Toronto Marlies Top Utica Comets In First Of 3-In-3

The Toronto Marlies defeated the Utica Comets 4-3 on Friday night in the first game of a 3-in-3 this weekend. The Marlies improve to 9-4-0-0 against North Division opponents and currently lead the AHL in points on the road with 17.  

In the first, it was the home team who opened the scoring. Nick Hutchinson scored at 8:00 in the frame to give the Comets the early lead. Toronto responded 26 seconds later with a goal by Noel Hoefemayer to tie the game at one. Shortly after, Hoefenmayer potted his second of the night at 11:42 to earn his first career multi-goal game and give the visitors a 2-1 lead. Before the period was over, Max Ellis added another goal for Toronto at 16:12 to earn his first professional goal and make the score 3-1 heading into the second.  

In the second, Utica responded with a power-play goal by Nolan Stevens at 6:41 to keep the home team within one.  

Late in the third, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev scored his sixth goal of the season at 19:02 to extend Toronto’s lead. Der-Arguchintsev now has 18 points (6 goals, 12 assists) in 19 games this season. Shortly after, Utica responded with a late goal by Tyler Wotherspoon at 19:50, but it was not enough for the Comets to take home the win.  

Joseph Woll stood tall in the Marlies crease stopping 19 of the 22 shots he faced to earn his second consecutive win this season.

The Marlies are back in action December 3rd against the Syracuse Crunch in the second game of a 3-in-3 this weekend. Puck drop is 4:00pm.

SCORING SUMMARY

Toronto: N. Hoefenmayer (3) (F. Král, A. Steeves), N. Hoefenmayer (4) (R. Chyzowski, F. Král), M. Ellis (1) (N. Hoefenmayer), S. Der-Arguchintsev (6) EN (B. McMann, L. Shaw)
Goaltender: J. Woll (19/22) W

Utica: N. Hutchison (3) (Unassisted), N. Stevens (2) PP (J. Dugan, R. Walsh), T. Wotherspoon (1) (Unassisted)
Goaltender: N. Daws (21/24) L

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ON THE SCORESHEET

• Noel Hoefenmayer scored at 8:26 and 11:42 of the first period and later added the lone assist on Ellis’ first period goal. This was his first career multi-goal game and three-point game. He is tied for fourth amongst defencemen in points (4-13-17).
• Max Ellis scored at 16:12 of the first period. This was his first professional goal. He has five points (1 goal, 4 assists) in 11 games this season.
• Semyon Der-Arguchintsev scored the game-winning goal at 19:02 of the third period. He has points (1-1-2) in consecutive games. Der-Arguchintsev has 18 points (6 goals, 12 assists) in 19 games this season.
• Filip Král recorded the primary assist on Hoefenmayer first goal and the secondary assist on his second goal, both in the first period.
• Alex Steeves picked up the secondary assist on Hoefenmayer’s first goal. He has points (1-2-3) in three consecutive games. Steeves has 18 points (6 goals, 12 assists) in 19 games this season.
• Ryan Chyzowski had the primary assist on Hoefenmayer’s second goal.
• Bobby McMann registered the primary assist on Der-Arguchintsev’s third period goal. This was his first game since Oct. 22 due to injury.
• Logan Shaw had the secondary assist on Der-Arguchintsev’s third period goal. He has points (1-2-3) in three consecutive games. He has 22 points (8 goals, 14 assists) in 19 games this season.
• Joseph Woll stopped 19 of 22 shots he faced in his second consecutive win this season.

TEAM NOTES

• Toronto leads the AHL in points (17) on the road and tied for the lead in wins (8) with Milwaukee.
• The Marlies went 3-for-4 on the penalty kill and 0-for-3 on the power play. Toronto is 1-2-0-0 when not scoring on the power play and 6-4-1-0 when allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
• Toronto had a 25-22 edge in shots in all situations. Mikhail Abramov, Nick Abruzzese, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev and Noel Hoefenmayer led the Marlies with three shots on goal. Toronto is 7-3-0-0 when outshooting their opponent.
• The Marlies are 9-4-0-0 against North Division opponents and are 2-0-0-0 against the Utica Comets. Toronto has outscored Utica 6-4 through two games.

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POSTGAME QUOTES

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HEAD COACH GREG MOORE

On tonight’s game:
We got off to a strong start with the goals and the lead. Something that we’ve really been focusing on is coming out in the second period where we continue the momentum. We’ve had a tendency at times to have a great start, it’s been a consistent strength of ours this year and then a little let up in the second. (Utica) did a really good job of limiting our scoring chances in the second compared to the first. You always know as the second half of the game goes on, the team’s going to push back. They have a say in the outcome as well and our team did a really good job of going through it and managing the puck in all three zones.

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On Joseph Woll:
He looks strong. Two looks now where he’s gotten in and made some big saves for us to give us a chance to win the game. He looks calm, he looks steady, he looks confident. Can’t say enough about the early impressions for his return.

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On Noel Hoefenmayer (2 goals, 1 assist):
He’s fun to watch. He’s a guy who really cares a lot about his craft and just loves the game of hockey, plays with a ton of passion and energy. Fun guy to be around in the room. It’s good to see him get some points tonight and have a big impact on the hockey game.

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MAX ELLIS (FIRST PROFESSIONAL GOAL)

On tonight’s game:

I think we battled. We put a 60-minute game together. We came out hard in the start and then in the second period, we kept it on them. It’s something that we need to do, keep putting the gas every period and from Woller back there to the D to the forwards, everybody just battled for 60 minutes and it was a great effort.

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UPCOMING GAMES:
*All times Eastern Standard Time

December 3 vs. Syracuse – 4:00 p.m.
December 4 vs. Belleville – 4:00 p.m.
December 7 vs. Belleville – 7:00 p.m.
December 9 at Syracuse – 7:00 p.m.
December 10 vs. Rochester – 4:00 p.m.