The Toronto Marlies picked up a 5-1 win in the first half of their weekend back-to-back against the Utica Comets on Saturday afternoon. Toronto is now fourth in theNorth division with a 32-22-9-2 record this season.
Kyle Criscuolo scored for the Comets 0:55 into the game. Roni Hirvonen scored three minutes later, tying the game at one. Alex Steeves added a second Marlies goal at 6:53 in the first. Joseph Blandisi wrapped up a three-goal opening period for the Marlies with a goal at 14:34.
Roni Hirvonen scored his second of the game 9:46 into the second period. Logan Shaw added a fifth Marlies goal with just 9 seconds remaining in the second, securing a 5-1 win for the Marlies.
“I loved our start,” Head Coach John Gruden said after the game. “I thought we had a lot of legs. We were rolling, we were disciplined. Once we took that 5-1 lead, even sometimes during the second period, I thought we got away from our game, but we knew they were going to have a push. At the end of the day, it's all about the two points.”
Nick Abruzzese picked up two assists in the game, extending his point streak to four games. Gruden said he’sbeen impressed with Abruzzese’s performance lately.
“One thing with him, regardless of what happens in the shift before, if he has a bad one, he goes out and he likes the puck on his stick,”Gruden said. “We see what he can do when he has it. He makes plays. Makes people around him better. Shawzy is benefitting from that.”
Dennis Hildeby has seven wins in his last ten starts. Nick Abruzzese said Hildeby has been integral to the team’s success this season.
“He's been our best player really consistently all year, ”Abruzzese said. “Reason we've had a lot of success over the last month is attributed to him.”
The Marlies will finish the second half of their back-to-back with the Comets tomorrow afternoon at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Puck drop is at 4:00pm on the Toronto Maple Leafs app or onAHLTV.
Game notes:
SCORING SUMMARY
Utica: K. Criscuolo (16) (X. Parent)
Goaltender: A. Schmid (36/37) L
Toronto: R. Hirvonen (5) (N. Abruzzese), A. Steeves (24) (Z. Solow, W. Villeneuve), J. Blandisi (24) (M. Kokkonen, M. Lajoie), R. Hirvonen (6) PP (T. Niemelä), L. Shaw (28) (N. Abruzzese)
Goaltender: D. Hildeby (36/37) W
ON THE SCORESHEET
- Roni Hirvonen put the Marlies on the board at 4:00 of the first period and scored on the power play at 9:46 of the second period. This was his first career multipoint game. He has 10 points (6 goals, 4 assists) in 30 games this season.
- Alex Steeves scored the game-winning goal at 6:53 of the first period. This was his 150th career AHL point. He has points (4-5-9) in seven of his last eight games. Steeves has 53 points (24 goals, 29 assists) in 59 games this season.
- Joseph Blandisi scored at 14:34 of the first period. He has points (1-2-3) in three consecutive games. Blandisi has 55 points (24 goals, 31 assists) in 64 games this season.
- Logan Shaw scored at 19:51 of the second period. He has points (4-2-6) in four consecutive games. Shaw has 55 points (28 goals, 27 assists) in 62 games.
- Nick Abruzzese had the lone assists on Hirvonen’s first period goal and Shaw’s second period goal. This was his 12th multipoint game of the season. He has assists (5) in four consecutive games. Abruzzese has 48 points (14 goals, 34 assists) in 65 games. He has set a career-high in assists.
- Zach Solow picked up the primary assist on Steeves’ first period goal. He has 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in 60 games this season.
- William Villeneuve recorded the secondary assist on Steeves’ first period goal. This was his 50th career AHL point. He has set a career-high in assists (23).
- Mikko Kokkonen registered the primary assist on Blandisi’s first period goal. He has points (1-4-5) in three consecutive games. Kokkonen has 19 points (5 goals, 14 assists) in 59 games this season.
- Max Lajoie had the secondary assist on Blandisi’s first period goal. He has points (1-2-3) in three consecutive games. Lajoie has 23 points (4 goals, 19 assists) in 45 games this season.
- Topi Niemelä picked up the lone assist on Hirvonen’s second period power play goal. He has points (1-6-7) in six consecutive games. Niemelä has 37 points (7 goals, 30 assists) in 62 games.
- Dennis Hildeby stopped 36 of 37 shots he faced.
- Dennis Hildeby set a franchise record for number of wins (20) by a rookie goaltender. The previous goaltender to hold this record was Justin Pogge in 2006-07. Hildeby is 20-11-6 this season with a 2.45 goals against average and a 0.911 save percentage.
- Jake Quillan made his professional debut today against Utica, recording one shot. He signed two-year NHL contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Apr. 1 and is on a PTO with the Marlies.
- The Marlies went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill and 1-for-2 on the power play. Toronto is 22-7-5-2 when scoring on the power play and 19-9-2-1 when not allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
- Utica had a 37-19 edge in shots in all situations. Robert Mastromsimone led the Marlies with three shots on goal. Toronto is 16-7-3-0 when outshot by their opponent.
- Toronto is 15-15-7-2 against North Division opponents and 4-0-0-1 against the Comets.
RECORD WHEN
Not scoring first 4-16-2-0
Leading after 1st 20-3-3-0
Leading after 2nd 22-1-3-0
At home 15-11-6-0
April 2-0-0-0
Saturday 10-6-3-1
MARLIES LEADERS *Amongst active AHL players
Goals 28 (L. Shaw)
Assists 34 (N. Abruzzese)
Points 55 (J. Blandisi, L. Shaw)
PPG 7 (J. Blandisi, L. Shaw)
Shots 181 (K. Bellows, L. Shaw)
+/- +18 (T. Miller)
PIMS 128 (Z. Solow)
HEAD COACH JOHN GRUDEN
On today’s game:
I loved our start. I thought we had a lot of legs. We were rolling, we were disciplined. Once we took that 5-1 lead, even sometimes during the second period, I thought we got away from our game, but we knew they were going to have a push. At the end of the day it's all about the two points. We did what we had to do. We won a hockey game. We gotta work on some things to be ready for tomorrow's game.
On Dennis Hildeby:
He’s been really good the last few games here for us. It's been a long year for him. He's played a lot of hockey, it being his first year. It's a lot to ask from a rookie goaltender. He's answered the bell. He likes the moment. He was obviously outstanding for us tonight, which was huge.
On Jake Quillan making his AHL debut:
He did a really good job. You can see he comes from a winning culture. In a college program, Quinnipiac is one of the best. He understands the little things and how to win. We'll probably give him a look at centre tomorrow. But he skates well, he thinks the game well. If we can stay out of the penalty box hopefully, he can get some more five-on-five time.
NICK ABRUZZESE (2 ASSISTS)
On the playoff push:
Our division is definitely the tightest in the league for sure, top to bottom. So, the biggest thing for us is we've got to control the points that we can go get. Whatever happens around us happens. Gotta focus on getting as many points as we can.
DENNIS HILDEBY (36 SAVES, 20th WIN)
On today’s game:
It was fun. A lot of shots a lot from far distances. Always like that as a goalie, especially in that controlled way. Think we handled their pressure very well. Keeping them on the outside. When they had chances, they had a lot of pressure on them. Think it was good controlled chaos.
On what's allowed him to have success:
To be completely honest with you I think my game has been inconsistent, especially the last month or two. So, I don't really know how to answer, I haven't thought in that way. I think over a long season, it's very important to take it day by day. Enjoy the ride and don't think too far ahead, think about the past too much. That's a learning process too. Which I've gotten better at.
UPCOMING GAMES:*All times Eastern Standard Time
April 7 vs. Utica – 4:00 p.m.
April 10 vs. Belleville – 7:00 p.m.
April 12 at Syracuse – 7:00 p.m.
April 13 at Syracuse – 7:00 p.m.
April 17 at Rochester – 7:05 p.m.
