TOR 4 - UTC 3 (SO)
Toronto: B. Groulx (13) (L. Shaw, V. Lettieri), L. Shaw (11) (B. Groulx, V. Lettieri), M. Pezzetta (1) (R. Johnson, M. Johnstone)
Goaltender: V. Peksa (22/25) W
Utica: C. Squires (2) PP (L. Hameenaho, T. Vilen), S. Lachance (2) (K. Criscuolo, L. Hameenaho), S. Lachance (2) PP (K. Criscuolo, L. Hameenaho),
Goaltender: N. Daws (18/21) SO/L
ON THE SCORESHEET
- Bo Groulx opened the scoring at 3:54 of the first period and later added the primary assist on Shaw’s second period goal. He has goals (5) in his last six games. Groulx has 22 points (13 goals, 9 assists) in 30 games with the Marlies this season.
- Logan Shaw scored at 5:52 of the second period and earlier recorded the primary assist on Groulx’s first period goal. Shaw is now tied with Mike Zigomanis for the most assists in franchise history (116). He has 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) in 30 games this season.
- Michael Pezzetta scored 14 seconds into the third period. This was his first goal for the Marlies.
- Vinni Lettieri had the secondary assists on Groulx’s first period goal and Shaw’s second period goal. This was his third multi-point game of the season and second against Utica. He has 17 points (4 goals, 13 assists) in 25 games this season.
- Reese Johnson recorded the primary assist on Pezzetta’s third period goal. He has eight points (4 goals, 4 assists) in 20 games this season.
- Marc Johnstone picked up the secondary assist on Pezzetta’s third period goal. He has eight points (4 goals, 4 assists) in 17 games this season.
- Vyacheslav Peksa stopped 22 of 25 shots he faced. This was his second shootout win of the season. He has stopped 14 of 15 shooters in the shootout this season. Peksa is 4-3-0 this season with a 3.31 goals against average and a 0.889 save percentage.
IN THE SHOOTOUT
- Luke Haymes – Goal (2025-26:2/2)
- Bo Groulx – No goal (2025-26:0/2)
- Logan Shaw – No goal (2025-26:0/3)
- Vinni Lettieri – No goal (2025-26: 0/1)
- Borya Valis – No goal (2025-26: 0/2)
- Ryan Tverberg – No goal (2025-26:
- Cédric Paré – No goal (2025-26:0/2)
- Jacob Quillan – No goal (2025-26: 0/1)
- Matthew Barbolini – Goal (2025-26:1/1)
TEAM NOTES
- Toronto is 2-1 in the shootout this season.
- The Marlies were 4-for-6 on the penalty kill and 0-for-4 on the power play. Toronto is 9-9-1-0 when not scoring on the power play and 6-10-1-1 when allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
- Utica outshot Toronto25-22 in all situations. Luke Haymes and Logan Shaw led the Marlies with four shots on net. Toronto 9-8-0-0 when outshot by their opponent.
- The Marlies are 9-6-0-1 against North Division opponents and are 2-0-0-0 against the Comets this season.
POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH JOHN GRUDEN
On tonight’s game:
I thought our first period may have been one of our best first periods of all season. I liked our jump. We were playing extremely fast, doing a lot of good things. Didn’t give them much. There was about 40 minutes of that game that I really liked, 20 of it maybe not so much but again, we’re not going to dwell on it, we’re going to continue to grow and build off of it.
On Marshall Rifai:
I think he looked really well. He played extremely smart. He started well, made some big plays at some moments defending. He covers so much ice with his feet and his stick and the way he competes out there so it’s good to just have him back in the lineup.
MARSHALL RIFAI
On his return to the lineup following an injury:
So much fun. It was great to be out there, feel some live bullets and be out there with the guys again. It’s one step but it’s really exciting.
On his rehab:
It’s part of it. It’s tough but every player goes through it. Thankful that we have a good team here, the support staff and our medical team so, I felt real good about everything.
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