Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
The Toronto Marlies are sitting on the edge of the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Tonight, they have a chance to open the Eastern Conference Finals.
The back-to-back wins put the Marlies up 2-0 in the series in their best-of-seven game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Michael Pezzetta he was the late game hero both times, scoring 1:36 into Game 1 in a 4-2 win before his overtime goal in Game 2 gave the Marlies a 2-1 win.
The Marlies return home for Game 3 tonight after a week on the road. They closed out the North Division finals in Cleveland before heading to Wilkes-Barre. Life at the Coca-Cola Coliseum was good for the Marlies, who clinched their best-of-three round-robin series with the Rochester Americans by taking a decisive Game 3 in Toronto. Against the Laval Rocket, they split their home games in the semi-finals. They then entered Game 4 of the Cleveland series at home needing a win to stay alive, and they got it with a tight 5-2 decision.
The team that finished in fourth place in the North Division, this Marlies team is still going as the calendar will enter June. And in an unexpected postseason when all four regular-season division winners are done for the summer, it’s the young Marlies who are still playing. A rookie forward Easton CowanGoal ‘s with 11.3 seconds to the regulation was completed in Cleveland. After spending the season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, his Calder Cup Playoff title has produced nine points (five goals, four assists) in 14 games. The protector Ben Danfordcoming straight out of the Ontario Hockey League to join the Marlies during the Cleveland streak, he has quickly settled in with the head coach. John Grudenthe group.
It’s time for significant change for the Leafs, and those changes will definitely affect the Marlies.
Brought to you by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment John Chayka as the new Leafs general manager on May 3. Joining Chayka was a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and a former Leafs captain Mats Sundinwho is the team’s new senior advisor for hockey operations. More changes came to the fore today as MLSE added Judd Brackett as an assistant manager of player testing and former AHL Freddie Hamilton as chief of staff.
Chayka has already taken the Marlies personally as his evaluation process begins to unfold.
And tonight brings the next challenge to those hopes. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton finished third overall in the regular season and has a strong top-to-bottom line. The Penguins’ speed and transition play always tests opponents, and the Marlies can expect something to improve in Game 3. The visitors are trying to avoid a 3-0 series hole. They will become even more desperate.
Learning to manage games and series is part of the Calder Cup Playoffs. That preparation and the ability to start the breakdown and frustrate the opponent are more opportunities for growth. The Marlies have a chance to add a few more pages to their lesson plan this week in Toronto.
In the American Hockey League for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams and currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the league’s top scorer in 2016.
