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Dallas Eakins’ certainly had the Toronto Marlies firing on all cylinders tonight as they are the first to defeat the Abbotsford Heat, one of two new franchises to the AHL, in regulation time. A 60 minute battle that can not be described any better than “truculent” ended in a score of 3-1 helping the Marlies break a three game win-less streak.
Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager, Brian Burke, has discussed openly, honestly and frequently his desire for a truculent team. It seems this request has found root in the minds of more than just the players congregating at the Air Canada Centre, but also with the many prospects currently on the Marlies. Toronto registered a season high 66 minutes in penalties including Hamilton’s 17 minute contribution that came second only to Rogers’ 19 minutes in the sin bin. A total of 101 penalty minutes were handed out through the match, ten of which were fighting majors.
One can easily assume that a team collectively “disposed to fighting”, “fierce” and “agressively hostile” (all terms used to described truculence) would be dasterdly void of talent. The Marlies would like to disagree – or at least Dale Mitchell. The speedy winger’s, and recent OHL graduate’s, first professional goal came during the opening period and would later stand as the game winner.
Christian Hanson demonstrated a balanced approach to team truculence. Hanson’s goal and two assists did not prevent him from bringing “the foil” as he dropped the gloves early into the middle frame.
Adam Munro gained his first win of the season with 36 saves on 37 shots, including 33 in the latter two periods, earning him the game’s third star. Munro was recently signed to a professional try-out contract and continues to prove his value to the Toronto AHL franchise, though he so far has avoided engaging in a battle of fists.
Jiri Tlusty earns his fourth goal in five games, and the newest member of the Marlies, Mike Zigomanis, finished the game with two assists.
The Toronto’s Marlies will try to improve their fourth place position in the North division when they conclude the back-to-back set with Abbotsford Wednesday night. Game time is 10:30EST and can be followed online at the http://www.torontomarlies.com or http://www.fan590.com
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