FIRST ROUND SUMMARY
- Toronto faces Belleville today in the final game of the First Round best-of-three series following Toronto’s win on Apr. 26. Toronto is 5-3 in the final game of a series and 13-11 in a game where they can be eliminated from the playoffs.
- Toronto tied the First Round series against Belleville in a 4-3 overtime win on Friday. Dylan Gambrell scored the overtime goal, his first career game-winning goal in a playoff game. Dennis Hildeby stopped 31 of 34 shots. Joseph Blandisi (1-2-3), Kyle Clifford (1-1-2) and Marshall Rifai (1-1-2) picked up multi-point games.
- Toronto is 15-7 overall in overtime and 11-2 at home. Gambrell’s overtime goal at 50 seconds is the second fastest in franchise history. Colin Greening scored 45 seconds into overtime on Apr. 26, 2017.
- In Game 1 on Apr. 24, Belleville defeated Toronto 3-1. This was the first time in franchise history that Toronto and Belleville had faced each other in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- Rifai opened the scoring with his first career playoff goal in the first period. Cameron Gaunce and Zach Solow recorded assists. Hildeby stopped 35 of 38 shots in his first career AHL playoff start. He was 9-3-4 when facing 30 or more shots this season.
| MARLIES PLAYOFF LEADERS*Amongst active AHL players Goals 2(M. Rifai) Assists 2 (J. Blandisi, Z. Solow) Points 3 (J. Blandisi, M. Rifai) PPG 0 (None) Shots 5 (D. Gambrell) +/- +3 (D. Gambrell) PIMS 15 (K. Clifford) |
QUICK QUOTE
| JOSEPH BLANDISIon what’s needed in Game 3: | Just a lot more of the same (from Game 2). I think the energy we started with tonight. Rolling four lines, you need to use everybody. It’s going to take 20 men and it might take more than 60 minutes, we know that. So, we’ve just got to stay levelheaded through the ups and downs and we’ll like the result we get. |
MARLIES PLAYOFF HISTORY vs. BELLEVILLE SENATORS
All-Time Record: 1-1 (2 Games)
All-Time Home Record: 1-0 (1 Games)
All-Time Road Record: 0-1 (1 Games)
MARLIES REGULAR SEASON HISTORY vs. BELLEVILLE SENATORS
All-Time Record: 38-30-8-0 (76 Games)
All-Time Home Record: 17-15-6-0 (38 Games)
All-Time Road Record: 21-15-2-0 (38 Games)
2022-23: 8-4-0-0
Last Road Win vs. Opponent: Feb. 16, 2024 (Toronto 4 vs. Belleville 3)
MARLIES / BELLEVILLE – 2023-24 REGULAR SEASON TEAM STATS
| TORONTO | BELLEVILLE | |
| Goals For Per Game: | 3.46 (2nd) | 2.90 (24th) |
| Goals Against Per Game: | 3.06 (19th) | 2.93 (14th) |
| Power Play %: | 19.3 (11th – T) | 18.2 (16th) |
| Penalty Kill %: | 84.2 (4th – T) | 79.3 (25th) |
| Shots For Per Game: | 30.71 (9th) | 28.93 (25th) |
| Shots Against Per Game: | 27.51 (4th – T) | 30.47 (21st) |
| (AHL rank in parenthesis) | ||
FIRST ROUND RECAP
| APRIL 24, 2024: Toronto 1 vs. Belleville 3 GAME SUMMARY         |          GAME SHEET TOR Goals:M. Rifai BEL Goals:Z. Ostapchuk, T. Kleven, J. Currie Goaltender:D. Hildeby (35/38) L – TOR, M. Sogaard (16/17) W – BEL TOR PP:0/2; BEL PP: 0/2 Shots:38-17 – BEL APRIL 26, 2024: Belleville 3 vs. Toronto 4 (OT) GAME SUMMARY         |          GAME SHEET TOR Goals:J. Blandisi, K. Clifford, M. Rifai, D. Gambrell BEL Goals:D. Sebrango, G. Pilon (2) Goaltender:D. Hildeby (31/34) W – TOR, M. Sogaard (24/28) OT/L – BEL TOR PP:0/3; BEL PP: 2/4 Shots:34-28 – BEL |
