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The Toronto Marlies recorded their 20th victory of the season (20-5-0) by completing a weekend sweep on the road in Laval.

The two road wins extended Toronto’s streak to six straight victories away from home.

With a third of the season now in the books, Toronto is on pace to surpass the points total (114) set by the franchise record setting class of 2015-16. After falling one shy of creating a new franchise record for consecutive victories, Toronto has won four straight and could again tie the record if they manage to remain perfect during the upcoming three-in-three weekend.

Special teams played a pivotal role in the Marlies‘ success last weekend.

The power play struck twice in both games, taking the season tally to 24, which is top five in the American League. Toronto’s power play still has some improving to do, but it has now climbed to 16.8% and the Marlies continue to lead the league in power play opportunities drawn.

The penalty kill went a perfect 10 for 10 and remains at top of the AHL at 90.4%.

For game-by-game breakdowns, highlights, notes, and quotes from the dressing room:


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– An excellent weekend for Calvin Pickard saw him register his seventh consecutive victory, improving his record to 8-2-0 with a .935 save percentage.

– Sheldon Keefe expects Garret Sparks, who “tweaked something” in Friday’s game, to not miss any more time. They may, however, decide to give Pickard two starts over the weekend as a precautionary measure.

Sparks and Pickard are one-two in goals against average in the AHL and second and third in save percentage, behind only Manitoba’s Michael Hutchinson.

Kasperi Kapanen responded to two games without a point by recording two goals and an assist over the weekend. He was a standout player in all three facets of the game. With a little more luck around the net, he could have scored a hat-trick on Saturday. Thoroughly deserving of his recent NHL recall.

– For much of the first third of the season, Kerby Rychel has been as cold offensively as the current weather in Toronto. He’s begun to heat up of late, however, registering three assists against Laval to give him eight points (2-6-8) in his last seven games.

Chris Mueller recorded his third multi-point game of his last eight outings. A lone goal was his first game winner of the season. He leads the Marlies in assists (14) and is tied for the lead in team scoring (19 points) with Andreas Johnsson.

– Speaking of Andreas Johnsson, the Swedish winger returned from suspension on Saturday and scored his 10th goal of the season. He’s tied for the team lead in that department with Ben Smith, who also reached double figures with an empty netter on Saturday. Smith and Johnsson are tied for 18th in the AHL in goals.

– A first multi-point haul for Travis Dermott took his season tally to 11, moving him ahead of Justin Holl as the Marlies leading scorer on the blue line. He’s currently riding a five-game point streak (2-4-6) but saw a six-game shot streak end in Saturday’s outing.

– Not only did Jeremy Bracco finally score his first professional goal but he also grabbed a second multi-point haul in his last three games. One of the most improved players up until this point, he’s beginning to reap the rewards of Toronto’s slow and steady approach to his development.

Mason Marchment is out injured and it appears to be of the long-term variety, with sometime in January bandied about as earliest possible return.

– With Kapanen’s recall and Marchment’s injury, the Marlies have recalled two players from Orlando Solar Bears. Martins Dzierkals and Jean Dupuy are fifth and third, respectively, in Orlando scoring and haven proved themselves key cogs in the Solar Bears recent turnaround in results.

Cal Heeter was recalled to back up Calvin Pickard for the second game in Laval and has since been reassigned to Orlando.


Orlando Solar Bears News

The Orlando Solar Bears have almost clambered their way back to .500 (10-11-4) after their run of poor early form. They took five of a possible eight points this past week and moved up a spot to fifth in the South Division.

Two victories over Cincinnati were followed by a hard-fought overtime loss to Kalamazoo. Most recently, they fell in regulation to the currently red-hot Fort Wayne Komets.

Jean Dupuy led the way in scoring with seven points (2 goals, 5 assists) and is riding a four-game point streak. Dupuy leads the team in even strength points (15).

Kristian Pospisil (3-1-4) and Martins Dzierkals (0-4-4) both recorded four points this week, while Joshua Winquist added a goal and two assists and remains at the top of team scoring (24 points).

Cal Heeter was the starter for both wins, extending his win streak to three since getting pulled after 20 minutes vs. Jacksonville.


Toronto Marlies Player Stats – December 14

NameGPGAPTS+/-PIMPPGPPASOGGWGPTS/G
Johnsson, Andreas2210919727444720.86
Mueller, Chris2551419-612483610.76
Smith, Ben2510818134013230.72
Timashov, Dmytro258816319324730.64
Rychel, Kerby255813-223355620.52
Aaltonen, Miro243101368135210.54
Kapanen, Kasperi*16841218423710.75
Soshnikov, Nikita*145712810024100.86
Marchment, Mason185712719043820.67
Greening, Colin2557121121023020.48
Dermott, Travis2329111234024000.48
Holl, Justin2137101110004700.48
Liljegren, Timothy1618968133200.56
Rosen, Calle18088-26045100.44
Nielsen, Andrew22088354022500.36
Moore, Trevor22527-38103210.32
Marincin, Martin16257138102500.44
Bracco, Jeremy1315618021800.46
Gauthier, Frederik1622462201510.25
LoVerde, Vincent2013454011900.2
Brooks, Adam1902220001500.11
Clune, Richard1110101900800.09
Valiev, Rinat12011-21200900.08
Paliotta, Michael2000-1000100

Toronto Marlies Goalie Stats – December 14

NameGPWLSO+OTLSOShots/GameGAASAV%
Sparks, Garret151130227.51.68.942
Pickard, Calvin10820026.11.77.935
Kaskisuo, Kasimir11000271.963