AHL Toronto Marlies

Marlies Host Providence For First Time In Team History

Published on March 3, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Toronto Marlies News Release


Opponents This Week:

(Mar.4): The Marlies face the Providence Bruins - AHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins - on Wednesday night at Ricoh Coliseum. This will mark the first time in Providence's history that they've traveled to Toronto to play the Marlies. This will be the second and final meeting between these two clubs this season. Toronto fell to the Bruins in a shootout, 4-3 on December 19. The Marlies were able to force overtime with a late power play goal from Tim Stapleton, but eventually fell 4-3 in a shootout. Mark Bell and Max Taylor also scored for the Marlies. Providence currently ranks first in the Atlantic Division with a record of 34-22-2-3 for 73 points, but are winless in their past two games. They own a 13-12-2-3 record on the road this year. Last season the Bruins won the MacGregor Kilpatrick Trophy (regular season points champion) with a 55-18-3-4 record for 117 points. Providence lost to the Portland Pirates in the Division Finals in the postseason. The Boston Bruins and Providence partnership is the longest active AHL/NHL affiliation in the league. The Bruins are led by Johnny Boychuk with 51 points (16 goals, 35 assists) in 60 games. Peter Schaefer has played in 42 games for Providence this season, collecting seven goals and 17 assists. Schaefer has skated in 556 career NHL games, registering 259 points (98 goals, 161 assists) and 198 penalty minutes. Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask was originally the Toronto Maple Leafs first round, 21st overall, 2005 Entry Draft selection.

(Mar. 6 & 8): The Marlies play their 10th and 11th games of the season against their provincial-rival, the Hamilton Bulldogs - AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens - on Friday night and Sunday afternoon at Copps Coliseum. The Marlies are 4-4-0-1 against the Bulldogs this season, including a 7-1 win in their most recent matchup last Saturday at Copps Coliseum. Five different Marlie players had two or more points in the game, including Anton Stralman's four-point night. The Bulldogs currently rank third in the North Division with a 36-23-2-0 record for 74 points through 61 games this season. Hamilton owns a 17-13-1-0 record at Copps Coliseum. The Bulldogs' 199 goals for ranks second in the Western Marlies defenceman Anton Stralman registered three goals and three assists last week. Five of his six points came on the power play. In 27 games this season with the Marlies, he's totaled 13 points and a plus-seven rating. Conference and fourth overall in the AHL. Yannick Weber took part in the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic and was a teammate of Jaime Sifers for PlanetUSA. Marlies forward Ryan Hamilton and Bulldogs defenceman Shawn Belle were teammates last year with the Houston Aeros. Yanick Lehoux currently ranks first on the Bulldogs with 50 points (17 goals, 33 assists). The Marlies hold a 26-16-0-3 all-time advantage over their QEW-rival. Toronto and Hamilton will have their final meeting of the regular season on Saturday, April 11 in Toronto.

(Mar. 7): The Marlies host the Hershey Bears - AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals - on Saturday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum. This will be the first of two meetings between the two clubs. Toronto defeated Hershey in both matchups last season and outscored them 9-2 in two games. The Bears rank first in the East Division and first in the Eastern Conference with a 39-17-1-5 record for 84 points. They own a 17-9-1-3 record on the road this season, ranking tied for third with the most road wins. The Bears have earned at least a point in their past five games (3-0-1-1) and rank first in the league with 238 goals for. Keith Aucoin paces the club and the AHL with 82 points (21 goals, 61 assists). Hershey has the top two points leaders in the AHL. Alexandre Giroux ranks second with 73 points (43 goals, 30 assists). Bears' left winger, Chris Bourque is a second-round, 33rd overall, 2004 draft pick of the Washington Capitals and ranks fourth (tie) in the AHL with 200 shots. He scored his first career NHL goal this season while with the Capitals on December 30 versus the Buffalo Sabres. Bourque is the son of NHL Hall of Famer Ray Bourque. The Marlies own an all-time record of 4-2- 0-0 against Hershey. Marlies assistant coach Joe Paterson played in 87 games with the Hershey Bears (1984-86) and collected 68 points (31 goals, 37 assists) with 241 penalty minutes.

MARLIES HEADLINES:

Jiri Powering Up: Jiri Tlusty registered two assists on Sunday afternoon and scored a goal and added two assists on Saturday night against the Bulldogs. He's recorded eight points in his past four games (three goals, five assists). Tlusty set the Marlies franchise record with his five-goal night on February 18 versus Syracuse. He also set the Marlies season-high with a plus-six rating. He has notched seven multi-point games in his past 11 contests. Tlusty has registered at least a point in 12 of his last 14 games and has averaged 2.0 points per game during that span. He's scored at least a goal in nine of his past 14 games (14 goals). He registered a Marlies season-high, four assists on Sunday, February 8 against Grand Rapids. Tlusty had his nine-game point streak (11 goals, nine assists) come to an end on February 21 against Rochester. In 49 games with the Marlies this season, Tlusty has racked up 50 points (21 goals, 29 assists); with 22 of his points coming on the power play. Tlusty ranks second on the team in points and first in goals.

Free Willy: Jeremy Williams has registered a goal in six of his past eight games. He had his five-game goal streak snapped on Friday night. In 27 games this season he has recorded 17 goals and seven assists and is tied for the club lead with four game-winning goals. Williams ranks first on the Marlies and ninth (tie) in the AHL with 11 power play tallies. Williams is the Marlies all-time leader in goals (61) power play goals (27) and game-winning goals (17).

Home Ice Advantage: The Marlies finished their season-high, 11-game home stand with a 7-4-0-0 record. Toronto's only lost five home games since December 14, 2008. The Marlies have won their past five of eight games at home. Toronto has out-scored their opponents 75-52 at Ricoh Coliseum during a 17-game stretch. The Marlies hold an 18-11- 0-2 advantage at home on the season. The Marlies set a franchise record on Friday, January 30 with their seventh consecutive home victory when they defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs, 4-2.

Bates On The Board: Bates Battaglia has recorded 14 points in his last 13 contests (two goals, 12 assists). Battaglia had his six-game assist streak snapped on February 21 against Rochester. In 39 games this season, he ranks third on the team in points with 33 (13 goals, 20 assists). His plus-14 rating ranks second on the Marlies and 12th out of all forwards in the AHL.

What A Plus!: Phil Oreskovic currently ranks seventh (tie) in the AHL with a plus-20 rating. On February 18 against the Crunch, Oreskovic registered a season-high, plus-four rating. In 56 games this season, Oreskovic has tallied nine points (one goal, eight assists) and 80 penalty minutes.

On A Roll: Since November 19, 2008 the Marlies are 26-16-2-3 and have earned at least a point in their past 31 of 47 games (0.659 points percentage). Toronto's won four out of their past seven games decided by a shootout, despite losing their past two. Their home record since November 19 is 14-8-0-0.

Devo Time: Andre Deveaux has recorded 11 points (five goals, six assists) in his past 11 games. Deveaux scored two goals in Toronto's 5-4 loss on Sunday. Deveaux ranks fourth in the AHL with a .208 shooting percentage (11 goals on 53 shots). He notched his second hat-trick of the season on Sunday, February 8 against the Griffins in the Marlies 10-5 win. Two of his three goals came on the power play. Deveaux ranks second on the club with eight power play tallies. Deveaux scored his first career AHL hat-trick on October 26, 2008 versus the Houston Aeros. In 25 games with the Marlies this season, he's tallied 19 points (11 goals, eight assists).

A Franchise Night: On Sunday, February 8 the Marlies had a franchise game when they defeated the Grand Rapids Griffins 10-5 at Ricoh Coliseum. The 10 goals the Marlies scored was a franchise-high and their five first period tallies was a season-high. Tim Stapleton led the way with four-goals in the game, three of which came in a span of four minutes and forty seconds. Andre Deveaux also scored a hat-trick in the game, his second of the season. In all, eight different Marlies players registered a multi-point game. Jiri Tlusty had a season-high four assists. The Marlies five power play goals was also an all-time high.

Shooting For The Stars: The Marlies rank in the top-five in the AHL in both shots for and shots against this season. The Marlies average 31.9 shots per game against their opponents (fourth in the AHL) and rank third for shots against with 26.6 per game. The Marlies have greatly out-shot their opponents in the second period, 671-540. Tim Stapleton set a Marlies single-season high with 10 shots on goal on January 31 versus the Rockford IceHogs.

Special Teams:

Power Play: Toronto's power play currently ranks fourth in the AHL with a 20.5% success rate. Over their past two games they've scored six power play goals (6-for-16). Jiri Tlusty has registered five power play points (one goal, four assists) in his past two games and Anton Stralman has scored three power play goals during that same span. Their power play set a franchise record with five goals on Sunday, February 8 versus the Grand Rapids Griffins when they went an impressive 5-for-7 in the game. The Marlies have registered 12, multi-power play goal games so far this season. Their power play on the road ranks sixth (tie) overall at 20.6%. They've scored at least one power play goal in 18 of 29 road games. Tim Stapleton leads all Marlie skaters with 26 power play points.

Multi-Point Games: Tim Stapleton leads the team with 15 multi-point games this season. This past week, Ryan Hamilton, Brent Aubin, Jeremy Williams, Anton Stralman (twice) and Jiri Tlusty (twice) each recorded at least two points.

Multi-Point Games
Stapleton 15
Tlusty 11
Newbury 7
Williams 7
Battaglia 6
Foster 6
Boyce 4
Devereaux 3
Bell 3
Aubin 3
Kronwall 3
Hamilton 3
Deveaux 3
Stralman 3
Giliati 2
Petiot 2
Taylor 2
Sifers 2
Ondrus 2
Ryan 1
Engel 1

On The Road: The Marlies finished their season-high, nine-game road trip with a 2-3-2-2 record for eight points on January 23 at Syracuse. They opened their road swing with a 3-2 shootout victory over the Milwaukee Admirals. Justin Pogge and Adam Munro had a combined 2.26 goals-against average and 0.918 save percentage on the road trip. Pogge started six games and Munro three. Maple Leafs prospect Nikolai Kulemin made his AHL debut on Thursday, January 8 in Milwaukee. Bates Battaglia and Alex Foster each scored a shorthanded goal on the trip.

Making Their Debut: The Marlies have dressed 15 new players through their first 60 games this season. Rob LaLonde suited up for the Marlies on February 20 and made his debut, becoming the 15th new player to dress for the club. Defensemen Richard Petiot, Andy Schneider, Josh Engel, Joey Ryan, Juha Uotila and Josef Boumedienne; forwards Andre Deveaux, Ryan Hamilton, Nikolai Kulemin, Ryan Hollweg, Tim Stapleton and Mark Bell have all seen action in at least one game for the Marlies. Newcomer, Tim Stapleton scored the Marlies first goal of the 2008-09 season in the third period of their home opener on October 10 against the Binghamton Senators.

Reading Report: The Toronto Maple Leafs ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals currently rank seventh in the American Division with a 19-35-2-2 record for 42 points. Dan Rudisuela has 15 goals and 17 assists in 58 games. Rudisuela has registered seven points (three goals, four assists) in his past six games, including a two-point game on Sunday versus Dayton. Maple Leafs prospect James Reimer has a 9-6-2-1 record with a .904 save percentage. Michael Ouzas made 42 saves in the Royals 6-2 victory over Dayton on Sunday evening.

Unveiling the Banner: The Marlies opened up the 2008-09 season by unveiling their North Division championship banner from the year before. The Marlies won their division with a 50-21-3-6 record for 109 points, nine more points then next closest Syracuse (100 points). Toronto has 15 players that helped them to their title berth on the opening day roster.

MARLIES QUICK HITS:

- The Marlies currently rank fourth in the North Division with a 30-23-2-5 record for 67 points through 60 games.

- The Marlies recalled forward Tyler Doig from their ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals on Saturday afternoon. In 50 games with Reading, Doig collected 43 points (11 goals, 32 assists) and 77 penalty minutes. He ranked first on the team in assists and second in points. Doig suited up for the Marlies on Saturday night in Hamilton.

- Tim Stapleton made his NHL debut on Thursday night against the New York Islanders. On Saturday night he scored his first career NHL goal and logged 16:48 of time on ice. Stapleton scored the shootout winner in the game against the Islanders.

- Anton Stralman and Jaime Sifers were both reassigned to the Marlies last Friday afternoon. - Adam Munro has won his past four starts.

- Jeremy Williams' assist on Sunday afternoon passed Colin Murphy for second place on the Marlies all-time points list with 129.

- Forward Ryan Hamilton scored his first multi-goal game on Saturday night against the Hamilton Bulldogs and Anton Stralman had his first two-goal game of the season on Sunday afternoon against the Griffins.

- The Marlies 7-1 win on Saturday night against the Hamilton Bulldogs was their largest margin of victory of the season.

- Darryl Boyce ranks first on the team with 112 penalty minutes and Phil Oreskovic has a team-high, plus-20 rating.

- The Marlies are 23-2-1-1 when taking a lead into the third period this season and are 22-4-1-1 when they record the game's first goal. When Toronto scores three or more goals, they own a record of 30-7-0-1.

Reebok/AHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE For the week ending March 1, 2009, the Toronto Marlies nominated defenceman Anton Stralman for consideration as the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week. The Tibro, Sweden native tallied six points (three goals, three assists) in three games this past week for the Marlies. On Saturday against the Hamilton Bulldogs, Stralman recorded a game-high four points (one goal, three assists) and was named the game's second star. Three of Stralman's four points came on the man-advantage. On Sunday, the Marlies rearguard scored twice in Toronto's 5-4 loss to Grand Rapids. Both tallies came on the power play. Stralman leads all Marlies active defensemen in goals with six. In 27 games with the Marlies he's collected 13 points (six goals, seven assists) with a plus-seven rating.

IN THE BOOTH:

The Marlies and Rogers Cable TV announced their 29 game broadcast schedule, which will comprise of Friday, Saturday and Sunday home dates. The television play-by-play duties will be handled by the voice of the Marlies, John Bartlett, who returns for his fourth season with the organization. Former NHLer and Toronto Maple Leaf, Bob McGill, will join Bartlett in the booth for all 29 games.

The Marlies announced on Friday, October 10 in conjunction with the FAN 590, that all 80 regular season games will be live on the FAN 590. Marlies play-by-play announcer John Bartlett, along with colour commentator, Bob McGill will provide the live action for Marlies fans this season. Fans can also tune into all of the action on the Marlies official website, torontomarlies.com

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, March 14 vs. Lake Erie Monsters - Lunch Tin Giveaway Day
Sunday, March 15 vs. Manitoba Moose - Nickelodeon Family Fun Day
Sunday, March 22 vs. San Antonio Rampage - Joe Nieuwendyk Bobblehead Day

MARLIES RECAP:

Friday, February 27 at Lake Erie

Marlies Shutout by Monsters, 2-0
Marlies Goals: None
Monsters Goals: Hendricks (7), McCutcheon (5)
Three Stars: 1. Hendricks (LEM), 2. Bacashihua (LEM), 3. Hensick (LEM)

Recap: The Marlies couldn't solve Jason Bacashihua, firing 31 shots on the Monsters goalie, but Lake Erie knocked off Toronto, 2-0 on Friday night. The Marlies out-shot the Monsters, 22-18 after two periods. Lake Erie used a 5-on-3 advantage to beat Marlies starting goalie Justin Pogge. Less than four minutes later, the Monsters extended the lead to 2-0 and that's the way the game would end. Pogge made 26 saves in the loss and Jeremy Williams had a team-high eight shots on goal. Andre Deveaux had a Marlies season-high, 32 penalty minutes in the game.

Saturday, February 28 at Hamilton

Marlies Trample Bulldogs, 7-1
Marlies Goals: Hamilton 2 (11), Tlusty (21), Williams (17), Giliati (4), Foster (11), Stralman (4)
Bulldogs Goal: Kostitsyn (1)
Three Stars: 1. Williams (TOR), 2. Hamilton (HAM), 3. Stralman (HAM)

Recap: The Marlies had their largest margin of victory of the season when they beat the Bulldogs 7-1 on Saturday night in Hamilton. Ryan Hamilton scored two first period goals, 18 seconds apart to put the Marlies in front 2-0. Jiri Tlusty scored on the power play to put the Marlies ahead 3-0 after one period. Jeremy Williams scored another power play marker to extend the lead to 4-1 in the second period. Williams finished the night with a goal and two assists. Stefano Giliati and Alex Foster each picked up third period goals and Anton Stralman capped a four-point night (one goal, three assists) with a power play goal late in the third. Adam Munro made 23 saves for his fourth straight win. The Marlies power play clicked for three goals.

Sunday, March 1 vs. Grand Rapids

Griffins Edge Marlies, 5-4
Marlies Goals: Deveaux 2 (11), Stralman 2 (6)
Griffins Goals: Oulahen 2 (17), McGrath (14), Pare (19), Abdelkader (20)
Three Stars: 1. Oulahen (GRA), 2. Stralman (TOR), 3. Stafford (GRA)

Recap: The Marlies dropped their third straight home game, falling to the Griffins 5-4 on Sunday afternoon. Ryan Oulahen opened the scoring and finished the game with two goals, including the game-tying goal in the third period. Andre Deveaux scored two power play goals and Anton Stralman notched the other two Marlie goals. Jiri Tlusty chipped in with two assists in Toronto's loss. The Marlies power play finished the night 3-for-8 but their penalty killing unit also allowed three goals. Adam Munro who replaced Justin Pogge in the second period was charged with the loss, snapping a four-game winning streak.

Check out the Toronto Marlies Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from March 3, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central