Marlies week of Nov 3

The Marlies won both games this past weekend and improved their home record to 4-1-1-0. Mike Zigomanis is currently riding a five-game point streak and tallied three assists on Sunday against Penguins.

Opponents This Week:

(Nov. 6): The Marlies will begin their six-game road trip in Cleveland against the Lake Erie Monsters, AHL affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche, at the Quicken Loans Arena on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. The two teams will face-off eight times this season, with four of those meetings in November. Last season, the Marlies went 3-5-0-0 against Lake Erie, and were 1-3-0-0 at the Quicken Loans Arena. The Marlies hold an all-time regular season record of 9-6-0-1 against the Monsters. The game will mark the fourth contest in a five game home-stand for the Monsters. The Lake Erie Monsters currently sit seventh in the North Division with a 6-6-0-0 record for 12 points. The Monsters have a perfect 5-0-0-0 record when taking the lead into the third period this season. Monster forwards Chris Durno, Brian Willsie and Philippe Dupuis were all recalled by the Avalanche last week. Durno led the Monsters last season with 18 goals. Forward Darren Haydar, a native of Milton, Ontario, currently leads the team in scoring with 10 points (four goals, six assists). Haydar won the AHL’s Most Valuable Player award for the 2006-07 campaign, leading the league with 122 points (41 goals, 81 assists) in 73 games. Goaltender Tyler Weiman has a record of 4-4-0 with a 2.01 goals-against average and 0.929 save percentage with one shutout so far this season.

(Nov. 7): The Marlies continue their road trip on Saturday night when they head to Rochester to face the Americans, AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers, at 7:05 p.m. at the Blue Cross Arena. This will be their third of eight meetings this season and the second in Rochester. The Marlies have dropped both games against the Amerks this season. In their most recent matchup, the Marlies gave up a 3-0 first period lead, eventually losing 4-3 in overtime. During the 2008-2009 season, the Americans finished in seventh place in the North Division with a record of 29-43-0-8 for 66 points. Rochester is currently the best team in the AHL with a record of 9-1-1-0 for 19 points. Rochester’s eight game winning streak is the longest in the AHL this season. The Americans remain unbeaten at home in regulation this season (5-0-1-0). Rochester’s power play ranks fifth in the AHL with a 21.0% success rate. The Americans power play at Blue Cross Arena clicks at 32.3%, second best in the league. Last season the Marlies played eight games against the Amerks, compiling a 6-1-1-0 record, and were perfect against them in Rochester. The American Hockey League announced on Monday that goaltender Alexander Salak was named the goalie of the month for October. Salak began his AHL career with a 6-0-0 mark in seven appearances, a 1.66 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage, helping the Americans to the best record in the league during the month. Toronto native, Kenndal McArdle was named the 2008-09 Connors & Ferris Comeback Player of the Year. Former Vancouver Canucks defenceman Rory Fitzpatrick is the captain of the Amerks.

MARLIES HEADLINES:

The Past Week: The Marlies opened the weekend with a 3-0 shutout victory over the Adirondack Phantoms on Friday night at Ricoh Coliseum. Joey MacDonald made 19 saves for his first shutout as a Marlie and Ryan Hamilton scored two goals, including the game winner. On Sunday, Viktor Stalberg’s four point night led the Marlies to a 4-2 victory over the W-B/Scranton Penguins. Christian Hanson netted the game-winning goal with six minutes remaining in regulation to break a 2-2 tie. James Reimer, making this third start of the season, made 34 saves for the victory. The Marlies currently rank sixth in the North Division with a record of 5-3-1-1 for 12 points.

Another Brick in the Wall: Joey MacDonald picked up his first shutout of the season on Friday night in the Marlies 3-0 win over Adirondack. MacDonald made 19 saves in the game for his second win in two starts this season. He currently holds a record of 2-0-0 with a 0.96 goals-against average and 0.962 save percentage. MacDonald was reassigned by the Maple Leafs to the Marlies last Thursday. The Pictou, Novia Scotia native appeared in 49 games last season with the New York Islanders, earning a record of 14-26-6 with a 3.37 goals-against average and 0.901 save percentage.

Gettin’ Ziggy With It: Mike Zigomanis has recorded at least a point in every game with the Marlies since signing a PTO contract on October 19. Over the weekend he registered five assists in two games to extend his point streak to five games. In five games this season, he has registered 10 points (10 assists), with four multi-assist games. Zigomanis ranks second (tie) in the AHL in assists. The Toronto, Ontario native played in 22 games last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, collecting six points (two goals, four assists) and 27 penalty minutes. Zigomanis has skated in 189 career NHL games with Carolina, St. Louis, Phoenix and Pittsburgh.

Jiri Back At It: Jiri Tlusty was reassigned by the Maple Leafs to the Marlies on Sunday. Tlusty made his Maple Leafs season debut last Friday night in Buffalo. He ranks first (tie) on the Marlies in points with 10 (six goals, four assists) and is currently riding a four game assist streak and has a goal in three straight games. Tlusty has recorded at least a point in six of his past seven games. He’s notched a team-high, four multi-point games so far this season. Tlusty currently ranks 10th in the American Hockey League in goals. Last season he ranked second on the team and 19th in the AHL with 66 points (25 goals, 41 assists).

Hanson Catching Fire: Christian Hanson currently ranks fifth (tie) in the American Hockey League in rookie scoring with 10 points (four goals, six assists). Hanson is tied for first on the Marlies in points and power play goals. On Sunday afternoon he scored the game-winning goal with six minutes remaining in the third period to propel the Marlies to a 4-2 win over the Penguins. It was Hanson’s second goal of the game and was named the second star of the night. Hanson also ranks tied for first on the Marlies in multi-point games with four.

No Stalling For Viktor: Viktor Stalberg has made a big impact with the Marlies since he was reassigned by the Maple Leafs last week. On Sunday, Stalberg recorded a point on all four Marlies’ goals in their 4-2 victory. His four point (two goals, two assists) contest is a team-high for points in a game this season. In two games with the Marlies this season he has five points (two goals, three assists) with a plus-three rating. Stalberg skated in eight games with the Maple Leafs to start the 2009-10 regular season. He collected his first career NHL point (assist) in his debut on Oct. 1 vs. Montreal.

Hammer Time: Ryan Hamilton has notched at least a point in two of his past three games and currently ranks fourth on the club with seven points (four goals, three assists). On Friday night versus Adirondack he was the game’s first star for his two goal performance. Hamilton’s first period tally held up to be the game-winner in Toronto’s 3-0 shutout win over the Phantoms. The Oshawa, Ontario native has two multi-point games this season and five two-goal games in his professional career.

Multi-Point Games: Jiri Tlusty, Christian Hanson and Mike Zigomanis are all tied for the team lead with four multi-point games this season. The Marlies had four different players record multi-point games over the weekend in their two victories. Zigomanis recorded back-to-back multi-point games over the weekend. Viktor Stalberg set a Marlies season high with his four point (two goals, two assists) effort on Sunday afternoon.

Multi-Point Games

Tlusty 4
Hanson 4
Zigomanis 4
Hamilton 2
Deveaux 1
Slaney 1
Berry 1
Stalberg 1

Reading Report: The Toronto Maple Leafs ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals currently rank second in the East Division with a 4-2-1-1 record for 10 points. The Royals won all three games last week. Stefano Giliati had his six-game point snapped on Sunday. Giliati ranks first (tie) in the ECHL in points with 14 (six goals, eight assists). He ranks first on the Royals in goals (six), assists (eight) and points (14). Joe Ryan scored his first goal of the season on Thursday night against Toledo and currently ranks second on Reading with 19 penalty minutes. Beau Erickson won his first two starts of the season for the Royals. Goaltender Andrew Engelage was loaned to Reading from Toronto (AHL) on Monday afternoon.

Welcome Back: The Toronto Marlies opened their 2009-10 season at Ricoh Coliseum on Sunday, October 4 against the Hamilton Bulldogs with a 3-2 shootout victory. Kyle Rogers and Ben Ondrus each scored for Toronto and Andre Deveaux notched the shootout winner. Joey MacDonald was solid in net, earning second star honours, making 32 saves in the victory. In total, the Marlies will play five home games and four road games during the month of October.

Behind The Bench: The Marlies have a brand new coaching staff this season. Dallas Eakins was named the head coach of the Toronto Marlies on August 4, 2009. Eakins previously served as the Director of Player Development for the Toronto Maple Leafs last season. Gord Dineen and Derek King will both be behind the bench as Eakins’ assistants. Dineen spent the 2008-09 as the head coach with the Iowa Chops. King returns to the organization after playing 161 games for the Maple Leafs from 1997 to 2000 during which he scored 45 goals and 53 assists for 98 points.

Making Their Debut: The Marlies dressed nine new players in their home opening game against the Hamilton Bulldogs on October 4. Defensemen Brendan Mikkelson, Carl Gunnarsson, Brennan Evans and Juraj Mikus; forwards Richard Greenop, Greg Scott, Christian Hanson and Tyler Bozak and goaltender Joey MacDonald all made their Marlie debuts.

MARLIES QUICK HITS:

– Greg Scott recorded his first career AHL point (assist) on Friday night versus Adirondack.

– The Marlies will play their next six games on the road and will play seven of their next eight games against North Division opponents.

– Todd Perry notched his first point (assist) of the season on Friday night against the Phantoms.

– The Marlies loaned goaltender Andrew Engelage to their ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals on Monday afternoon. Engelage made his first career AHL start in Rochester on October 16 against the Americans.

– Brennan Evans currently ranks first in defenceman penalty minutes with 53 in the AHL.

– Mike Zigomanis leads the Marlies with a plus-five rating.

Reebok/AHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE

For the week ending November 1, 2009, the Toronto Marlies nominated forward Mike Zigomanis for consideration as the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week. Zigomanis recorded five assists in the two Marlies games (both wins) over the weekend. On Sunday, he helped set up three of the Marlies four goals in their 4-2 win over the W-B/Scranton Penguins at Ricoh Coliseum. Since joining the Marlies on October 19, he’s recorded at least a point in each game. He’s currently riding a five-game point streak (10 assists). Zigomanis ranks tied for first on the team in points and multi-point games (four). The North York, ON native ranks fourth in the AHL in assists with 10.

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, November 21 vs. Grand Rapids Griffins – Movember/Boy Scouts Night
Sunday, November 22 vs. Lake Erie Monsters – Leafs Practice Day
Wednesday, November 25 vs. Lake Erie Monsters – School Day Game at 11:00 a.m.

MARLIES RECAP:

Friday, October 30 vs. Adirondack

Marlies Spook Phantoms 3-0 at Ricoh Coliseum
Marlies Goals: Hamilton 2 (4), Mikus (2),
Phantoms Goals: None
Three Stars: 1. Hamilton (TOR), Zigomanis (TOR), MacDonald (TOR)

Recap: The Marlies returned home after a short three-game road trip on Friday night and knocked off the Phantoms 3-0. Joey MacDonald made 19 saves for his first shutout of the season and his first as a Marlie. Ryan Hamilton netted two goals, including the game-winning tally for his first multi-goal game of the season. Mike Zigomanis tallied two assists to improve his scoring streak to four games. Viktor Stalberg made his Marlies season debut and added a helper after being reassigned by the Maple Leafs on Thursday. Greg Scott registered his first career AHL point with an assist on Hamilton’s second goal of the night.

Sunday, November 1 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

Marlies March Past Penguins Late in Third Period
Marlies Goals: Hanson 2 (4), Stalberg 2 (2)
Penguins Goals: Wallace (3), Bayda (6)
Three Stars: 1. Stalberg (TOR), 2. Hanson (TOR), 3. Caputi (W-B/S)

Recap: Viktor Stalberg’s four-point night and Christian Hanson’s game-winning goal with six minutes remaining in the third period was enough for the Marlies to down the W-B/Scranton Penguins, 4-2, on Sunday afternoon. Hanson scored his first of two goals of the game mid-way through the first period on the power play. After the Penguins tied the game in the second period, Stalberg put the Marlies back out in front 2-1 six minutes later. Pens’ forward Ryan Bayda knotted the game back up at 2-2 late in the second period with a shot that beat Marlies starting goalie James Reimer. The Marlies won it with a goal by Hanson late in the third period. Mike Zigomanis collected his third assist of the night on the game-winning goal. Stalberg added an empty net tally for his fourth point of the night. Reimer made 34 saves in the victory and the Marlies power play went an impressive 2-for-4.

COMING THIS WEEK BOX OFFICE REPORT

Fri., Nov. 6 Toronto Marlies at Lake Erie Monsters 7:30 pm Quicken Loans Arena  TICKETS 216-420-0000
Sat., Nov. 7 Toronto Marlies at Rochester Americans 7:05 pm Blue Cross Arena     TICKETS 585-454-5335

All start times are listed in Eastern Time
Marlies home & away games broadcast on THE FAN 590, fan590.com or torontomarlies.com
Watch Marlies home games this season LIVE on Rogers TV Cable 10 in Toronto and 63 in Scarborough.

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