The Toronto Marlies wrapped up their two week road-trip on a high after winning all three games against North Division rivals. Ten points out of the six games on the road places the Marlies right back in the playoff picture.

The Marlies outshot opponents 117-78 and comprehensively won the special teams battle over the three games. The powerplay and the penalty kill both went to work on 12 occasions, with the man advantage scoring three times and the PK staying perfect.

Without Brendan Leipsic and Kasperi Kapanen, Toronto has managed to find some secondary scoring while benefiting from the addition of Seth Griffith. 17 players registered at least a point and there were eight different goal scorers over the three games.

The current four-game win streak — which equals their best of the season thus far — has seen the Marlies claw their way back to .500. Toronto now sits fifth in the North Division, a single point behind Utica and three back of St. John’s with a game in hand on the IceCaps.

Game Summaries

Toronto Marlies 2 vs. Rochester Americans 1

Toronto has struggled against their cross-border rivals this season but managed to break a three-game losing streak at Blue Cross Arena with a thoroughly deserved 2-1 victory last Wednesday.

A rough ice surface hindered both teams but the Marlies adapted better. Seth Griffith and his linemates of Byron Froese and Trevor Moore set the right tempo from the first shift before Griffith tipped in a shot from Travis Dermott to open the scoring less than four minutes into the game.

Rochester tied the game up with the first shot of the second period as Hudson Fasching beat Sparks one-on-one after a fantastic defense-splitting pass from Brady Austin.

Linus Ullmark single handedly earned the Amerks a point in this one — Toronto limited Rochester to just 16 shots through regulation while firing 37 at the Rochester goaltender.

A penalty taken by Kyle Bonis sent the Marlies on the powerplay in overtime, but they weren’t able to capitalize. Toronto faced just their second shootout of the season, having lost their first attempt in Albany in late October.

In the fourth round, Daniel Muzito-Bagenda put Rochester within one save of a victory but Kerby Rychel was coolness personified in extending the game. A piece of fortune earned Toronto the extra point as Colin Smith’s effort hit the post before bouncing into the net off of the back of Ullmark’s helmet.

Toronto Marlies 5 vs. St. John’s IceCaps 3

Toronto’s habit of slow starts resurfaced in this game. They allowed a goal just 90 seconds — one that Antoine Bibeau may want back — and were lucky not to trail further by the first TV timeout.

Outshot 10-0 by that point, some strong words on the bench produced the desired effect as the Marlies began to grow into the game. Two goals in 74 seconds were just reward for Toronto’s ample pressure and cycle play. Andrew Campbell scored his first of the season on a feed from Griffith before Rich Clune followed up with his second of the year, deflecting a shot from William Wrenn past Charlie Lindgren.

The Marlies continued to be the much better team during the second period but they gifted the IceCaps an an early 2-1 goal. Bibeau again wasn’t at his best, but there was also a hint of a kicking motion as Yannick Veilleux applied the final touch with his skate in the blue paint.

That goal might have sucked the life out of a fragile Marlies team in previous weeks, but Toronto responded right away by retaking the lead 34 seconds later. Viktor Loov blasted through traffic in front for his second goal of the season.

A slow start to the third period saw St. John’s tie the game at 3-3. Bibeau had made a host of excellent saves prior to, but he could do nothing about Ryan Johnston’s shot. Toronto’s goaltender then came up with a terrific save to deny Joel Hanley and keep the score level.

The Marlies never looked back from that point on. Their control over the game was rewarded when Andrew Nielsen slapped home a feed from Trevor Moore with six minutes remaining. Less than ninety seconds later, Toronto added an insurance marker courtesy of St. John’s native Colin Greening seventh of the season.

Toronto Marlies 4 vs. St. John’s IceCaps 0

It is notoriously difficult to win back-to-back games against the same opposition, but Toronto managed to pull it off on Saturday.

Special teams proved the difference despite the Marlies dominance at even strength throughout the encounter. The IceCaps were awarded a 5-on-3 powerplay for 80 seconds in the opening period and failed to register a single shot on goal. A later powerplay opportunity saw Garret Sparks deny Chris Terry before Toronto took full control of proceedings in the final five minutes of the opening frame.

That resulted in a brilliantly-worked goal, starting with a long outlet pass from Justin Holl. Byron Froese, Trevor Moore and Seth Griffith combined on a tic-tac-toe play finished off by Froese.

Seven minutes into the second period, Toronto doubled their lead — Dmytro Timashov finished off a play involving Brett Findlay and Colin Smith.

Charles Hudon struck the post and St. John’s came close on a following powerplay, but Sparks remained solid between the pipes to keep the IceCaps at bay through their best spell of pressure of the game in the second half of the middle frame.

Holding a 2-0 lead heading into the third, Toronto put the game out of reach on an early powerplay courtesy of Andreas Johnsson. After a fourth goal from Timashov seven minutes later added an exclamation point, the only question that remained was the matter of Sparks’ clean sheet. Toronto’s goaltender pulled off a fantastic save on a breakaway opportunity late on for Max Friberg to secure a well-earned shutout.

Player News

– Seth Griffith has been outstanding since joining the Marlies with two goals and three assists this past week. It easily could have been more.

– Afforded a better opportunity alongside more talented linemates, Trevor Moore has flourished of late. He is riding a four-game point streak with four assists over that span.

– Travis Dermott has picked up a helper in three straight games and is on the first points streak of his professional career. The rookie defenseman currently has one goal and 12 assists to his name through 30 games.

– Garret Sparks has now recorded four straight wins, improving his record to 9-5-0-3. A third shutout, his second of the road trip, moves his save percentage up to a sparkling .930.

– Dmytro Timashov struck twice on the powerplay against St. John’s on Saturday — his first brace of this season — and is enjoying the increased responsibility afforded to him by the coaching staff with Leipsic and Kapanen out.

– Andreas Johnsson‘s goal was his tenth of the year and also his 20th point of the season.

– Marc-André Cliche played his 400th AHL game on Friday and assisted on Andrew Nielsen’s game winner.

– Andrew Nielsen was a healthy scratch for the midweek Rochester game. It wasn’t about sending a message but rather a brief respite during a heavy schedule to work on some areas of his game in practice.

– Antoine Bibeau had lost all three starts against St. John‘s until Friday‘s victory. He was up and down in that game, but a first win since December 18 should come as a major relief.

– Having impressed throughout his rookie season in Orlando, Nikolas Brouillard was finally given his Marlies debut on Wednesday in Rochester. He looked comfortable in possession, reliable in his own zone, and nearly marked his first start with a goal if not for the post. Sheldon Keefe gave the rookie plenty of powerplay time and used him during overtime.

– Brouillard was since sent back to the Solar Bears and is now injured. Toronto has recalled him again, seemingly for the purpose of getting the defenseman properly assessed and on the right treatment plan moving forward.

– Shane Conacher has recovered from his injury and has been reassigned to Orlando.

– Long-time Carolina Hurricane Chad LaRose was signed by the Orlando Solar Bears last week, with the move seemingly initiated by Marlies GM Kyle Dubas. Drake Berehowsky (Orlando HC) also knows Larose’s agent quite well. It’s only an ECHL deal for now, but there could be an opportunity for Larose to pen an AHL contract depending on how he shows. The 34-year-old last played a professional game for the Charlotte Checkers in 2014-15.

Toronto Marlies Player Stats – January 31