AHL Toronto Marlies

Marlies Weekly

Published on October 24, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Toronto Marlies News Release


THE OPPONENTS:
HAMILTON BULLDOGS

The Marlies face the Hamilton Bulldogs - AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens - for the second time in five days at Copps Coliseum on Wednesday evening. After losing the first three meetings versus their provincial rival last season, the Marlies lead this year's season series thanks to their 5-4 come from behind victory four nights ago. Brad Leeb gave the Marlies a 1-0 lead at 3:09 of the first period but Hamilton rebounded to take a 3-1 by the first intermission. Leeb, Jeff Corey and Colin Murphy scored second period goals to retake the lead before the Bulldogs' Corey Locke tied the game at 4-4 15 seconds into the final period. The Marlies' Erik Westrum scored the team's second shorthanded goal of the night - his second game-winning goal of the campaign - just over six minutes later to help the visitors to victory. Leading the Bulldogs in scoring through five games is: (C) Corey Locke (2g-3a=5pts). Yann Denis has started four of five games for Hamilton and has a record of 1-3 with a 3.54 GAA and a 0.888 save percentage. Notables: The Marlies won last year's season series with a record of 7-5-0-0. They were 0-3 after the first three games but won the next five contests. The Bulldogs defeated North Division rival Manitoba 5-3 on opening night but have since lost four consecutive games. Current Marlie Kris Newbury led the team in scoring versus Hamilton last season with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) and appeared in all 12 games between the clubs. Current Bulldog Corey Locke led Hamilton in scoring with 13 points (four goals, nine assists) and also appeared in all 12 games. Both Newbury and Locke had multi-point nights last Friday. The teams will meet in Toronto for the first time on November 11th when they play an afternoon contest at Air Canada Centre. Toronto is 4-3 in seven meetings all-time at Copps.

GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS

The Marlies leave the province of Ontario for the first time this season when they travel to Grand Rapids, Michigan to face the Griffins - AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings - on Friday night at Van Andel Arena. Toronto trails this year's season series by one game as Grand Rapids emerged with a 4-2 victory when last the teams met on October 13th at Ricoh Coliseum. Former Bulldog Danny Syvret scored his first professional goal - the eventual game-winner -at 13:20 of the middle stanza to give the visitors a 3-1 lead. Centre Matt Ellis gave Grand Rapids a lead they would not relinquish when he scored his second of the season for a 2-1Griffin lead late in the first period. The powerplay marker was Ellis' first in Toronto since he helped the Griffins eliminate the Marlies with an overtime winner at 20:11 last April 28th. Leading Grand Rapids in scoring through six games is: (C) Kip Miller (2g-4a=6pts). Stefan Liv and Jimmy Howard have shared the goaltending duties to date. In three games, Liv is 1-1-1 with a 2.60 GAA and a .917 save percentage. Howard has a record of 2-1 with a 2.63 GAA and a .912 save percentage in his three starts. Notables: The Griffins host North Division leading Rochester (6-0-0) on Thursday evening at Van Andel Arena. Miller, a Michigan native, returned to Grand Rapids after having played for the American Hockey League's Chicago Wolves last season. A former Michigan State Spartan, Miller is in his fourth season with the Griffins but has never played consecutive seasons with the team. Syvret captained the Ontario Hockey League's London Knights to a Memorial Cup championship in 2004. Marlies' Captain Marc Moro scored his first goal with the team in the club's loss to the Griffins earlier this month. Friday's contest marks the first meeting between the teams in Michigan since Toronto's 6-3 win in Game 2 of the North Division Semifinals last season. Current Maple Leafs' Brendan Bell and John Pohl had three assists a piece in that contest.

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PENGUINS

Toronto welcomes the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins - AHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins - to Ricoh for their lone visit of the season on Saturday evening at Ricoh Coliseum. The game marks the Marlies' second contest of the year versus an East Division opponent. Toronto lost 5-4 in overtime against Hershey on October 15th when Alexandre Giroux scored his second goal of the game at 2:24 of the extra session to give the Bears the win. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton sits atop the East Division standings with five wins and 10 points in six games. Their lone loss came at home versus Hershey on October 7th. The Penguins play two games in Manitoba (on Thursday and Friday evening) before flying to Toronto on Saturday morning. They defeated the Moose at home on October 4th as the AHL kicked-off regular-season play in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the seventh consecutive season. Leading the Penguins in scoring through 6 games is: (C) Erik Christensen (3g-7a=10pts). Jeff Deslauriers and Andrew Penner have shared the goaltending duties to date. In three games, Deslauriers is 3-0 with a sparkling 1.67 GAA and a .937 save percentage. Penner has a record of 2-1 with a 2.93 GAA and a .875 save percentage. Notables: Kris Newbury led all scorers with four points (0g-4a=4pts) in the only two all-time meetings between these teams. The Marlies were 2-0 versus Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season. Former Penguin, and current Maple Leaf, Jean-Sebastien Aubin earned both victories in goal for the Marlies, including the lone road shutout in franchise history last March 3rd. He allowed only Guillaume Lefebvre's first period tally in winning 3-1 at Ricoh five days prior. Aubin was the first-star in both meetings. Toronto is one of four Western Conference opponents (Manitoba, Hamilton and Rochester) the Penguins will face this season. The teams conclude their 2006-07 regular-season series when they meet in Pennsylvania on December 15th.

CCM/VECTOR AHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE
For the week ending October 22nd, 2006, the Toronto Marlies have nominated right wing Brad Leeb for consideration as the CCM/Vector AHL Player of the Week. Leeb earned at least one point in each of the team's three games last weekend. He gave Toronto a 1-0 lead with a shorthanded tally on Friday at Hamilton before scoring on the powerplay and adding an assist on Erik Westrum's eventual game-winner later that night. He was recognized as the game's first-star. This week's award was ultimately won by Chicago's Darren Haydar.
MARLIES ON THE WEB Follow the Marlies all season long on their official web site, torontomarlies.com

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
Friday, October 20
Toronto Marlies defeat Hamilton Bulldogs 5-4
Marlies Goals: Leeb (PP, SH, 1a), Murphy (1g, 1a), Corey (1g), Westrum (1g, 1a) (GW)
Bulldogs Goals: Roy (PP, 1a), Lapierre (1g), Locke (PP, 1g)
Shots on Goal: Marlies 33, Bulldogs 33
Penalty Minutes: Marlies 34, Bulldogs 20
Goaltender (saves): Marlies - Tellqvist (29 sv, 4 ga)

Bulldogs - Danis (28 sv, 5 ga) Three Stars: (1) Brad Leeb TOR, (2) Erik Westrum TOR, (3) Corely Locke HAM Attendance: (4,017 at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton)
Saturday, October 21
Rochester Americans defeat Toronto Marlies 3-1
Marlies Goals: Leeb (PP)
Americans Goals: Hunter (1g), Stafford (1g) (GW), Stewart (EN, 1a)
Shots on Goal: Marlies 55, Americans 24
Penalty Minutes: Marlies 6, Americans 14
Goaltender (saves): Marlies - Pogge (21 sv, 3 ga)

Americans - Dennis (54 sv, 1 ga) Three Stars: (1) Adam Dennis ROC, (2) Brett Engelhardt TOR, (3) Kris Newbury TOR Attendance: (3,777 at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto)
Sunday, October 22

Toronto Marlies defeat Peoria Rivermen 4-3
Marlies Goals: Murphy (PP), Westrum (PP), Tlusty (1g, 1a), Colaiacovo (PP, 1a) (GW)
Rivermen Goals: Linglet (1g, PP), Whitfield (PP)
Shots on Goal: Marlies 25, Rivermen 34
Penalty Minutes: Marlies 21, Rivermen 29
Goaltender (saves): Marlies - Tellqvist (31 sv, 3 ga)

Rivermen - Bacashihua (21 sv, 4 ga) Three Stars: (1) Carlo Colaiacovo TOR, (2) Charles Linglet PEO, (3) Mikael Tellqvist TOR Attendance: (2,468 at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto)

MARLIES NOTES

** The Marlies scored two shorthanded goals in a game for the first time in team history on Friday night at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. Brad Leeb opened the scoring with his first goal of the season to give Toronto a 1-0 lead. With the game tied 4-4 in the third period, Erik Westrum scored the team's second shorthanded marker of the night with what stood up to be the game's winner.

** Maple Leafs currently on conditioning stints with the Marlies, (D) Carlo Colaiacovo and (G) Mikael Tellqvist had solid weekends in helping the team earn four of a possible six points. Tellqvist went 2-0 as Toronto won at Hamilton on Friday then defeated the Rivermen at Ricoh on Sunday. Colaiacovo earned an assist on the team's first goal on Friday (+2) while he scored what turned out to be the game's winner (and added an assist) in Sunday's first-star performance versus Peoria.

** Second year pro Colin Murphy has recorded points in three of his four games since returning from injury and currently sits third in team scoring with five points (three goals, two assists). Murphy recorded 34 points (16 goals, 18 assists) in only 53 games as an AHL rookie last season. His 16 goals ranked sixth on the team.

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