Four-Goal Second Period Leads to Marlies Win

ROC 4 - TOR 6

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Rochester: N. Novikov (4) (N. Laaouan, J. Joshua), I Rosen (14) (A. Wahlberg),R. Fiddler-Schultz (7) (C. Meyer), T. Kuntar (11) PP (R. Fiddler-Schultz, Z. Jones)
Goaltender: D. Levi (16/21) L, S. Ratzlaff (6/7)

Toronto: B. Groulx (15) (V. Lettieri, B. Smith), W. Villeneuve (3) (T. Boyd, M. Barbolini), A. Nylander (9) (B. Valis), A. Nylander (10) (M. Rifai, H. Thrun), B. Valis (7) (B. Groulx, A. Akhtyamov), M. Johnstone (5) (C. Paré, H.Thrun)
Goaltender: A. Akhtyamov (31/35) W

ON THE SCORESHEET

• Bo Groulx put the Marlies on the board at 12:34 of the first period and later added the primary assist on Valis’ second period goal. He has 25 points (15 goals, 10 assists) in 32 games with the Marlies this season. Groulx is tied for sixth overall in goals.
• William Villeneuve scored at 1:29 of the second period. He has three goals and 10 assists in 27 games this season.
• Alex Nylander scored at 10:32 and 13:25 of the second period. This was his second multi-goal game of the season. Nylander has 20 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in 28 games this season.
• Borya Valis scored the game-winning goal at 17:48 of the second period and earlier had the lone assist on Nylander’s first goal of the game. This was his second game-winning goal of the season. He has 12 points (7 goals, 5 assists) in 31 games this season.
• Marc Johnstone scored at 3:53 of the third period. He has nine points (5 goals, 4 assists) in 19 games this season.
• Vinni Lettieri had the primary assist on Groulx’s first period goal. He has points (2-7-9) in his last seven games. Lettieri has 21points (5 goals, 16 assists) in 28 games this season.
• Blake Smith recorded the secondary assist on Groulx’s first period goal. He has six points (1 goal, 5 assists) in 31 games this season.
• Travis Boyd registered the primary assist on Villeneuve’s second period goal.
• Matthew Barbolini picked up the secondary assist on Villeneuve’s second period goal.
• Marshall Rifai registered the primary assist on Nylander’s second goal of the game.
• Henry Thrun recorded the secondary assists on Nylander’s second goal of the game and Johnstone’s third period goal. He has 12 points (3 goals, 9 assists) in 22 games this season.
• Cédric Paré picked up the lone assist on Johnstone’s third period goal.
• Artur Akhtyamov stopped 31 of 35 shots he faced and recorded his first career AHL point on Valis’ second period goal. He is 12-6-0 this season with a 2.94 goals against average and a 0.900 save percentage.

TEAM NOTES

• The Marlies were 4-for-5 on the penalty kill and 0-for-1 on the power play. Toronto is 11-9-1-0 when not scoring on the power play and 8-10-1-1 when allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
• Rochester outshot Toronto 35-28 in all situations. Vinni Lettieri, Alex Nylander and Borya Valis led the Marlies with three shots on net. Toronto is 12-8-0-0 when outshot by their opponent.
• The Marlies are 12-6-0-1 against North Division opponents and are 2-1-0-0 against the Americans this season.

POSTGAME QUOTES

HEAD COACH JOHN GRUDEN

On today’s game:
I don’t think we want to get into (a run-and-gun style) game with these guys .Once we started to structure it up a little bit and get above them and create some turnovers, they didn’t have the same success they did in the first period. We weren’t very good (in the first period). But credit to our players to turn it around. From the first shift in the second period, we were pretty dominant from that point on. Not a recipe for success in the first period but the second and third, one hundred per cent.

On the turnaround in the secondperiod:
We reminded (the players) what we talked about and for whatever reason wedidn’t execute it (in the first period). We were trying to press and they werefeeling it. Right from our leadership with Shaw and Groulx and Lettieri that line that we’ve kept together for a long time, they came out and they set the tone and then we scored on that second shift because of the way they started the period. Our guys look up to that line. They’ve been really good for us. Especially through this stretch of getting us back on some winning streaks and playing the right way, they’re a big reason why.

MARC JOHNSTONE (1 GOAL)

On today’s game:
‍It takes a lot of ways to win in this league. Sometimes you’re not going to have your A-game. So even when we have our B-game in the first period and we come out with the win, it shows what we can do when we stick together and play for each other.