Toronto Marlies Top Grand Rapids Griffins In Second Half Of Back-To-Back

The Toronto Marlies defeated the Grand Rapids Griffins 3-2 in Overtime on Saturday Night to complete the second half of a back-to-back. The Marlies are now 2-1-1-0 against Central Division opponents and finish their regular season series 2-1-1-0 against the Grand Rapids Griffins.  

In the first, it was the home team who opened the scoring. Givani Smith scored at 1:14 in the frame to give the Griffins the early lead. Shortly after, Toronto responded with a goal by Logan Shaw at 3:19 to tie the game heading into the second. Shaw has now recorded points (6-5-11) in five consecutive games.  

In the second, both teams exchanged chances but the goalies stood tall to keep the game tied at one.  

Early in the third period, Graham Slaggert scored at 4:21 to give the Marlies a 2-1 lead. Later, Grand Rapids responded with a goal by Cross Hanas at 19:50 to send the game into Overtime. This was Toronto’s fourth Overtime game of the season.  

In the extra frame, it was Joey Anderson who scored on the power-play at 3:28 to give the visiting team a big two points. With this power-play goal, Toronto has recorded a power-play goal (17) in each of their first twelve games of the season, setting an all-time franchise record for consecutive games with a power-play goal. Currently, their power-play is first overall in the league with 30.9%.

Dryden McKay stood tall stopping 26 of the 28 shots he faced to earn his first career AHL win.  

The Marlies are back in action on November 18th against the Belleville Senators to complete the final leg of their Royal Road Trip. Puck drop is at 7:05pm on AHLTV.  

SCORING SUMMARY

Toronto: L. Shaw (7) (M. Hollowell, J. Anderson), G. Slaggert (2) (M. Ellis, N. Hoefenmayer), J. Anderson (8) PP (A. Steeves, S. Der-Arguchintsev)
Goaltender: D. McKay (26/28) W

Grand Rapids: G. Smith (2) (P. Andreasson), C. Hanas (7) (J. McIsaac, G. Smith)
Goaltender: V. Brattstrom (32/35) OT/L

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ON THE SCORESHEET

• Logan Shaw put the Marlies on the board at 3:19 of the first period. He has recorded points (6-5-11) in five consecutive games.
• Graham Slaggert scored at 4:21 of the third period. He has two goals in nine games this season.
• Joey Anderson score the game-winning goal at 3:28 of overtime and earlier registered the secondary assist on Shaw’s first period goal. He has points (1-2-3) in consecutive games.
• Mac Hollowell had the primary assist on Shaw’s first period. He has assists (3) in three consecutive games.
• Max Ellis recorded the primary assist on Slaggert’s third period goal. This is his first career professional point.
• Noel Hoefenmayer picked up the secondary assist on Slaggert’s third period goal. He has 10 points (1 goal, 9 assists in 11 games this season with the Marlies, leading all Toronto defencemaen.
• Alex Steeves had the primary assist on Anderson’s overtime goal. He has 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists) in 12 games this season.
• Semyon Der-Arguchintsev recorded the secondary assist on Anderson’s overtime goal which extend his League-leading assist streak to eight games.
• Dryden McKay stopped 26 of 28 shots he faced. This was his first career AHL win.

TEAM NOTES

• This was Toronto’s fourth overtime game of the season (3-1).
• The Marlies went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and 1-for-6 on the power play. Toronto is 9-2-1-0 when scoring on the power play and 5-0-0-0 when not allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
• Toronto has recorded a power play goal (17) in each of their first 12 games of the season. This set the all-time franchise record for consecutive games with a power play goal. The team’s power play is first overall in the league (30.9).
• Toronto had a 35-28 edge in shots in all situations. Mac Hollowell led the Marlies with five shots on goal. Toronto is 5-1-1-0 when outshooting their opponent.
• The Marlies are 2-1-1-0 against Central Division opponents and finish their regular season series 2-1-1-0 against the Grand Rapids Griffins. Grand Rapids and Toronto both scored 13 goals through four games.

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POSTGAME QUOTES

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HEAD COACH GREG MOORE

‍On tonight’s game:
Really happy with it. Tonight was a very mature game. Great fans this weekend playing here in Grand Rapids and there were moments in the game where the crowd can make you feel like they a lot of momentum and have a lot of highs and lows but our team had a lot of confidence and sticking to our plan and the way we needed to play for 60 minutes.

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On Max Ellis:

Every game that he’s gotten into he’s gotten better and better. He’s earning our trust, he’s playing responsibly. He’s really fast. He puts a lot of pressure on the other team when they’ve got the puck and he get into open ice really good and get up ice and get some shots.

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On Dryden McKay’s second game and first AHL win:
You could tell he looked more comfortable today. First game yesterday and to play back to back which is not easy at all for a goalie, he looked very comfortable and made some huge saves for us to keep us in it and give us a chance. Can’t say enough about someone coming in and battling like that for our team.

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JOEY ANDERSON (OVERTIME WINNER)

On tonight’s game:
I think we were great tonight. It was unfortunate that they scored at the end of regulation there but we played hard and we played to our system and our identity tonight. It was a really good, gutsy road win for us.

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MAX ELLIS (1 ASSIST)

On his performance this season:
I think it’s definitely improving and that’s credit to the coaches, allowing me to take time to develop and coaching me every time I’m out there. Showing me the clips, telling me what I’m doing wrong, what I’m doing right and just helping me feel comfortable every time I’m on the ice.

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UPCOMING GAMES:
*All times Eastern Standard Time

November 18 at Belleville – 7:05 p.m.
November 19 vs. Abbotsford – 1:30 p.m. (Scotiabank Arena)
November 20 vs. Abbotsford – 4:00 p.m.
November 23 at Syracuse – 7:00 p.m.
November 25 at Cleveland – 7:00 p.m.