Toronto Marlies Top Rockford IceHogs In Friday Night Battle

The Toronto Marlies opened the weekend with a 4-3 win over the Rockford IceHogs on Friday night. Toronto improves to 3-1-0-0 against Central Division opponents and 9-9-1-0 all-time against Rockford.  

In the first period, it was Rockford who opened the scoring with a quick goal by Isaak Phillips just 0:48 seconds into the period. The goal would stand to keep the score 1-0 heading into the second.  

Early in the second, Toronto responded with a goal by Noel Hoefenmayer at 0:55 to tie the game at one. Hoefenmayer is currently tied for third amongst active defensemen in points (6-14-20) through 22 games. Later, Nick Abruzzese notched his sixth of the season at 8:33 to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. With this goal, Abruzzese now leads all Marlies rookies in goals (6) and points (6-9-15). Before the period was over, Cole Guttman scored at 18:36 to tie the game at two after 40 minutes of play.  

Halfway through the third, Toronto added two more goals by Joseph Blandisi and Mikhail Abramov to extend Toronto’s lead and make it 4-2. Minutes later, Rockford scored a late goal by former Toronto Marlie Brett Seney at 17:51 to keep within one, but it was not enough to secure the win.  

Joseph Woll stood tall in the Marlies crease stopping 29 of the 32 shots he faced. With this win, Woll has set a career-high for consecutive wins with four.  

The Marlies return to action on December 17th against the Milwaukee Admirals. Puck drop is 7:00pm on AHLTV.

SCORING SUMMARY

Toronto: N. Hoefenmayer (6) (M. Hollowell, A. Steeves), N. Abruzzese (6) (J. Blandisi), J. Blandisi (6) (S. Der-Arguchintsev, N. Abruzzese), M. Abramov (12) (Unassisted)
Goaltender: J. Woll (29/32) W

Rockford: I. Phillips (3) (B. Seney, D. Gust), C. Guttman (9) (D. Sikura, J. Galvas), B. Seney (12) (C. Guttman)
Goaltender: J. Stauber (27/31) L

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ON THE SCORESHEET

• Noel Hoefenmayer put the Marlies on the board 55 seconds into the second period. He has points (1-1-2) in consecutive games. He is tied for third amongst active defenceman in points (6-14-20) through 22 games this season.
• Nick Abruzzese scored at 8:33 of the second period and later added the secondary assist on Blandisi’s third period goal. He leads all Marlies rookies in goals (6) and points (6-9-15).
• Joseph Blandisi scored at 11:16 of the third period and earlier picked up the lone assist on Abruzzese’s second period goal. He has points (3-2-5) in three consecutive games. Blandisi has 12 points (6 goals, 6 assists) in 22 games this season.
• Mikhail Abramov scored the game-winning goal unassisted at 11:45 of the third period. He has eight points (2 goals, 6 assists) in 14 games this season. Both of his goals have been game-winners.
• Mac Hollowell recorded the primary assist on Hoefenmayer’s second period goal. He has 10 assists through 12 games with the Marlies this season.
• Alex Steeves had the secondary assist on Hoefenmayer’s second period goal. He has points (2-3-5) in three consecutive games. Steeves has 25 points (9 goals, 16 assists) through 25 games this season.
• Semyon Der-Arguchintsev registered the primary assist on Blandisi’s third period goal. He has 22 points (7 goals, 15 assists) in 23 games this season.
• Joseph Woll stopped 29 of 32 shots he faced. He is 4-0-0 this season with a 2.00 goals against average and 0.926 save percentage. Woll has set a career-high for consecutive wins (4).

TEAM NOTES

• Toronto is 10-3-1-0 on the road and leads the Eastern Conference in road wins (10).
• Joseph Blandisi and Mikhail Abramov’s goals in the third period were 29 seconds apart. The two goals are the fastest scored consecutively by the Marlies this season.
• The Marlies went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and 0-for-3 on the power play. Toronto is 2-2-0-0 when not scoring on the power play and 9-3-0-1 when not allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
• Rockford had a 32-31 edge in shots in all situations. Nick Abruzzese led the Marlies with four shots on goal. Toronto is 7-4-1-1 when outshot by their opponent.
• The Marlies are 3-1-1-0 against Central Division opponents and are 1-0-0-0 against the Rockford IceHogs. Toronto is 9-9-1-0 all-time against Rockford and the club’s last win in Rockford was on April 18, 2017 (3-1).

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POSTGAME QUOTE

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HEAD COACH GREG MOORE

On pushing past Rockford’s quick start:

They came out with a really quick start. It took us a bit to get our legs under us and start skating and being more physical. Joseph Woll did a great job of keeping us in there in that first and weathering the storm. Really liked our response in the second period and how we came out.

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On Joseph Blandisi:

He’s relentless. The way he works, the 50-50 pucks, blocking shots and taking hits to make plays and just trying to get to the net. He makes it really hard on other teams with a lot of the things he does. He’s a leader in our group for a reason.

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On Mikhail Abramov:
The talent in this kid is unbelievable. He’s working through his second year and trying to earn more consistency in his game and I really, really liked his game tonight. It was probably the best game he’s played all year but even if he hadn’t score, he was working really hard, he was above the puck through the middle of the rink and you could see his confidence with the puck and that’s one thing that is special about him is he never loses his confidence regardless of how things are going for him during the season. He’s improving his defensive skills and his structured play but  man, he can make plays with the puck at the right times.

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UPCOMING GAMES:
*All times Eastern Standard Time

December 17 at Milwaukee – 6:00 p.m. (CST)
December 20 vs. WB/Scranton – 7:00 p.m.
December 26 vs. Belleville – 1:30 p.m. (Scotiabank Arena)
December 28 at Belleville – 7:00 p.m.
December 31 vs. Rochester – 4:00 p.m.