Advertisement
Photo: Mike Ivall/kylethereport.com

We’re going to try to post regular Marlies updates as they embark on their Calder Cup bid. Here’s this week’s release from the Marlies:

“The Marlies collected a pair of victories over their three games last week. On Wednesday morning the Marlies skated to a 2-1 shootout victory against the Lake Erie Monsters. Greg Scott opened the scoring early in the first. Ben Scrivens made 18 saves, and stopped all four Lake Erie shootout attempts, earning first star honors. Ryan Hamilton and Joe Colborne both scored for the Marlies in the shootout.

On Saturday, the Marlies blanked the Monsters 1-0 in a shootout at Quicken Loans Arena. It was their second straight shootout win against the Monsters. Joe Colborne and Josh Engel both scored in the shootout. Ben Scrivens stopped all 36 shots for his fourth shutout of the season and was named the game—s second star.

Toronto dropped a 4-2 decision to the Texas Stars on Sunday at Ricoh Coliseum. Marcel Mueller and Greg Scott netted the two Marlies goals in the contest.

***

Notes:

– The Marlies are currently first in the North Division and second in the Western Conference with a record of 38-23-4-3 for 83 points.

– Ryan Hamilton leads all Marlies with 23 goals. Last week Ryan Hamilton made his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs against the New Jersey Devils. He also registered his first NHL point (assist) in the contest.

– Juraj Mikus leads all Marlies and is ninth (tied) in the AHL with a plus/minus of +20.

– Mike Zigomanis ranks seventh in the AHL with 41 assist. He is ninth (tie) in power play assists (19). He is also eight in the AHL in points and leads the team with five game winning goals this season.

– Ben Scrivens has posted a record of 20-14-1-1 with a 2.02 goals against average which currently ranks third in the AHL. He has also posted three shutouts over his past five games.

– Goaltender Jussi Rynnas is fourth (tied) in the AHL with three shutouts. He is currently with the Maple Leafs to replace the injured James Reimer.

– Mark Owuya has been recalled to the Marlies to replace Rynnas for the time being. Owuya has two shutouts in his last three games played for the ECHL’s Reading Royals.

– The Marlies are 26-9-2-3 when scoring first.

– The Marlies are 26-0-1-1 when leading after 40 minutes.

– The Marlies penalty killing unit ranks first overall in the AHL with an 88.1% success rate.

– The Marlies have only three home games remaining, Sunday April 1st vs. Grand Rapids, Saturday April 7th vs. Grand Rapids and Sunday April 8th vs. Hamilton.

-For ticket information, including 2012 Calder Cup Playoff tickets, visit marlies.ca or call the team—s ticket line at 416-597-PUCK (7825).

***

Upcoming Opponents:

The Marlies will travel to Blue Cross Arena on Friday to kick off a two-game series with the Rochester Americans. The Amerks are currently second in the North division and seventh in the Western conference with a record of 32-23-7-4. Phil Varone paces the club, and is seventh (tie) in rookie scoring with 47 points (nine goals, 38 assists). Goaltender David Leggio is fifth in the AHL in wins and first in the AHL with five shootout wins. Derek Whitmore leads all Rochester skaters and is eighth in the AHL in goals (25).

Toronto will host the Grand Rapids Griffins on Sunday at Ricoh Coliseum. The Griffins have won five of their last 10 games. Jamie Johnson leads all Griffins skaters with 53 points (20 goals, 33 assists). Defenceman Brendan Smith has four shorthanded points. Chris Minard is 11th (tie) in the AHL with a +16 rating. Joey McDonald is fourth (tie) in the AHL with three shutouts.”

Previous articleSpencer Abbott signs with Maple Leafs
Next articleGDT: Leafs vs. Flyers (7 p.m., TSN)
Alec Brownscombe is the founder and editor of MapleLeafsHotStove.com, where he has written daily about the Leafs since September of 2008. He's published five magazines on the team entitled "The Maple Leafs Annual" with distribution in Chapters and newsstands across the country. He also co-hosted "The Battle of the Atlantic," a weekly show on TSN1200 that covered the Leafs and the NHL in-depth. Alec is a graduate of Trent University and Algonquin College with his diploma in Journalism. In 2014, he was awarded Canada's Best Hockey Blogger honours by Molson Canadian. You can contact him at alec.brownscombe@mapleleafshotstove.com.