TOR 4 - 3 BEL
Toronto: V. Lettieri (3) (M. Benning), L. Shaw (7) (B. Groulx, M. Benning),M. Johnstone (2) (Unassisted), R. Johnson (4) (V. Lettieri, M. Benning)
Goaltender: A. Akhtyamov (19/22) W
Belleville: O. Lycksell (3) (G. Pilon), G. Pilon (2) SH (J. Donovan), A.Kaliyev (14) PP (O. Lycksell, P. Daoust)
Goaltender: M. Søgaard (27/31) L
ON THE SCORESHEET
- Vinni Lettieri opened the scoring at 3:38 of the first period and later added the primary assist on Johnson’s third period goal. He has points (1-3-4) in three consecutive games. Lettieri has 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists) in 17 games with the Marlies this season.
- Logan Shaw scored at 3:57 of the first period. He has 12 points (7 goals, 5 assists) in 21 games this season.
- Marc Johnstone scored unassisted at 3:23 of the second period. He has three points (2 goals, 1 assist) in nine games this season.
- Reese Johnson scored the game-winning goal at 12:53 of the third period. He has goals (2) in consecutive games. Johnson has six points (4 goals, 2 assists) in 15 games this season.
- Matt Benning recorded the lone assist on Lettieri’s goal and the secondary assist on Shaw’s goal, both in the first period. He also had the secondary assist on Johnson’s third period goal. This was his first career three-point game.
- Bo Groulx had the primary assist on Shaw’s first period goal. He has points (1-4-5) in three consecutive games. Groulx has 15 points (7 goals, 8 assists) in 21 games this season.
- Artur Akhtyamov stopped 19 of 22 shots he faced. He is 7-5-0 this season with a 3.04 goals against average and a 0.896 save percentage.
TEAM NOTES
- The Marlies were 3-for-4 on the penalty kill and 0-for-3 on the power play. Toronto is 5-7-1-0 when not scoring on the power play and 4-6-1-1 when allowing a goal on the penalty kill. Toronto allowed its first shorthanded goal of the season in the second period.
- Toronto outshot Belleville 31-22 in all situations. Bo Groulx led the Marlies with five shots on goal. Toronto 4-4-1-0 when outshooting their opponent.
- The Marlies are 4-4-0-1 against North Division opponents and are 2-2-0-1 against the Senators.
POSTGAME QUOTES
MATT BENNING (3 ASSISTS)
On returning from injury:
I said in the locker room being hurt is not fun. So, to get back out there and get two points for the team, it’s fun. It’s good to be around the guys – battling, working towards something. It was fun tonight.
On his performance:
As a team we talked about getting to the net a little bit more and on all three of those goals (that he assisted on), we had guys in front of the goalie’s eyes and without that piece there, none of those are going in. Shawzy went hard to the net on one, Vinni had a nice play to get to the net on the other and then Vinni again with his pass to (Johnson), we had traffic. It’s hard for a goalie to save a puck he can’t see and I thought the forwards did a great job of that tonight.
MARC JOHNSTONE (1 GOAL)
On tonight’s game:
We played a complete 60 today. We showed what we can do when we stick together and play the right way. It started off with Bo, Vinni and Shaw and they led the way. They had those two quick goals which really turned the momentum and then everyone followed. It was just a great team effort overall.
On the five-minute penalty kill:
It just shows that when you stick together, you can do anything. It was a huge kill. It was a one-goal game. We buckled down and got the job done. It’s a credit to the killers that we have.
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