THE ROCKET FALL SHORT TO MARLIES 2-1 IN OVERTIME

November 20, 2019November 20, 2019

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TORONTO (November 20, 2019) – The Rocket visited the Toronto Marlies and lost 2-1 (OT) to their archrivals on Wednesday night at Coca-Cola Coliseum. The Rocket demonstrated character after losing Alex Belzile near the end of the first period. Peppering netminder Michael Hutchinson with 33 shots, the Rocket were dominant from start to finish but couldn’t solve the veteran netminder.

“We played the way we wanted to play. I think we outplayed them, limited their chances and the chances they got were off breakdowns. That’s hockey. […] We’ll move on,” said Matthew Peca after the game.

With 9:34 left in the opening period, Peca notched his second goal of the season. Accepting a brilliant backhand pass from David Sklenicka in the offensive zone, the Petawawa, Ontario native skated in alone and defeated Hutchinson with a forehand deke.

The Rocket were down to 11 forwards after Alex Belzile was dangerously hit from behind along the boards by Garrett Wilson. Otto Leskinen valiantly came to his teammate’s defense, dropping the gloves against the Marlies forward. While the latter was handed a game misconduct, the Finnish defenseman missed 17 minutes of action due to penalties.

Early in the second period, Scott Pooley scored his first tally of the season, sending a snipe from the right faceoff circle past Charlie Lindgren to tie the game. After 40 minutes of play, the Marlies were limited to only eight shots on the Rocket netminder.

The visitors dictated the pace in the third period and generated several scoring chances. On the other end of the ice, Lindgren shut the door on a few high danger chances, including one on Matt Read alone in the slot. After 60 minutes of play, Laval outshot Toronto 28-19.

The Rocket continued to dominate in overtime, spending most of their time in their opponent’s end. However, former Rocket and Montreal Canadiens player Kenny Agostino scored on a spin-o-rama to give the Marlies the victory with 25 seconds left OT.

Marqueurs/Scorers

LAV: Peca (Sklenicka)

TOR: Pooley (MacMaster, Harpur) | Agostino (Liljegren, Bracco)

Unités spéciales/Special teams

LAV | AN/PP: (0/3) | IN/PK: (1/1)

TOR | AN/PP: (0/1) | IN/PK: (3/3)

Gardiens/Goaltenders

LAV: Lindgren (19/21) TOR: Hutchinson (32/33)

Trois étoiles/Three stars

1. Hutchinson – TOR 2. Agostino – TOR 3. MacMaster – TOR

THE ROCKET FALL SHORT TO MARLIES 2-1 IN OVERTIME

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