PREVIEW: HAMMERS, MARLIES MEET IN FIRST REGULAR-SEASON SHOWDOWN
Oct 3, 2026
The Hamilton Hammers (1-0-0-0) and Toronto Marlies (0-1-0-0), the AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, meet for the first of 10 regular-season meetings Saturday.
Following a historic night in Belleville on Friday, the Hammers wrap up their opening-weekend road trip with a 4:00 p.m. ET puck drop at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Fans can watch the game live on FloHockey.tv.
Here’s what you need to know:
PRESEASON REMATCH
Saturday’s matchup comes less than a week after the two clubs met in preseason action at TD Coliseum, where Season Ticket Members, package holders and partners had an exclusive opportunity to get an early look at the Hammers on home ice.
Hamilton carried a 4-2 lead into the third period before Toronto rallied to force overtime, with Logan Shaw scoring twice in the final frame to erase the Hammers’ two-goal advantage. The Marlies eventually claimed a 5-4 shootout victory.
Cam Berg, Daniil Prokhorov, Hunter Drew and Gleb Veremyev scored for Hamilton, while Josh Kotai stopped 14 of 16 shots over 40 minutes of action.
TAKING ON THE CHAMPS
The Hammers will face a Marlies team that enters the season as the defending champions. Toronto defeated the Chicago Wolves in five games in last season’s Calder Cup Final, with captain Logan Shaw and Vinni Lettieri combining for 20 goals and 43 points during the playoff run.
Prior to puck drop, the Marlies will raise a championship banner, and the Hammers will look to play spoiler.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT
The two clubs took different paths into Saturday’s matchup, with Hamilton opening its inaugural season with a win while Toronto looks to bounce back from a season-opening loss.
The Hammers made franchise history with a 5-2 victory over the Belleville Senators, led by Mitchell Chaffee’s three-goal performance. Chaffee scored the first goal in franchise history in the opening period before adding two more in the third to complete the hat trick.
Liam Foudy recorded three assists in his 200th career AHL game, while Vitek Vanecek stopped 25 of 27 shots to earn the first win in franchise history. Head coach Jay McKee also picked up his first AHL victory behind the bench and rookie defenceman Kashawn Aitcheson recorded his first professional point in his AHL debut.
Toronto opened its season with a 3-1 loss to the Rochester Americans. Henrik Rybinski scored the lone goal for the Marlies, while goaltender Samuel Hlavaj stopped 17 of 20 shots.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Hammers return to TD Coliseum next weekend for their inaugural Home Opener Weekend, hosting Toronto on October 9 and 11. Tickets are available now at HamiltonHammers.com.