Marlies Drop Friday Matchup 5-1 to Checkers

November 28, 2025

TOR 1 - CLT 5

Toronto: B. Groulx (V. Lettieri, B. Smith)
Goaltender: A. Akhtyamov (16/20) L, V. Peksa (16/17)

Charlotte: R. Gaber (4) (B. Pinho, T. Bjornfot), R. Chorske (3) (T.Carrick, S. Vilmanis), G. Sawchyn (2) PP (J. Studnicka, T. Carrick), S. Vilmanis (3) (B. Steeves, B. Chorske), B. Chorske (4) (S. Vilmanis, M. Alscher)
Goaltender: C. Black (18/19) W

ON THE SCORESHEET

  • Bo Groulx put the Marlies on the board at 10:11 of the first period. He has 12 points (7 goals, 5 assists) in 19 games this season.
  • Vinni Lettieri recorded the primary assist on Groulx’s first period goal. He has eight points (2 goals,6 assists) in 15 games with the Marlies this season.
  • Blake Smith had the secondary assist on Groulx’s first period goal. He has points (1-2-3) in three consecutive games.
  • Artur Akhtyamov stopped 16 of 20 shots he faced in 31:05 of action. Vyacheslav Peksa stopped 16 of 17 shots in relief.

TEAM NOTES

  • The Marlies were 0-for-1on the penalty kill and 0-for-3 on the power play. Toronto is 4-7-1-0 when not scoring on the power play and 2-6-1-1 when allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
  •  Charlotte outshot Toronto 37-19 in all situations. Jacob Quillan led the Marlies with three shots on goal. Toronto is 5-5-0-0 when outshot by their opponent.
  • The Marlies are 2-3-0-0 against Atlantic Division opponents and are 0-1-0-0 against the Checkers.

POSTGAME QUOTES

HEAD COACH JOHN GRUDEN

On today’s game:
We’re on our heels. That’s a really good team. They play with a lot of pace, they got a lot of big strong guys out there. We weren’t able to match their intensity and we weren’t predictable enough early on and they set the tone from the get go. I thought the only time when we slowed them down and played well was the first 10 minutes of the second period. We’re going to have to watch that and make sure that execute to that degree and then again we can’t deviate. They’re too good of a team. They’re too structured. With some of our youth, we’re on our heels and we’re not going to do it by one guys, we’re going to have to do it collectively as a group of five. It’s not good enough. Not going to make any excuses. We’ve got to find a way to be better.

Game notes:

Game Recap
Become a

Marlies Insider

Close
Sign Up Now

unlock exclusive access to special offers, discounts, contests & more!

Sign up below to receive the latest Insider offers, contests and more, as well as team news delivered straight to your inbox.
No purchase necessary. Must be 13+ and an Ontario resident living within 80km of Toronto to enter. Contest closes on April 19 at 4:00pm ET. To enter, (a) mail a 100-word essay on "Why I Love Toronto Marlies" to MLSE before the end of contest period, or (b) sign-up to receive Marlies Insider marketing emails. There are 4 types of prizes available to be won: (i) 1 Toronto Marlies jersey x 2 available (approx. retail value: $200 each); (ii) 1 Toronto Maple Leafs jersey x 2 available (approx. retail value: $350 each); (iii) 1 signed Toronto Maple Leafs jersey x 1 available (approx. retail value: $500 each); and (iv) 4 Toronto Marlies playoff home game tickets x 250 sets available (approx. retail value: $188 each set). Limit 1 prize per person. Limit 1 entry per person. Winners selected by random draw. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received. Mathematical skill-testing question required. Full Contest Rules available at here.