AHL Toronto Marlies

First Place Marlies Battle Divisional Rivals This Week

March 10, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Toronto Marlies News Release


THE OPPONENTS:

GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS

The Marlies travel to Grand Rapids to battle the Griffins - AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings - for the second time this month on Wednesday evening. They will then host Grand Rapids on Sunday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum. The Marlies are 2-2-0-0 this season in games against Grand Rapids. The Griffins, 26-31-2-5, are currently in fifth place in the North Division and 25 points behind the Marlies for the division lead. Grand Rapids has a record of 17-15-0-1 against North Division rivals this season. Griffins forward Mark Cullen leads the team in points with 47 (16 goals, 31 assists). David Ling leads the Marlies in points with 47 (12 goals, 35 assists). Grand Rapids goaltender Jimmy Howard has a record of 18-21-2 with a 2.77 GAA and a .909 save percentage. Marlies goaltender Justin Pogge has posted a record of 21-8-4 with a 2.34 GAA and a 0.908 save percentage. Notables: Griffins forward Evan McGrath played alongside Marlies forward Matt Grennier on the 2003 Memorial Cup winning Kitchener Rangers (OHL). Defenceman Kyle Quincey played under Marlies head Coach Greg Gilbert from 2003-05 with the Mississauga IceDogs (OHL). Darren McCarty earned a contract with the Red Wings after playing with the Flint Generals (IHL) and the Griffins this season. He was recently recalled to Detroit, playing his last game last Wednesday against the Marlies. He has played in 742 NHL games accumulating 286 points (126 goals, 140 assists) along with 1450 penalty minutes. He won three Stanley Cups with Detroit in 1997, 1998 and 2002. The Marlies are 9- 7-1-0 all-time against their divisional rival.

HAMILTON BULLDOGS

The Marlies meet their provincial rival Hamilton Bulldogs - AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens - on Saturday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum. The Marlies are 5-3-0-0 this season in games against Hamilton. Hamilton has won the past two games against Toronto, most recently winning 3-1 on February 24 in Toronto. The Bulldogs, 31-25-2-5, currently sit in fourth place in the North Division and 15 points behind the Marlies for the division lead. Hamilton has a record of 19- 16-1-5 against their North Division rivals this season. The Bulldogs are on losing streak of their own, after dropping three consecutive games, including two to second place Manitoba this past weekend. Corey Locke is on pace for a career year in points. He has already set a career high for goals with 21 this season. He leads the Bulldogs with 52 points (21 goals, 31 assists). Hamilton goaltender Yann Danis has taken over goaltending duties for Jaroslav Halak who was called up to the Canadiens following the NHL trade deadline. Danis has a record of 10-12-3 with a 3.00 GAA and a .904 save percentage.

Notables: Locke is a former Canadian Hockey League Player of the Year (2003) and a two-time recipient of the OHL MVP (2003/2004) award as a member of the Ottawa 67's. Kyle Chipchura was chosen in the first round (18th overall) by Montreal in the 2004 Entry Draft. He played alongside Justin Pogge as the captain of the Gold Medal 2006 Canadian World Junior team. The Marlies lead the all-time series with a 18-12-0-2 record and maintain a 9-6-0-1 edge over the Bulldogs in Toronto.

MARLIES QUICK HITS

- Max Taylor recorded his first career goal in the AHL and as a Marlie in his first game for Toronto in Friday's 3- 2 loss to Syracuse.

- The Marlies are currently on a four-game skid that matches a season low for the team but they still lead the North Division by seven points over second place Manitoba.

- Toronto leads the AHL in penalty killing with an 87.8% rate. Alex Foster is tied for fourth among AHL players with five shorthanded goals on the season. He currently has eight shorthanded points (five goals, three assists).

Rbk/VECTOR AHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE

For the week ending March 9, 2008, the Toronto Marlies nominated defenceman Andy Wozniewski for consideration as the Rbk/Vector AHL Player of the Week. A native of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, Wozniewski recorded a total of three points (one goal, two assists) in four games last week. This week's award was ultimately won by Houston's Barry Brust.

MARLIES IN THE COMMUNITY

The Marlies travelled to North York and held the team's final monthly "Community Practice" on Tuesday, February 26. Following the practice, players greeted fans and held an autograph session in the arena's main atrium.

MARLIES ON THE WEB

Follow the Marlies all season long on their official web site, torontomarlies.com

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Grand Rapids Griffins defeat Toronto Marlies 5-3

Marlies Goals: Leveille (1g), Wozniewski (1g, 1a), Doig (1g) (SH)

Griffins Goals: Ritola (1g), Corazzini (1g), Cullen (1g, 1a), Oulahen (1g) (GWG), Helm (1g)

Shots on Goal: Marlies: 25, Griffins: 27

Penalty Minutes: Marlies: 10, Griffins: 8

Goaltender (saves):

Marlies: -Pogge (22 svs, 5 ga)

Griffins: -Berkhoel (22 svs, 3 ga)

Three Stars: 1) Mark Cullen GR 2) Ryan Oulahen GR 3) Andy Wozniewski TOR

Attendance: (6,526 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, MI)

Friday, March 7, 2008

Syracuse Crunch defeat Toronto Marlies 3-2

Marlies Goals: Aubin (1g), Taylor (1g)

Crunch Goals: Konopka (2g) (GWG), Brassard (1g) (PP)

Shots on Goal: Marlies: 30, Crunch: 30

Penalty Minutes: Marlies: 19, Crunch: 23

Goaltender (saves):

Marlies: -Clemmensen (27 svs, 3 ga)

Crunch: -Goehring (28 svs, 2 ga)

Three Stars: 1) Zenon Konopka SYR 2) Trevor Frischmon SYR 3) Marc Methot SYR

Attendance: (5,271 at Oncenter in Syracuse, NY)

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Manitoba Moose defeat Toronto Marlies 3-0

Marlies Goals: None

Moose Goals: Jaffray (2g) (GWG) (EN), Hansen (1g, 1a) (SH)

Shots on Goal: Marlies: 21, Moose: 21

Penalty Minutes: Marlies: 6, Moose: 8

Goaltender (saves):

Marlies: -Pogge (18 svs, 2 ga)

Moose: -MacIntyre (21 svs, 0 ga)

Three Stars: 1) Drew MacIntyre MAN 2) Jason Jaffray MAN 3) Jannik Hansen MAN

Attendance: (2,064 at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto)

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Syracuse Crunch defeat Toronto Marlies 2-1 OT

Marlies Goals: David Ling

Crunch Goals: Picard (1g) (PP), DiCasmirro (1g) (GWG-OT)

Shots on Goal: Marlies: 35, Crunch: 25

Penalty Minutes: Marlies: 25, Crunch: 15

Goaltender (saves):

Marlies: -Clemmensen (23 svs, 2 ga)

Crunch: -MacIntyre (34 svs, 1 ga) Three Stars: 1) Nate DiCassmirro SYR 2) Dan LaCosta 3) David Ling TOR

Attendance: (2,514 at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto)

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