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Toronto Marlies

Marlies Begin Season Long Eight-Game Road Trip on Wednesday in Rockford

January 4, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Toronto Marlies News Release


Opponents This Week:

(Jan. 6): The Marlies begin their season-long eight game road trip on Wednesday night against the Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, with puck-drop scheduled for 8:05 p.m. (ET) The game will be the first of two meetings this season between the two teams. The Marlies are winless in five games against the IceHogs in their history. On October 11, the two teams met at Ricoh Coliseum, with Rockford picking up a 5-3 victory. Ryan Ewing scored the game-winning goal on the power play. Goaltender Joe Fallon made 27 saves in the IceHogs' win. In their most recent matchup in Rockford, the Marlies were shutout 1-0. Evan Brophey scored the game-winner and Corey Crawford made 24 saves for the shutout. The IceHogs currently rank fourth in the West Division with a record of 19-16- 2-2 for 42 points. They are one of three teams that are tied in the division with 42 points. Rockford posts a record of 12-6-1-1 at the MetroCenter this season. Forward Mark Cullen ranks 15th in the AHL in points with 33. In 39 games Cullen has notched 13 goals and 20 assists and leads the team in goals, assists and points. Rockford owns a record of 14-2-0-0 when leading after two periods of play. Blackhawks prospect, Jack Skille, has netted 11 goals and 14 assists this season for the IceHogs. Skille was drafted in the first round, seventh overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. The Madison, WI native has skated in five games this season with the Blackhawks, recording a goal and an assist. Former Marlies defenceman Richard Petiot has played in 39 games with Rockford, tallying one goal and 11 assists with a plus-six rating.

(Jan. 8): Toronto travels to Peoria for the first time in four years to take on the Rivermen, AHL affiliate of the St. Louis Blues, on Friday night. The contest will mark the second and final meeting between the two clubs this year. The teams just met in Toronto last Wednesday night with the Marlies winning a 3-2 decision. Juraj Mikus' third period power play goal held up to be the game- winner and Joey MacDonald made 26 saves for the Marlies. Julian Talbot and Adam Cracknell scored the Peoria goals. The Rivermen currently rank second in the West Division with a record of Ben Gordon has registered four points over his past three games with the Marlies. On Monday night in Hamilton he scored his first career AHL goal. 19-13-1-3 for 42 points, trailing first place Texas by four points. Peoria has dropped their past three games, with both of their last two losses coming against the Chicago Wolves. Peoria leads the league in shootout games with eight, winning five of those contests. Their road power play enters the week first in the league with a 22.6% success rate. Overall their power play this season ranks second with a 20.5% rate. Jonas Junland and Lars Eller each rank first on Peoria in scoring with 26 points each. Julian Talbot and Barry Tallackson share the team lead in goals with 11. Defenceman Jonas Junland ranks first in the AHL amongst defencemen with 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists). Junland has scored seven of his nine goals on the power play. Talbot and Aaron Palushaj are tied for the league lead in shootout goals with five. Goaltender Ben Bishop is tied for the league lead with four shootout victories and owns a record of 12- 6-2 with a 2.60 goals-against average and 0.906 save percentage.

(Jan. 9): The Marlies continue their four-game week on Saturday with a tilt against the Milwaukee Admirals, AHL affiliate of the Nashville Predators, at 8:30 p.m. (ET) at the Bradley Center. The game marks the third of four match-ups, and first in Milwaukee, between the two clubs. Milwaukee enters the game with a record of 18-12-1-5 for 42 points, ranking them third in the West Division. They're still looking for their first win of the 2010 calendar year. The Admirals have lost three games in a row. The two teams met on Saturday at Ricoh Coliseum, with the Marlies winning 3-2 in a shootout. Andre Deveaux tied the game mid-way through the third period on a power play and Greg Scott scored the shootout winner. Joey MacDonald won his second straight decision, making 20 saves, including four of five in the shootout. The Admirals have yet to win in a shootout this season in five attempts. The Marlies are 1-0-1-0 against the Admirals this season through two games. Both games between the two teams this season have been decided in extra time. Last season the Marlies went 1-1-0-0 against the Admirals, with their win coming on January 9 at the Bradley Center. The Marlies have an all-time record of 4-7-1 against the Admirals. This month Milwaukee plays 17 games, their busiest month of the season. Forward Cal O'Reilly paces the club with 35 points (nine goals, 26 assists) and a plus-16 rating. O'Reilly, a Toronto-native, ranks seventh in the American Hockey League in points and fifth in assists. He was reassigned by Nashville to the Admirals on December 11 after skating in three games with the Predators. O'Reilly's assist on October 3 made him the Admirals all-time assists leader. Robert Dietrich ranks fourth in the league with 11 power play assists. Dietrich was drafted by Nashville in the sixth round, 174th overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, and ranks tied for third in the AHL with 12 power play assists.

(Jan. 10): The Marlies end their four-game week on Sunday afternoon when they take on the Chicago Wolves, AHL affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers, at 4:00 p.m. (ET) at Allstate Arena. The game marks the second of four meetings between the two clubs, and first in Chicago. Toronto holds a 7-3-1 all-time advantage over Chicago. The Wolves currently rank sixth in the West Division with a record of 18-15-0-2 for 38 points. The Marlies dropped the Wolves 5-4 in a shootout on December 11 at Ricoh Coliseum. Juraj Mikus scored the shootout winner and Andrew Engelage made eight saves in the 10-round shootout for his first career AHL win. Tyler Bozak scored a goal and added an assist and was named the game's first star. Chicago's power play clicked twice on five chances. Last season the Marlies dropped their lone game in Chicago in a shootout. The Wolves post a record of 11-6-0-1 on home ice this season. Chicago has scored four or more goals in seven of its last 10 games. Former Marlies forward, Tim Stapleton, ranks third on the Wolves in points with 25 (16 goals, nine assists). Stapleton set the Marlies single season points record last year, finishing the season with 79 points (28 goals, 51 assists), good for seventh in the AHL. He made his NHL debut last season with the Maple Leafs on February 26 against the New York Islanders. Brett Sterling's 18 goals this season ranks second in the league. Jason Krog currently leads all Chicago point getters with 35 points (six goals, 29 assists). Krog's 29 helpers tie him with Corey Locke for most in the AHL. Former Toronto Maple Leaf, Johnny Pohl, has notched eight goals and 12 assists for the Wolves this season. Pohl played for the Maple Leafs for three seasons from 2005-08, registering 17 goals and 21 assists for 38 points in 114 games. Chris Chelios leads all Wolves defencemen with 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) and posts a plus-16 rating. Goaltender Peter Mannino was named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending January 3, 2010. In three games, Mannino stopped 100 of 104 shots and led the Wolves to three victories. Defenceman Arturs Kulda has recorded an assist in each of his past four games. He ranks second among Wolves defencemen with nine assists and 12 points in 26 games. Kulda paces the Wolves and ranks third in the AHL with a plus-19 rating.

MARLIES HEADLINES:

What Happened Last Week: The Marlies went 2-1-0-0 in three games this past week. They opened their week with a 5-2 loss to the Bulldogs in Hamilton on Monday night. Stefano Giliati and Ben Gordon each scored their first goals of the season in the loss. Gordon's goal was his first career AHL tally. The Marlies snapped a four-game losing streak on Wednesday night at Ricoh Coliseum with a 3-2 win over Peoria. Greg Scott and Ben Gordon each chipped in with a goal and an assist each. Juraj Mikus' third period goal held up to be the winner and Joey MacDonald made 26 saves. On Saturday afternoon the Marlies used a shootout to down the Milwaukee Admirals, 3-2, at Ricoh Coliseum. Their win was only their fourth when trailing after two periods. The Marlies currently rank sixth in the North Division with a 15-15-3-2 record for 35 points.

Home Sweet Home: The Marlies have played their best hockey on home ice this season, holding an 11-5-3-0 advantage at Ricoh Coliseum. With their win on Sunday, Toronto has won nine of their last 15 games and has earned at least a point in 12 of their previous 16 contests on home ice. Toronto hits the road for eight straight contests and will return to Ricoh Coliseum on January 23 for their next home game against the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Keeping It Close: The Marlies have a very impressive record this season when the game is decided by one goal, marking a record of 10-0-3-2. 10 of their 15 victories this season have come in one-goal contests. Troy Bodie leads the club with three game-winning tallies and Christian Hanson and Ryan Hamilton are tied for second with two each. The Marlies own an 8-0-1-1 record when taking the lead into the third period. Toronto won just their fourth game of the season on Saturday when trailing after two periods of play.

Bo Knows: Tyler Bozak has recorded eight points over his past 11 games (one goal, six assists). On Saturday versus Milwaukee, Bozak's power play assist gave him a team-high nine points while on the man-advantage. On November 20 he added a career-high three assists, with two of them coming on the power play. In 28 games this season, he has tallied 18 points (three goals, 15 assists). Bozak ranks first on the team in assists and seventh (tie) in the league in rookie assists.

A Night of Firsts: Last Monday night against the Hamilton Bulldogs, two Marlies players scored their first goals of the season. Stefano Giliati, playing in his fifth game of the season, notched his first goal of the season while on a Marlies power play to open the scoring against the Bulldogs. Giliati has recorded four points (one goal, three assists) in seven games with the Marlies so far this season. Ben Gordon netted his first career AHL goal against the Bulldogs on Monday evening. Gordon was named the game's second star on Wednesday night, posting a goal and an assist in the Marlies 3-2 win. In four games with the Marlies, Gordon has posted four points (two goals, two assists).

Christian Keeping the Faith: Christian Hanson was named to the PlanetUSA roster for the 2010 Tim Warner AHL All-Star Classic, which will be played on January 19 in Portland, Maine. Since being reassigned from the Maple Leafs on December 6, Hanson has registered a goal and two assists in four games with the Marlies. He appeared in six games with the Maple Leafs, recording one assist and four penalty minutes with the big club. Hanson ranks second (tie) on the Marlies in points with 21 (nine goals, 12 assists). On November 20 in Lake Erie, he had the biggest night of his professional career, registering his first career AHL hat-trick and added an assist for four points. He currently ranks 11th (tie) in the American Hockey League in rookie scoring with 21 points. The Glens Falls, NY native ranks first (active) on the Marlies forwards with a plus-five rating. He also ranks first (tie) on the Marlies in multi-point games with six.

Foster The Statistics: On November 23, the American Hockey League announced that Alex Foster was named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending November 22. In three games, Foster recorded six points (five goals, one assist) and a plus-two rating. He's currently on a three-game goal streak which started on November 20 with a two-goal game against Lake Erie. Foster had missed the previous 10 games due to injury. In eight games this season, the Marlies assistant captain has registered six goals and two assists.

Multi-Point Games: Greg Scott and Ben Gordon each finished with a goal and an assist in the Marlies 3-2 win over Peoria on Wednesday night. For Scott it was his second multi-point game of the season; while Gordon registered his first career multi-point contest. Christian Hanson and Viktor Stalberg share the team lead with six multi-point games this season.

Multi-Point Games
Hanson 6
Stalberg 6
Foster 3
Hamilton 3
Deveaux 3
Bozak 3
Scott 2
Bodie 2
Slaney 1
Berry 1
Boyce 1
Ondrus 1
Gordon 1
Mikus 1

Reading Report: The Toronto Maple Leafs ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals currently rank first in the East Division with a 19-12-1-2 record for 41 points. Despite dropping two of their past three games, the Royals have still won six of their past nine games. In five games this season with Reading, Andrew Engelage has a 4-1-0 record. The Royals have compiled a record of 9-4-0-1 over their past 13 games. The Royals will play their next six games on home ice, beginning on Saturday when they host Cincinnati.

MARLIES QUICK HITS:

- Ben Gordon has recorded four points (two goals, two assists) over his past three games. He netted his first career AHL goal on Monday night against the Hamilton Bulldogs. Last Thursday, Gordon was named to the American Conference team roster for the 2010 ECHL All-Star Game. The International Falls, MN native was named the Sher- wood Hockey ECHL Player of the Week for December 14-20.

- Adam Munro is one game shy of tying Scott Clemmensen for fourth on the Marlies all-time games played list. Munro has appeared in 39 games for the Marlies in his career.

- Brennan Evans' 127 penalty minutes currently ranks first in the AHL for defencemen and fifth overall.

- The Anaheim Ducks loaned forward Kyle Calder to the Marlies on Wednesday. Calder skated in 14 games this season with the Ducks, tallying two assists and eight penalty minutes. He made his Marlies debut on Saturday against Milwaukee.

- The Marlies own a record of 3-1-2 against West Division opponents this season.

- Four of the Marlies past five goals have come on the power play. Over the past two games, Toronto's power play has clicked at a 44.4% rate (4-for-9).

- Andre Deveaux has registered eight points over his past 12 games (six goals, two assists). He ranks first on the club in points with 22 (nine goals, 13 assists) and is tied for second in assists.

- Toronto owns a 4-0 record in the shootout on home ice, but has lost both shootouts (0-2) on the road this season. Reebok/AHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE

For the week ending January 3, 2010, the Toronto Marlies nominated forward Ben Gordon for consideration as the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week. Gordon recorded a point in all three of the Marlies games this past week (two goals, two assists). On Monday night in Hamilton, the International Falls, MN native scored his first career AHL goal in the Marlies 5-2 loss. Two nights later, Gordon netted a goal and added an assist in the team's 3-2 win and was named the game's second star of the night. In four games this season with the Marlies, Gordon has racked up four points and two penalty minutes.

MARLIES ON THE WEB

Follow the Marlies all season long for the latest, most up-to-date information on their official web site, torontomarlies.com

MARLIES UPCOMING PROMOTIONS:

Saturday, January 23 vs. Hamilton Bulldogs - Vesa Toskala Bobblehead Day
Wednesday, January 27 vs. San Antonio Rampage - School Day Game at 11:00 a.m.
Sunday, January 24 vs. Syracuse Crunch - Sesame Street Day

MARLIES RECAP:

Monday, December 28 at Hamilton Bulldogs

Marlies Downed by Bulldogs in Steeltown
Marlies Goals: Giliati (1), Gordon (1)
Bulldogs Goals: Subban (7), Conboy (3), Weber (2), Desharnais 2 (13)
Three Stars: 1. Desharnais (HAM), 2. Subban (HAM), 3. Conboy (HAM)

Recap: The Marlies lost their fourth consecutive game on Monday night, 5-2 to their QEW-rivals, the Hamilton Bulldogs at Copps Coliseum. Stefano Giliati opened the scoring nine minutes into the first period with his first goal of the season. Tyler Bozak and Brendan Mikkelson picked up assists on Giliati's power play marker. After Hamilton went ahead 2-1, recently signed forward Ben Gordon scored his first career AHL goal to knot the game at 2-2 in the second period. Bulldogs' forward David Desharnais scored two, third period goals and Hamilton held Toronto to just two shots in the final frame to sink the Marlies 5-2. Adam Munro made 36 saves and the Marlies power play went 1-for-2 on the night. Darryl Boyce finished the game with an assist and a game-high 12 penalty minutes.

Wednesday, December 30 vs. Peoria Rivemen

Toronto Snaps Four-Game Losing Skid with 3-2 Win
Marlies Goals: Scott (2), Gordon (2), Mikus (3)
Rivermen Goals: Talbot (10), Cracknell (7)
Three Stars: 1. Scott (TOR), 2. Gordon (TOR), 3. MacDonald (TOR)

Recap: Juraj Mikus' power play goal early in the third period held up to be the game-winning goal as the Marlies ended their four-game losing skid with a 3-2 win. Greg Scott put Toronto on the board with a power play goal six minutes into the first period. Ashton Rome picked up his first point (assist) of the season on Scott's second goal of the year. Ben Gordon made it 2-0 with a wrist shot that beat Hannu Toivonen. While on the power play, Juraj Mikus fired a puck that went off the glass and fooled Toivonen who went to play it behind the net. The Rivermen added two late goals but the Marlies held on for the win. Joey MacDonald made 26 saves for the victory. Gordon and Scott both finished with a goal and an assist each.

Saturday, January 2 vs. Milwaukee Admirals

Marlies Sink Admirals in Shootout, 3-2
Marlies Goals: Mikkelson (4), Deveaux (9)
Admirals Goals: Santorelli (7), O'Reilly (9)
Three Stars: 1. Deveaux (TOR), 2. O'Reilly (MIL), 3. MacDonald (TOR)

Recap: The Marlies won their second straight game on Saturday afternoon, dropping the Milwaukee Admirals 3-2 in a shootout. After the Admirals went up 1-0 in the first period, Brendan Mikkelson tied the game on the power play with a shot from the point. Milwaukee's leading scorer, Cal O'Reilly gave them a 2-1 advantage going into the second intermission. Mid-way through the third period Andre Deveaux knotted the game at 2-2 with Toronto's second power play tally of the night. Ben Gordon picked up the lone assist on Deveaux's ninth of the season. Tyler Bozak and Greg Scott both scored for the Marlies in the shootout and Joey MacDonald made four saves on five shooters for the win. MacDonald won his second straight game, making 20 saves. Kyle Calder and Ben Simon both made their Marlies debuts in the game.

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