Toronto Marlies Top Rochester Americans In Second of Three Game Weekend
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.