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Bulldogs overpower Marlies at ACC

December 27, 2011 in Marlies News, Marlies Report 0

Ben Scrivens
Dec. 26: Marlies 3 vs. Bulldogs 6

Goaltender Ben Scrivens struggled against division rivals
Marlies scorers: D’Amigo (8), Colborne (11), Hamilton (11)
Bulldogs scorers: Fortier 2 (5), Schultz (2), Palushaj (5), DeSimone (7), Engqvist (7)
Links: Box Score | Discussion boards

Forward lines:Mueller-Colborne-Scott, Hamilton-Zigomanis-Mitchell, D’Amigo-Acton-Caputi, Wilson-Caruana, Neuber
Defence pairings: Blacker-Holzer, Engel-Finger, Mikus-Gysbers
Goaltenders: Scrivens (Loss, 57:53 minutes played, 24 saves, 5 GA), Rynnas (0:00), empty net (1 GA)

Recap:
When the Toronto Marlies vaulted to a 3-0 lead over the Hamilton Bulldogs in a Boxing Day matchup at Air Canada Centre, the home team appeared on their way to a blowout.

Instead, the rivals from down the Queen Elizabeth Way responded by finding an extra gear, responding with six unanswered goals – including an empty-netter – on route to a 6-3 Hamilton win.

“A different team came on the ice,” said Marlies coach Dallas Eakins. “I thought we played so well in the first period, and we were dictating the game. We were dominating the game. I think we thought Hamilton was going to roll over and die. But these games are 60 minutes long, and Hamilton did not roll over and die.”
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Maple Leafs make training camp cuts

September 25, 2011 in Blogs, Latest Leafs Updates, Marlies News 0

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced Sunday that the hockey club has reduced its training camp roster by 14 players.

The following players have been assigned to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League:

Forwards: Luca Caputi, Joe Colborne, Jerry D’Amigo, Ryan Hamilton, Marcel Mueller, Kenny Ryan, Greg Scott, Mike Zigomanis
Defencemen: Jesse Blacker, Jeff Finger, Simon Gysbers, Korbinian Holzer, Juraj Mikus
Goalies: Mark Owuya

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Blue And White Beat: McKegg in tough to crack World Junior lineup

September 12, 2011 in Blogs, Blue And White Beat, Prospects News 0

Blue And White Beat: McKegg in tough to crack World Junior lineup

Erie Otters forward Greg McKegg prefers to focus his efforts on his present-day skill sets as a participant in the Toronto Maple Leafs rookie tournament, rather than ponder over whether he’ll make the grade for Canada’s entry at the 2012 World Junior tournament.

No one though could blame the St. Thomas, Ontario native if the aspiration sinks in his mind for more than a fraction of a second.

“You try to put that into the back of your head, but it’s tough.” said McKegg following his one-goal, two-assist effort in the Leafs rookies 5-1 win over their Pittsburgh Penguins counterparts on Sunday night.

Fresh off a 49-goal campaign for the Otters during which he collected 92 points in just 66 games, McKegg was one of only two Leafs draft picks invited to this summer’s Team Canada development camp, with defenceman Stuart Percy being the other.

The 19-year-old centre flashed his creativity on a highlight breakaway goal in the third period, performing a forehand to backhand deke before sliding the puck underneath helpless Penguins goaltender Maxime Lagace. Earlier in the game, McKegg’s cross-ice pass to Mitchell Heard resulted in a one-time shot for a 4-on-3 power-play goal that held up as the game-winner by Heard.

“You can see the skill sets that he has,” said Toronto Marlies assistant coach Jim Hughes of McKegg, the Leafs third-round draft choice in 2010. “He puts up big numbers in the OHL. If you give him a look, he’ll take full advantage of it.”

As with every Canadian entry at the IIHF Under-20 Tournament, the competition for one of the twelve forward positions will be fierce. Five forward are eligible to return from last year’s edition, looking to avenge their colossal collapse in Buffalo at the hands of Team Russia: Brett Connolly, Sean Couturier, Quinton Howden, Ryan Johansen and Jaden Schwartz.

Also in the mix are Memorial Cup rivals Devante Smith-Pelley of the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors and tournament MVP Jonathan Huberdeau of the champion Saint John Sea Dogs.

Finally, if first overall NHL draft pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins doesn’t crack the Edmonton Oilers lineup as his predecessor Taylor Hall did last year, he’ll certainly be leaving his Red Deer Rebels for two weeks to play in the junior tournament being held in nearby Edmonton and Calgary.

Depending on your perspective, this is either the third U-20 tournament being staged on Canadian soil in four years, or fourth consecutive one if you considered the border to extend just past the arena in Buffalo for a fortnight last winter.

With Canada anxiously frothing at the mouth to end a two-year gold medal drought, Canadian teenagers will be waiting by their phones with the anticipation of Ralphie opening a Red Ryder BB gun when coach Don Hay and his staff set the roster in December.

“(It’s what) every Canadian kid hopes for at Christmas time”, said McKegg. “It’d be a pleasure to get that call.”

Rob Del Mundo is the author of Blue And White Beat, and is a regular columnist at TMLfans.ca

Follow TMLfans.ca on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmlfansrob

Zigomanis returns for another year

July 12, 2011 in Blogs, Marlies News 0

The Leafs announced Tuesday that the club has resigned Mike Zigomanis to a one-year contract.

Zigomanis was the leading scorer last season for the Toronto Marlies of the AHL, collecting 47 points in 64 games.

The 30-year-old Toronto native also appeared in eight games with the Maple Leafs in 2010-11, picking up one assist.

On Monday former Leafs/Marlies player Christian Hanson signed a one-year deal with the Washington Capitals.

TMLfans.ca Marlies Report: Team eliminated from playoffs

April 4, 2011 in Blogs, Marlies News, Marlies Report 0

By Rob Del Mundo

The Toronto Marlies weren’t quite mathematically out of the AHL playoff race when the final horn sounded at Ricoh Coliseum on Sunday afternoon following the team’s 3-2 loss to the Manitoba Moose.

However, the death knell for Toronto’s post-season aspirations came a few hours later when Peoria defeated Milwaukee 4-3. The Marlies cannot finish higher than fourth in the North Division, and would lose a tiebreaker to the current fifth-place team in the West, Oklahoma City, who would advance in place of Toronto due to the crossover rule.

Even though the Marlies hadn’t been officially ousted when their Sunday game ended, the dressing room mood was still sombre, as the squad skated to their fourth straight defeat, and 8th loss in their past nine games.

“We have a great group of guys, and we all work really hard,” said Alex Foster who is winding down his first full season as team captain. “Even until the last game today, we were hoping to still win it; we were hoping to win out.”

Every American Hockey League team experiences high turnover, and the Marlies will not garner – nor do they expect – sympathy from their opponents. Yet when the Leafs’ third line consists of Nazem Kadri, Darryl Boyce and Joey Crabb, and the parent club’s starting goalie is a rookie phenom named James Reimer, it’s difficult to envision the Marlies’ elimination from post-season contention this early with those players available in their lineup.

“If you look at the Leafs roster, we have eight or ten guys that started (with the Marlies) and are up there now,” said Foster. “I know that happens around the league, but that’s a tough situation.”

Head coach Dallas Eakins, while not offering the loss of talent to the NHL as an excuse, acknowledged the obstacle. “I think (the lack of success) has a lot to do with the number of players in and out of our lineup,” said Eakins. “I think at the beginning of the season I sat out five healthy forwards, one night. And now, we’re bringing up guys from other leagues.”

The team plays its final road game of the season on Wednesday in Lake Erie before closing out the year with a weekend homestand against Rochester and Abbotsford.

Looking ahead to next season, plenty of focus will be placed on the prospects acquired by Brian Burke in two separate February deals – centre Joe Colborne and defenceman Jake Gardiner. Colborne scored his 20th goal of the season (split between Providence and Toronto) on Sunday. “It’s nice, it’s definitely something to be proud of,” said Colborne on reaching the milestone. “But, it’s frustrating when it comes in a losing effort.”

As for Gardiner, coach Eakins believes that skating is the strongest part of the University of Wisconsin graduate’s repertoire. “This kid can move on his feet. I think everyone here today saw that. I think that when any player coming of amateur hockey can really move his feet, it’s really going to help him in the pro game,” said Eakins.

Quick Hits:
• The Marlies are fifth in the North Division with a record of of 35-31-1-10 (81 points).
• The top scorers are Mike Zigomanis (14 goals, 33 assists, 47 points), Nazem Kadri (17-24-41), and Christian Hanson (13-21-34).
• Joe Colborne (40 AHL points) and Fabian Brunnstrom (35 AHL points) have compiled most of their scoring with Providence and Texas, respectively, and have fewer points as Marlies.

Quick Quotes:
• “I feel like the last handful of games, we’ve been outplaying the teams, and we just haven’t been getting the bounces. We’re probably averaging a goal and a half, or two goals, a game for the past 10 games,” – Alex Foster.
• “Special teams have been our biggest obstacle. When games are as tight as they are nowadays, especially coming down the stretch, everyone knows that every game is so important. There’s not many mistakes out there, that means you have to take advantage whenever you are on the power-play, and we haven’t done that.” – Joe Colborne. The Marlies are 1-for-17 on the power-play over their current four-game slide.
• Eakins on goalie Ben Scrivens, who has started 15 consecutive games since March 1. “He’s been good. He came into training camp, was open-minded, and he was the guy that had to go to Reading (Royals, ECHL). He went down and he worked very hard at it. I know that (Leafs goalie coach) Francois Allaire has worked a lot with this young man this year, and Ben Scrivens loves working with him. Allaire is a great teacher and Scrivens is a great learner. Once again, we have hard decisions with our goaltenders”

Rob Del Mundo is the author of the TMLfans.ca Marlies Report, and is a regular columnist at TMLfans.ca

Follow TMLfans.ca on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tmlfansrob

Marlies announce Clear Day list

March 8, 2011 in Marlies News 0

All 30 AHL teams including the Toronto Marlies have released their Clear Day Period list.

Only players listed on a team’s Clear Day roster are eligible to compete in the remainder of the 2010-11 AHL regular season and in the 2011 Calder Cup Playoffs, unless emergency conditions arise as a result of recall, injury or suspension.

Teams may also add signed junior players or players on amateur tryout contracts (ATO’s), only after their respective junior or college seasons are complete.

The Marlies goalies for the rest of the year will be Ben Scrivens and Jussi Rynnas. The only player currently playing for the Maple Leafs listed on the Marlies Clear Day list is defenceman Keith Aulie.

Link: TheAHL.com

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