Marlies Update: A 3-0 start to the season

Oct 16, 2013

Steve Spott’s team is off to a surprising start (in a good way) to their 2013-14 season.

Here’s your update courtesy of the Marlies:

“The Toronto Marlies pushed their unbeaten streak to three games with a 6-3 victory over the St. John’s IceCaps, AHL affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets, on Saturday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum. After earning AHL Player of the Week honours for the period ending October 6, T.J. Brennan added his second hat trick of the season this week. John-Michael Liles, Wade MacLeod and Stefan Legein recorded the other Toronto goals.

Captain Trevor Smith and assistant captain Jerry D’Amigo each recorded two assists in the Marlies third victory of the season. Drew MacIntyre stopped 21 of 24 shots and currently sits tied atop the American Hockey League with three wins. Toronto went 2-for-7 on the powerplay and 5-for-7 on the penalty kill.

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Notes

– The Marlies announced this morning that the team has signed 34-year old centreman Jerred Smithson to a PTO. Smithson is a veteran of 588 NHL games split between Los Angeles, Nashville, Florida and Edmonton.
– David Broll, Josh Leivo and Trevor Smith all played their first game as a Maple Leaf this past week. For Broll and Leivo it was also their first NHL game
– Defenceman T.J. Brennan continues to lead the AHL in scoring with 10 points (7 goals, 3 assists). Brennan also leads the Marlies in goals (7), points (10), plus/minus (+5) and shots on goal (17)
– Toronto currently ranks 8th in AHL powerplay percentage (21.7%) and 16th (tie) in AHL penalty kill percentage (83.3%).
– The last time the Marlies started the season with three consecutive victories was 2007-08.
– Toronto ranks 1st (tie) in AHL goals scored (15).
– Wade MacLeod and Stefan Legein each registered their first goal since joining the Marlies

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What’s Next

The Marlies will take to the ice for a pair of games this coming week. On Friday night, Toronto travels to New York for their first road game of the season against the Rochester Americans, AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at the Blue Cross Arena. Friday marks the first time that the Marlies will square off against their all-time assist leader Mike Zigomanis. Luke Adam currently leads the Amerks with three goals.

Toronto will return home on Sunday afternoon for a 3 p.m. game against the Hamilton Bulldogs, AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens. Sunday will mark the first of 12 meetings between the two teams. Defenceman Greg Pateryn currently leads the Bulldogs in scoring with 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) in his first two games.”