TORONTO -- The Toronto Marlies lost the special-teams battle to the visiting Rochester Americans and that made all the difference. Victor Brazil . The Marlies surrendered two power-play goals and failed to score on six man-advantage opportunities en route to a 4-1 defeat in American Hockey League action on Saturday. "One of the keys we talked about in the dressing room was the special teams game," said Marlies coach Steve Spott. "They go 2-for-7 and were 0-for-6 and thats the hockey game. "The effort was there but ultimately our challenge is pure finishing around the net. We have to find ways to manufacture offence and it may not be pretty." Rochesters Luke Adam scored his seventh goal in seven games, and extended his goal-scoring streak to four games. Mike Zigomanis, Alexander Sulzer and Phil Varone -- with an empty-netter -- provided the rest of the Americans offence. Adam and Varone chipped in with an assist apiece for two-point games. The contest also marked Zigomanis return to Toronto, where he spent the previous four seasons with the Marlies before signing with Rochester last summer. "Theyve got some veterans over there, theyve got some offensive weapons over there that were good tonight," Spott said. "When you look at Luke Adam and how hes playing right now, hes a natural finisher and hes getting it done." With the victory, their third win in four outings, the Americans improved to 4-2-1 on the season. Matt Hackett was sharp in the Rochester goal, making 29 saves and surviving a penalty shot. The Americans netminder was the beneficiary of solid team defence in front of him, and also got some help from his goalposts. Toronto defenceman John-Michael Liles clanged one midway through the second period and again in the third, and Marlies defender T.J. Brennan hit the post on a penalty shot early in the third period. "Give Hackett some credit," Spott said. "Usually the goalie has to be your best penalty-killer and I thought he was excellent for them tonight." Spencer Abbott had the lone goal for Toronto, his first of the season, in front of 4,169 fans at Ricoh Coliseum. "I tipped one off the crossbar right before (scoring) and I missed an open net earlier, so I was thinking it might be tough to get that first one," said Abbott, who has eight assists in six games. "But it just squirted out and (Kevin) Marshall made a nice play a it was a tap-in." Toronto goalie Garret Sparks, making his second start of the season, had 25 saves in a losing effort. "He battled hard, he competed, I dont fault him on any of the goals," Spott said. "He was solid, he gave us a chance to win." The Marlies have dropped three of their past four games, scoring a total of six goals in that span, to fall to 4-3-0. "We have an elite group of defencemen here, weve got some offensively gifted defencemen, so the message is get pucks to the net and then the forwards have to get around the net," Spott said. "Theres some natural finish that you need to have, but we did a good job. We generated a lot, we had pucks around the net. a But ultimately we have to allow our power play to get us a goal every night because 5-on-5, its a struggle for us to score regularly." Adam opened the scoring on the power play when he whipped a high wrist shot from the right faceoff circle past Sparks glove at 16:09 of the first period, just four seconds after Torontos Tyler Biggs was sent off for holding. Zigomanis, with his third goal of the season, whacked a rebound over Sparks blocker at 7:12 of the second period. Sulzer made it 3-0 for the visitors when Adam fired a cross-ice pass which the Americans defenceman one-timed into the gaping net at 16:58 of the middle frame. After Brennans penalty shot hit iron early in the third period, Abbott deposited a rebound into the open net to put the Marlies on the scoreboard at 10:16 and Varone closed out the scoring with an unassisted empty-netter at 19:45. The Marlies visit the Hamilton Bulldogs on Sunday, while the Americans are off until next Friday when they host the Syracuse Crunch. Neymar Brazil Jersey . -- Michael Bennett gambled last off-season that playing on a one-year deal in Seattle would pay off in the future with the long-term contract he always wanted. Ronaldinho Brazil Jersey . -- Canadian Kevin Pangos had 18 points, Drew Barham matched his career high with 17 points off the bench, and Gonzaga beat Pacific 70-53 on Thursday night to clinch the outright West Coast Conference regular season title. TAMPA, Fla. -- Derek Jeter says the New York Yankees have no choice but to move forward now that Alex Rodriguez has accepted his suspension for the 2014 season. Rodriguez ended his extended and acrimonious fight with Major League Baseball on Friday, withdrawing a pair of lawsuits that were filed in an attempt to overturn a season-long ban for his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal -- the longest penalty in the sports history related to performance-enhancing drugs. Jeter spoke Monday at the Yankees minor league complex. He said he has texted with A-Rod since the lawsuits were dropped. Rodriguez was given a 211-game ban last year by baseball Commissioner Bud Selig that was reduced to 162 plus the 2014 post-season by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz. A-Rod sued MLB and the union in federal court in Manhattan, claiming the arbitration process was flawed. Rodriguezs lawyers filed notices of dismissal in both cases. "Hes not here for this season, so were going to have to find ways to win with the team that we have," Jeter said Monday at the Yankees minor league complex. "Its a complicated situation, but its pretty much played out. Thats what has happened." Rodriguez was given a 211-game ban last year by baseball Commissioner Bud Selig that was reduced to 162 plus the 2014 post-season by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz. A-Rod sued MLB and the union in federal court in Manhattan, claiming the arbitration process was flawed. Rodriguezs lawyers filed notices of dismissal in both cases. Hulk Brazil. Jeter has texted with Rodriguez since the decision to end the lawsuits came about. "Youd have to ask him how he feels about it, if hes glad that its over with," Jeter said. "Its a situation that he has to deal with. Now its over and its done with, and well move on from there. But youd have to ask him how he feels about that." Rodriguez will be 39 when eligible to return in a year. The Yankees owe him $21 million in 2015 and $20 million in each of the final two seasons of a record $275 million, 10-year deal. NOTES: Jeter, limited to 17-games last season after breaking his ankle during the 2012 AL Championship Series, started his fourth week of on-field work. ... RHP Michael Pineda, a fifth-starter candidate sidelined the past two years by a right shoulder injury, is throwing off a mound. "Im feeling 100 per cent right now, and my body is in perfect shape," said a trimmed down 260-pound Pineda. "Everything is in the past. Im ready to go." ... C Francisco Cervelli, who broke his right hand April 26, and then was suspended for 50 games on Aug. 5 following MLBs investigation of the same Florida anti-aging clinic that ensnared Rodriguez, is also doing early work. "Last year was a disaster, and we just take the positives out of everything for being a better person and a better player," Cervelli said. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '