Marlies Travel To Grand Rapids For Two Games; Return Home Sunday
March 17, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Toronto Marlies News Release
Opponents This Week:
(Mar.20 & 21): The Marlies travel to Grand Rapids Friday and Saturday to face the Griffins - AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings - at Van Andel Arena. This will be the last of eight meetings this season between the two clubs. The Marlies fell to the Griffins 5-4 on Sunday, March 1 at Ricoh Coliseum. Andre Deveaux and Anton Stralman each netted a pair of goals, but the Marlies were unable to hold their one-goal lead heading into the third period. Griffins' forward Justin Abdelkader recorded two points including the eventual winning goal. Grand Rapids currently rank second in the North Division with a 38-18-6-6 record for 88 points. The Griffins have a home record of 23-7-3-4 so far this season. Grand Rapids is 5-4-0-1 in their past 10 games and has a 3-2- 1-0 record against the Marlies this season. The Griffins rank first in the AHL in penalty killing (86.8%), despite allowing eight power play markers against the Marlies in their past three meetings. The Marlies rank third (tie) with Grand Rapids in the AHL on the power play (20.6%). Darren Haydar leads the Griffins with 69 points (26 goals, 43 assists). Darren Helm played in each of the final 18 games for the Detroit Red Wings last season, helping them win the Stanley Cup. The Marlies hold a slight advantage over Grand Rapids in their all-time record games played, 15-13-0. Griffins forward Ville Leino has played in 13 games with the Detroit Red Wings this season contributing with nine points (five goals, four assists).
(Mar. 22): The San Antonio Rampage - AHL affiliate of the Phoenix Coyotes - travel to Toronto for the first and only time this season for a 4:00 p.m. matchup on Sunday at Ricoh Coliseum. The Rampage rank eighth in the West Division with a 26-35-2-4 record for 58 points. San Antonio is 11- 17-2-3 on the road this season. In last season's Division Semi-Finals playoff matchup the Marlies and Rampage went to a deciding seventh game in which Toronto was able to pull out a thrilling 2-1 victory and move on to the Division Finals. Bates Battaglia was able to find the back of the net with just 58.1 seconds remaining in regulation to secure the series victory. Sunday's game will mark their first meeting in Toronto since last years playoff series. The Rampage is led by David Spina who has 46 points this season (15 goals, 31 assists). Francis Lessard ranks first on the Rampage and first in the AHL with 280 penalty minutes in only 46 games. Rampage forwards Kevin Porter and Chad Kolarik were teammates at the University of Michigan from 2004-08 and were two of the top three scorers in the nation as seniors last season, combining for 63 goals and 119 points. Rampage forward Brett MacLean played with the Oshawa Generals (OHL) for 164 regular season games and was a line-mate of now London Knights forward John Tavares. MacLean amassed 257 points in his time with the Generals.
MARLIES HEADLINES:
Three In A Row: Toronto won all three games this past weekend, including a thrilling overtime victory on Saturday afternoon. The Marlies downed the Amerks on Friday night, 4-2 in Rochester led by two-point nights from Jiri Tlusty and Tim Stapleton. On Saturday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum, the Marlies used a Stapleton overtime-winner to propel them past the Lake Erie Monsters. The Marlies defeated the AHL's best team, the Manitoba Moose, 3-1 on Sunday to cap a three win weekend. Stefano Giliati netted the game-winner in the second period against the Moose.
Jiri On Fire: Jiri Tlusty collected an assist on Tim Stapleton's game-winning goal in the Marlies 2-1 overtime win against Lake Erie on Saturday. He's recorded 19 points in his past 12 games (five goals, 14 assists). Tlusty set the Marlies franchise record with six points in one game on March 4 with two goals and four assists in Toronto's 6-4 win over Providence. Tlusty's six-point game is the AHL season-high so far this season. Tlusty set the Marlies franchise record with his five-goal night on February 18 versus Syracuse, also setting the Marlies season-high with a plus-six rating. He registered a Marlies season-high, four assists on Sunday, February 8 against Grand Rapids. In 57 games with the Marlies this season, Tlusty has racked up 61 points (23 goals, 38 assists); with 28 of his points coming on the power play. Tlusty ranks second on the team in points and 14th in the AHL.
Free Willy: Jeremy Williams has scored a goal in the past two Marlies games. He's registered a goal in 10 of his last 16 games. In 35 games this season he has recorded 23 goals and nine assists and has a club-high, six game-winning goals. Williams ranks first on the Marlies and fourth (tie) in the AHL with 16 power play tallies. He ranks seventh (tie) in the AHL in game-winning goals. Williams scored his first hat-trick of the season on March 8 in Toronto's 4-3 win in Hamilton. Williams is the Marlies all-time leader in goals (70) power play goals (32) and game-winning goals (19).
Tim Becoming a Staple: Tim Stapleton was the hero on Saturday afternoon when he potted the game-winning goal in overtime to down the Lake Erie Monsters 2-1. He has notched 28 points (15 goals, 13 assists) over his past 19 games. Stapleton ranks first (tie) in the AHL with seven shootout goals. In 59 games this season, Stapleton has 64 points (21 goals, 43 assists) including four game-winning tallies. The American Hockey League named Stapleton the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week for period ending February 1, 2009. Stapleton made his NHL debut on February 26 against the New York Islanders and scored his first career NHL goal in his next game in Ottawa. The Oak Park, Illinois native ranks first on the Marlies and 10th (tie) in the AHL with 43 assists.
Home Ice Advantage: Toronto's only lost six home games since December 14, 2008. The Marlies have won their past eight of 12 games at home. Toronto has out-scored their opponents 87-64 at Ricoh Coliseum during a 21-game stretch. The Marlies hold a 21-12-0-2 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. The Marlies finished their season-high, 11-game home stand on February 21 with a 7-4-0-0 record.
Bates On The Board: Bates Battaglia has recorded 21 points in his last 21 contests (three goals, 18 assists). Battaglia's notched at least a point in four of his past five games. He's totaled eight assists in his past 10 games. Battaglia had his six-game assist streak snapped on February 21 against Rochester. In 47 games this season, he ranks third on the team in points with 40 (14 goals, 26 assists). His plus-11 rating ranks second on the Marlies.
A Month to Remember: Jiri Tlusty was named the CCM/AHL Player of the Month for February. In 11 games in February, Tlusty notched 12 goals and 11 assists while recording a plus-11 rating. Tlusty began the month by scoring Toronto's only goal in a 4-1 loss to Syracuse on Feb. 7, and then matched a franchise record with four assists in a 10-5 win over Grand Rapids the next day. He had his biggest game of his young career on Feb. 18, scoring five goals on five shots and posting a plus-six rating. Tlusty had a season-high, nine-game point streak during the month. On A Roll: Since November 19, 2008 the Marlies are 31-19-2-3 and have earned at least a point in their past 36 of 55 games (0.654 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 17-9-0-0.
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-10 in the AHL in both shots for and shots against this season. The Marlies average 31.3 shots per game against their opponents (seventh in the AHL) and rank first for shots against with 26.4 per game. The Marlies have greatly out-shot their opponents in the second period, 749-611. 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 third (tie) in the AHL with a 20.6% success rate. Over their past 10 games they've scored 15 power play goals. On March 8, the Marlies struck for three goals while on the man-advantage. Jiri Tlusty has registered 11 power play points (one goal, 10 assists) in his past 10 games. 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 14, multi-power play goal games so far this season. Their power play on the road ranks sixth overall at 20.3%. They've scored at least one power play goal in 20 of 32 road games. Tim Stapleton leads all Marlie skaters with 31 power play points.
Multi-Point Games: Tim Stapleton leads the team with 17 multi-point games this season. Tim Stapleton and Jiri Tlusty each recorded two-point games this past weekend.
Multi-Point Games
Stapleton 17
Tlusty 13
Williams 9
Newbury 7
Battaglia 7
Foster 6
Stralman 4
Boyce 4
Sifers 3
Devereaux 3
Bell 3
Aubin 3
Kronwall 3
Hamilton 3
Deveaux 3
Giliati 2
Petiot 2
Taylor 2
Ondrus 2
Ryan 1
Engel 1
Blue & White: So far this season there has been 14 different players to suit-up for both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Marlies. Most recently Phil Oreskovic made his NHL debut on March 9 against the Ottawa Senators. Joining Phil are Justin Pogge, Jaime Sifers, Nikolai Kulemin, Andre Deveaux, Kris Newbury, Anton Stralman, Jeremy Williams, Jiri Tlusty, Boyd Devereaux, Tim Stapleton, Ben Ondrus and Ryan Hollweg who have all seen action with both clubs.
Making Their Debut: The Marlies have dressed 19 new players through their first 68 games this season. Andrew Martens, Jeremy Swanson, Ashton Rome and Jay Rosehill each made their Marlies last week, becoming the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th new players 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.
Reading Report: The Toronto Maple Leafs ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals currently rank seventh in the American Division with a 21-38-2-2 record for 46 points. Tyler Doig ranks second on the club with 45 points (12 goals, 33 assists). Dan Rudisuela has 18 goals and 21 assists in 63 games. Rudisuela registered a three-point night (one goal, two assists) in Reading's 5-3 loss to Trenton on Friday night. He's registered 10 points (five goals, five assists) in his past seven games.
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.
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).
MARLIES QUICK HITS:
- The Marlies currently rank fourth in the North Division with a 35-26-2-5 record for 77 points through 68 games.
- Tim Stapleton had his five-game point streak (three goals, three assists) snapped on Sunday.
- Jaime Sifers has collected at least one assist in four of his past five games (five assists).
- Alex Foster and Jaime Sifers each appeared in their 200th game as a Marlie on Sunday in the Marlies 3-1 victory over Manitoba.
- Justin Pogge has a home record of 10-2-0 over his past 13 starts at Ricoh Coliseum.
- The Marlies play their next seven of nine games on the road.
- Andrew Martens and Ashton Rome each made their Marlie debut on Friday night in Toronto's 4-2 win in Rochester. Martens' first career AHL goal held up for the game-winning tally.
- Jay Rosehill scored his first goal as a Marlie on Friday in Rochester.
- Adam Munro has won five out of his past six games that he's started.
- Last Tuesday, the Marlies announced that they added Ashton Rome, Andrew Martens and Jeremy Swanson. In addition, the Marlies acquired Jay Rosehill from the Norfolk Admirals in exchange for future considerations.
- Jay Rosehill ranks first on the team and second in the AHL with 237 penalty minutes and Phil Oreskovic ranks first on the club with a plus-15 rating.
- The Marlies are 25-2-1-1 when taking a lead into the third period this season and are 24-4-1-1 when they record the game's first goal. When Toronto scores three or more goals in a game, they own a record of 34-7-0-1.
Reebok/AHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE
For the week ending March 15, 2009, the Toronto Marlies nominated forward Tim Stapleton for consideration as the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week. Stapleton had three points in two road games to start week before returning home on Saturday against Lake Erie. On Saturday, Stapleton was able to secure a Marlies victory with only 48 seconds left in overtime as he fired a wrist shot to put the fans to their feet. In four games last week, he recorded four points including one game-winner (two goals, two assists).
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:
Sunday, March 22 vs. San Antonio Rampage - Joe Nieuwendyk Bobblehead Day
Sunday, March 29 vs. Syracuse Crunch - Duke the Dog Bobblehead Day
Friday, April 10 vs. Manitoba Moose - Pay Day Fridays Presented by Ricoh
Saturday, April 11 vs. Hamilton Bulldogs - Team Awards Night
MARLIES RECAP:
Wednesday, March 11 at Syracuse
Marlies Crunched in Syracuse
Marlies Goal: Stapleton (20)
Crunch Goals: Mayorov (11), Filatov (10), Picard (8)
Three Stars: 1. Lalande (SYR), 2. Smith (SYR), 3. Filatov (SYR)
Recap: The Marlies played their final game of the season in Syracuse, falling to the Crunch 3-1 at the Oncenter on Wednesday night. The Crunch scored the opening goal six minutes into the first period when Maksim Mayorov beat Marlies starting goalie Justin Pogge. Toronto out-shot Syracuse 15-8 in the opening frame. Nikita Filatov broke in down the wing and snuck a one-handed shot past Pogge mid-way through the second period. Tim Stapleton finally beat Kevin Lalande at the 10:41 mark of the third period to put the Marlies on the board. Bates Battaglia and Jaime Sifers collected assists on the play. Toronto had a late power play to try to tie the game, but Alexandre Picard scored an empty-net goal to make it 3-1.
Friday, March 13 at Rochester
Marlies Double Up Amerks 4-2
Marlies Goals: Rosehill (6), Battaglia (14), Martens (1), Foster (12)
Americans Goals: Duco (14), Stewart (16)
Three Stars: 1. Tlusty (TOR), 2. Larman (RCH), 3. Stapleton (TOR)
Recap: Jay Rosehill scored his first goal as a Marlie to tie the game at 1-1, only 13 seconds after Rochester opened the scoring in the first period. Bates Battaglia scored his 14th goal of the season on the power play late in the opening frame to put Toronto ahead 2-1. Andrew Martens scored his first career AHL goal late in the second period, and his marker held up to be the game-winning tally. Alex Foster added an empty-net goal for his 12th of the season to give the Marlies a 4-2 win. Pogge made 24 saves for his 67th career win with the Marlies. Jeremy Swanson and Ashton Rome each made their Marlie debut.
Saturday, March 14 vs. Lake Erie
Stapleton's OT Winner Spooks Monsters
Marlies Goals: Williams (22), Stapleton (21)
Monsters Goal: Rowe (6)
Three Stars: 1. Stapleton (TOR), 2. Munro (TOR), 3. Dupuis (LEM)
Recap: The Marlies used a Tim Stapleton overtime winner to propel them over the Lake Erie Monsters on Saturday afternoon. Randy Rowe gave the Monsters a first period lead with his sixth of the season. Only 41 seconds in the second frame, Jeremy Williams fired a puck on net that bounced off a Monster defender and into his own goal to tie the game at 1-1. After a scoreless third period, Stapleton finished the game with 48 seconds remaining in overtime with a shot that beat Tyler Weiman blocker-side. The goal extended Stapleton's point streak to five games. Adam Munro made 30 saves, including four in overtime for his 11th win of the season.
Sunday, March 15 vs. Manitoba
Marlies Hunt Down Moose
Marlies Goals: Hamilton (13), Giliati (5), Williams (23)
Moose Goal: Grabner (26)
Three Stars: 1. Foster (TOR), 2. Sanford (MTB), 3. Pogge (TOR)
Recap: The Marlies jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Ryan Hamilton picked up a rebound in front of the Moose goal and slid home his 13th of the season late in the first period. Moose forward Michael Grabner was sent in on a breakaway and beat Justin Pogge to knot the game at 1-1. Stefano Giliati knocked home his fifth of the season mid-way through the second stanza. Jeremy Williams added the insurance tally in the third period on a Marlies power play and sealed the victory, 3-1. Pogge made 21 saves for his second win of the weekend.
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