TORONTO — Alex Nylander scored two power-play goals as the Toronto Marlies defeated the San Diego Gulls 4-1 in AHL action on Thanksgiving Sunday at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
Nylander’s performance did not go unnoticed by the 3,792 fans in attendance, and certainly not by head coach Jon Gruden.
“You know he’s dangerous when he’s got time and space,” Gruden said after the game. “He has the ability to plug pucks in. He’s done that and that was good to see.”
Marlies goalie Artur Akhtyamov made 37 saves in his AHL debut, earning the No. 1 star and the player of the game belt from his teammates.
San Diego opened the scoring 4:35 into the second period as Tyson Hinds capitalized on a turnover in the neutral zone, firing a shot from the left faceoff dot over Akhtyamov’s shoulder.
Nylander answered for the Marlies later in the period with San Diego’s Rodwin Dionicio in the box for crosschecking, rifling a shot from the left faceoff circle into the top of the net to level the game 1-1 going into the second intermission.
The Gulls started off the third period with two penalties in the first 6:42, once again putting the Marlies on the offensive. It didn’t take long for Nylander to strike again, as he one-timed a pass from Roni Hirvonen out of mid-air to give Toronto the 2-1 lead.
Nylander nearly completed the hat trick in the third period on a nice solo rush, but was denied in close by Gulls goaltender Calle Clang, who made 23 saves in the loss.
Hirvonen provided the Marlies with some insurance just over a minute later when he hammered home a rebound off a shot from Jacob Quillan, and Alex Steeves iced the game with an empty netter to give Toronto its second consecutive win over San Diego on opening weekend.
The Marlies will next be in action when they fly out to face the Rochester Americans on Friday. The Gulls play their next game on Friday at home against the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
