AHL Toronto Marlies

Marlies Weekly

Published on November 14, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Toronto Marlies News Release


THE OPPONENTS:

MANCHESTER MONARCHS

The Marlies face the Manchester Monarchs - AHL affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings - in the first of four regular season meetings on Wednesday night at Verizon Wireless Arena. After continuing the trip with a stop in Springfield, Mass. on Friday evening, the Marlies return to New Hampshire for a Saturday afternoon contest. The Monarchs host a Western Conference opponent for the third time this season. They are 0-2-0 in those games. They were defeated 2-1 by Rochester on November 4th and fell by a 6-3 score to San Antonio four days later. Their current record of 5-5-2-1 sees them in fifth place in the AHL's Atlantic Division, one point behind fourth place Lowell in the chase for the division's final playoff spot. The Marlies will attempt to snap their three-game losing streak on Wednesday evening. Toronto was 0-2-0 in two home games at Toronto's Air Canada Centre last week, losing to Omaha (4-1 on Thursday) and Hamilton (2-1 on Saturday afternoon). The Marlies went 1-1 versus Manchester last season and won by a 6-4 score when last the teams met in New Hampshire on January 27th. Jeremy Williams had four points in the first period to lead the visitors' attack. Leading Manchester in scoring through 13 games is: (D) Peter Harrold (2g-10a=12pts) while (RW) Lauri Tukonen ranks first among all current players in goals with five. Jason LaBarbera has started 10 games for the Monarchs and has a record of 4-5-1 with a 2.83 GAA and a 0.911 save percentage. Notables: Assistant coach Jim Hughes returns to Manchester after leading the Monarchs to 43 victories and a third place finish in the Atlantic Division as head coach one year ago. A native New Englander, former Marlie Mike Hoffman will face Toronto for the first time this season on Wednesday evening. Wednesday night's game marks the Marlies' third contest versus an Eastern Conference opponent this season. The team is 0-1-1-0 following one-goal losses to the East Division's Hershey Bears and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Current Marlie Jeremy Williams leads the team in points versus Manchester with four (1g-3a=4pts) and played in only one of two games between the clubs last season. Former Monarchs Alexandre Daigle (2g-2a=4pts) and Marty Wilford (0g-4a=4pts) led Manchester in scoring versus Toronto last season. Daigle registered all four of his points in the lone game he played against the Marlies - March 31st -in a 6-1 victory at Ricoh Coliseum. The Maple Leafs acquired current Marlies' captain Marc Moro in exchange for Wilford and D.J. Smith in a trade with Nashville on March 1st, 2002.

SPRINGFIELD FALCONS

For the first time in franchise history, the Marlies will collide with the Springfield Falcons - AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning - when the teams meet on Friday evening at MassMutual Center. The Falcons represent the only opponent on the Marlies' 2006-07 schedule which Toronto did not face last season. Springfield currently ranks sixth in the AHL's Atlantic Division with a record of 6-8-0-0 and is one of three teams in the 27 team AHL without an overtime or shootout blemish to their record at this point in the season (Iowa & San Antonio are the other two teams). Toronto is the second of three (Rochester & Syracuse) Western Conference opponents for the Falcons this season. They opposed the Crunch on two occasions last year. The Falcons were defeated 5-4 by Rochester just under two weeks ago when the Amerks' Janis Sprukts scored a powerplay goal with 79 seconds remaining in regulation time to give the visitors the win. Leading the Falcons in scoring through 14 games is: (RW) Norm Milley (6g-11a=17pts). Rookie Karri Ramo has appeared in nine games with Springfield this season and has a record of 4-3-1 with a 3.29 GAA and a 0.895 save percentage. Notables: A former member of the Ontario Hockey League's Sudbury Wolves, Milley missed only nine games over a four year junior hockey career. The Toronto native had two 52 goal seasons and recorded 368 points (167 goals, 201 assists) with the Wolves. Falcons' defencemen Andy Delmore was named the AHL's Outstanding Defenseman last season when he led all league blueliners in goals (17), assists (55) and points (72) in 65 games with Syracuse last season. The MassMutual Center underwent a $71-million renovation which was completed prior to the Falcons' beginning the 2005-06 season. Springfield visits Toronto on February 3rd as the teams conclude their season series with a Saturday afternoon contest at Ricoh Coliseum.

CCM/VECTOR AHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE

For the week ending November 12th, 2006, the Toronto Marlies have nominated forward Brett Engelhardt for consideration as the CCM/Vector AHL Player of the Week. Engelhardt recorded an assist in Thursday's 4-1 loss to Omaha at Air Canada Centre. He was held pointless in Saturday's 2-1 defeat against Hamilton but led all players with seven shots on goal. He led all players with six shots on goal in Thursday's game while registering an even rating in plus/minus over the course of both games. This week's award was ultimately won by Portland's Zenon Konopka.

MARLIES IN THE COMMUNITY

In conjunction with Ontario Toyota Dealers, the Marlies' Goal is Fun program makes stops in Scarborough (Cedar Hill Minor Hockey) on Wednesday, in Cambridge (Cambridge Roadrunners Minor Hockey) on Thursday and in Aurora (Aurora Tigers Minor Hockey) on Saturday to promote hockey development for minor league players in a fun and exciting environment.

MARLIES ON THE WEB

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

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Thursday, November 9
Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights defeat Toronto Marlies 4-1
Marlies Goals: Murphy (1g),
Knights Goals: Boyd (2PP, SH), Ramholt (PP/GW)
Shots on Goal: Marlies 35, Knights 17
Penalty Minutes: Marlies 44, Knights 32
Goaltender (saves): Marlies - Pogge (13 sv, 4 ga)
Knights - McElhinney (34 sv, 1 ga)
Three Stars: (1) Dustin Boyd, OMA (2) David Moss, OMA (3) Curtis McElhinney, OMA
Attendance: (6,100 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto)

Saturday, November 11
Hamilton Bulldogs defeat Toronto Marlies 2-1
Marlies Goals: Leeb (PP)
Bulldogs Goals: Grabovski (PP, 1a), Milroy (PP/GW, 1a)
Shots on Goal: Marlies 43, Bulldogs 37
Penalty Minutes: Marlies 21, Bulldogs 17
Goaltender (saves): Marlies - Pogge (35 sv, 2 ga)
Bulldogs - Halak (42 sv, 1 ga) Three Stars: (1) Duncan Milroy, HAM (2) Justin Pogge, TOR (3) Mikhail Grabovski, HAM Attendance: (5,960 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto)

MARLIES NOTES

** Marlies' forward Erik Westrum has recorded points in 12 of the team's first 14 games, including an assist in Saturday's loss to Hamilton at Air Canada Centre. The Minneapolis native leads all Toronto players with 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) and is + 1 on the campaign.

** Marlies' rookie defenceman Jaime Sifers earned his fifth assist of the season in Saturday's loss to Hamilton. The Stratford, Connecticut native is second among all team defencemen in scoring with five points this season. Fellow American Chris Harrington (St. Cloud, MN) is first among defencemen and tied for third among all players with 10 points (three goals, seven assists).

** Marlies' goaltender Jean-Francois Racine backed-up former teammate Jean-Sebastien Aubin in the Maple Leafs' 5-1 win over Montreal on Saturday evening at Air Canada Centre. The Roxton Falls, Quebec native had seen NHL action during the 2005-06 exhibition season but this was the first time his name appeared on an NHL roster during regular season play.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 14, 2006


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