Marlies Relegate Monsters to North Division Basement

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While the Toronto Maple Leafs (2-7-5) battled Friday night to stay out of the NHL’s bottom spot, the far more successful Toronto Marlies (6-3-1-1) found themselves fighting their own battle against the Lake Erie Monsters to stay out of the bottom slot in the AHL’s North Division.

The manner in which Toronto’s Maple Leafs and Marlies won was also similar. Both clubs fell behind early in the game only to battle back for the win without the need for extra time.

Though Lake Erie scored first, they were not able to capitalize on any of their seven powerplays, including five in the first period alone.

The Monsters lost the lead as Hanson scored with under four minutes remaining in the middle frame.

The assist by Mike Zigomanis on Hanson’s goal extends his point streak to six games, the beginning of which marked his first game with the Toronto club. Zigomanis would also lend a helper to Ryan Hamilton’s game winning goal, giving three Marlies a multi-point night with both Hanson and Stalberg registering a goal and an assist.

Zigomanis, Hanson, Stalberg and Hamilton are all among the Marlies top five scorers. Tlusty, being the fifth, was left pointless and ended the game a -1.

The Monsters were given their final two opportunities with the extra man during the third period as the Marlies’ Evans and Hamilton both spent time in the box. This was the second minor penalty for a careless Evans in the game, bringing his penalty minute total to an alarming 57 in this early season.

Down two goals with under two minutes remaining the Monsters pulled goaltender Weiman in exchange for the extra attacker. The 4,857 in attendance at the Quicken Loans Arena, affectionately called “The Q”, were given one last breath of hope as Lake Erie’s Stoa scored with 14.5 seconds remaining.

But much to the disappointment of the players and fans alike, the Monsters would not tie it up thus taking sole possession of the bottom spot in the North Division.

Seven points separate the Marlies from the North Division’s top seeded Rochester Americans. Toronto’s AHL club will look to cut that difference to five as they travel to Rochester tomorrow for a 7:05pm game. As always, you can follow John Bartlett on twitter (@bartsbytes) or listen to his game coverage online at http://www.torontomarlies.com .