Toronto Marlies Conquer the Iowa Wild

The Toronto Marlies conquered the Iowa Wild this weekend. A 7-2 victory on Saturday, followed by a 2-1 victory on Sunday. At least one Toronto hockey team has something to cheer about. After losing four straight games, this weekend was a positive sign for the Marlies.

Defenseman Noah Chadwick started the weekend off with his first goal of the season. Goaltender Artur Akhtyamov got the start for both games and played exceptionally well. Head coach John Gruden should be proud of how this team responded after its four-game losing streak. He stated that the 4-0 loss to the Belleville Senators on November 19th should be a wake-up call, and it appears it was.

Toronto Marlies Weekend Recap

On Saturday, during a game titled Mascot Mayhem featuring the team’s mascot, Duke the Dog, and many of his friends. Duke and his mascot friends made their way through the crowd, giving out high fives, hugs, taking pictures, and signing autographs. On the ice, the Marlies themselves put on quite the show.

After Bo Groulx found Chadwick for the opening goal 78 seconds into the first period, Chadwick returned the favor a couple of minutes later, and the Marlies had a 2-0 lead within the game’s first four minutes. Toronto scored four goals in the first, and never looked back. Akhtyamov stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced. A nice 7-2 victory to lift everyone’s spirits.

The Marlies went 2-for-4 on the power play and killed off all five penalties. Toronto is 4-1-0-1 when scoring on the power play this season. Other highlights from the game include William Villeneuve registering his 100th career AHL point, Travis Boyd having his fourth multi-point game of the season, and team captain Logan Shaw scoring his 25th career AHL game-winning goal. He now sits tied for fourth all-time in goals (67) with Joseph Blandisi.

Toronto Wins a Close Game on Sunday

Following his great performance on Saturday, Marlies goaltender Artur Akhtyamov stopped 36 of the 37 shots he faced. He now has a 6-3-0 record this season with a 2.56 GAA and a 0.914 SV%. Defenseman William Villeneuve opened the scoring for the Marlies at 5:19 of the first period. With 11 points in 17 games, many are wondering when the struggling Maple Leafs will give the 23-year-old a call-up to the NHL.

For the second straight game, the Marlies did not give up a short-handed goal. However, they did fail to score on any of their three power plays. Blake Smith registered his first goal at the pro level on Sunday. The 21-year-old defenseman is playing in his first pro season. Smith played with the Flint Firebirds and Oshawa Generals in the OHL for the past four seasons.

Toronto still has some areas of its game that need improvement, but they’ll take the two wins and move on. Next up for the Marlies is a matchup against the Providence Bruins on Wednesday, November 26th, at Coca-Cola Coliseum. The AHL Bruins are 13-3 in 16 games this season. So, it will be a tough test for the Marlies.