieffer Bellows andWilliam Villeneuve led the Marlies with five shots on goal. Toronto is 10-6-3-0 when outshot by their opponent.
- Toronto is 12-14-7-2 against North Division opponents and are 1-1-2-0 against the Americans this season.
RECORD WHEN
Scoring first 24-4-7-2
Tied after 1st 9-6-5-2
Tied after 2nd 6-3-2-1
At home 11-10-6-0
March 3-4-0-0
Saturday 8-6-3-1
MARLIES LEADERS *Amongst active AHL players
Goals 25 (K. Bellows)
Assists 29 (N. Abruzzese, J. Blandisi)
Points 50 (J. Blandisi)
PPG 7 (J. Blandisi)
Shots 178 (K. Bellows)
+/- +18 (T. Miller)
PIMS 112 (Z. Solow)
LOGAN SHAW (1 GOAL, 2 ASSISTS)
On the team’s three goal third period:
Our response in the third period was very nice. Couple times this year that we just kind of stuck with it and trusted ourselves and trusted the process but I think you’ve got to give a lot of credit to Cavallin. He made some good saves throughout the whole game that kept us in it. One or two of those go in then you're squeezing the stick a little bit tighter. It was great for him to be able to backstop us there all night. Special teams was good. Think we played a pretty rounded game.
On fighting for a playoff spot:
If you look at the standings, every game for us right now means a lot. So, it's not just against division opponents, which these were, we come out of us this weekend against Rochester with a split which is nice, but we have another big game tomorrow. Everyone in this whole North Division is very, very tight. I think it's going to benefit us that every game is a playoff game. So, it's a lot of fun to be a part of and it's pretty easy to get up for.
On his line with Nick Abruzzese and Kieffer Bellows:
We just have good chemistry. Our message to each other on the bench is just play the right way and good things will happen for us. We like playing with each other, we like having the puck. We are trying to do it right and put the puck in deep when we have to. I think with our line with Belly and my size and Bruiser's ability to make plays that we can out-play teams in their end of the ice. And then behind their goal line I don't think we have to be fancy, play high all the time. It was nice to have a good night. It was a big, big game for us as a team. Those points really mean a lot to us.
UPCOMING GAMES:*All times Eastern Standard Time
March 17 vs. Laval – 4:00 p.m.
March 22 at Rochester – 7:05 p.m.
March 23 vs. Hartford – 4:00 p.m.
March 24 vs. Laval – 4:00 p.m.
March 27 at Manitoba – 7:00 p.m.
