Toronto Wins Overtime Thriller Against Belleville

BEL 3 - TOR 4 (OT)

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Belleville: M. Duarte (3) (L. Thomson, G. Pilon), A. Kaliyev (19) (X.Bourgault, D. Gilbert), L. Thomson (6) (D. Gilbert, X. Bourgault)
Goaltender: M. Sogaard(26/30) OT/L

Toronto: J. Quillan (5) (T. Boyd, R. Parsons), C. Paré (3) (R. Johnson),B. Groulx (11) (L. Shaw), M. Benning (1) (V. Lettieri, J. Quillan)
Goaltender: A. Akhtyamov (22/25) W    

ON THE SCORESHEET

• Jacob Quillan put the Marlies on the board at 1:36 of the second period and later added the secondary assist on Benning’s overtime goal. He has points (2-5-7) in five consecutive games. Quillan has 22 points (5 goals, 17 assists) in 23 games this season and is tied for 11^th overall in assists (17).
• Cédric Paré scored at 2:29 of the third period. He has seven points (3 goals, 4 assists) in 21 games this season.
• Bo Groulx scored on the power play at 14:46 of the second period. He has 19 points (11 goals, 8 assists) in 27 games this season.
• Matt Benning scored the game-winning goal at 1:43 of overtime. This was his first career overtime goal. He has seven points (1 goal, 6 assists) in 13 games this season.
• Travis Boyd registered the primary assist on Quillan’s second period goal. He has 19 points (9 goals, 10 assists)in 21 games this season.
• Rhett Parsons had the secondary assist on Quillan’s second period goal. This was his first AHL point.
• Reese Johnson picked up the lone assist on Paré’s third period goal. He has seven points (4 goals, 3 assists) in 18 games with the Marlies this season.
• Logan Shaw had the lone assist on Groulx’s third period goal. He now solely ix second overall all-time in assists (114) for the Marlies. Shaw has 17 points (9 goals, 8 assists) in 27 games this season.
• Vinni Lettieri recorded the primary assist on Benning’s overtime goal. This was his 300^thcareer AHL point.
• Artur Akhtyamov stopped 22 of 25 shots he faced. He is 8-5-0 this season with a 3.03 goals against average and a 0.894 save percentage.

TEAM NOTES

• The Marlies were 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and 0-for-4 on the power play. Toronto is 7-9-1-0 when not scoring on the power play and 8-3-0-0 when not allowing a goal on the penalty kill.
• Toronto outshot Belleville30-25 in all situations. Matt Benning led the Marlies with six shots on net. Toronto is 5-5-1-0 when outshooting their opponent.
• The Marlies are 7-5-0-1 against North Division opponents and are 3-2-0-1 against the Senators this season.

POSTGAME QUOTES

HEAD COACH JOHN GRUDEN

On Matt Benning:
Well deserved for him to get the game-winner. Vinni Lettieri made a really great play over to him and he buried it. He does a lot of really great things out there. He helps the younger defencemen, he brings a lot of experience, he’s a great leader. It’s just nice to see a guy like that get rewarded in overtime.

On what he liked in the second period:
It was the style of play. We were playing faster, we were making quicker decisions, we were spending more time in their end. It’s just the way you have to play against a team like this or any team to be frank. We were much better at it and we were able to get the momentum back. Our game was much better.

MATT BENNING (OVERTIME WINNER)

On overtime goal:
I’m not really an overtime guy but it was nice to get out there. Vinni (Lettieri) made a heck of a play and I just put it in an empty net.

On whether the game showed the team’s maturity:
When they score one late (in the first period), it’s an emotional rollercoaster. Teams can go either way and for us to stick with it, it’s a mature sign and we’ll build on it.

RHETT PARSONS (FIRST AHL POINT)

On overcoming the two-goal deficit in the first period:
The message is we just have to start better. It was a great response in the second and third but if we play a full 60, we can beat anyone in the league. Just start better and come out flying right from the start of the puck drop.