The Toronto Marlies can still win the Calder Cup at home, but it won't be with a broom. Twenty minutes away from a clean sweep of the Chicago Wolves on Thursday, the Maple Leafs' farm team gave up two early third-period goals and Viktor Neuchev's 4-3 overtime dagger at 3:18. Alex Nylander and Bo Groulx came close for Toronto moments earlier. That stunned more than 8,401 fired-up fans at Coca-Cola Coliseum primed to celebrate a second American Hockey League title in eight years. Now it's on to Friday at the same locale, the Wolves trying to take it back home for Games 6 and 7.
Coach Gruden's Confidence in Goaltender
Toronto coach John Gruden is certainly glad of the fast turnaround and was quick to assert belief in better things Friday. He made no secret that goaltender Artur Akhtyamov will stay in after Wolves coach Spiros Anastas suggested his team has solved the Russian to a degree after his 1-0 Game 3 shutout. "Artie doesn't understand English anyways," Gruden quipped. "I'm not out here pointing fingers, but we will be better for him tomorrow. He's been the best goalie in these playoffs (a .928 save percentage before four goals on 26 shots Thursday)."
Where It Went South
Gruden kidded that maybe his team can't help but make series interesting given they've already gone to four elimination games and won two in OT before Thursday. He just thought they were too tentative to open the third, missing a chance to go up three goals on the power play and could've cleared rebounds and traffic more efficiently. William Villeneuve had hoped to carry the Cup off the ice, but ended up with a takeout meal he brought to the interview room. After his 18th playoff assist on Luke Haymes' goal to put the Marlies up 2-1, moving him to fourth-most by an AHL defenceman in playoffs, his thwarted breakout pass was a factor in Neuchev's goal. "Unacceptable," Villeneuve said. "I have to be better, I have to move on. You don't see back-to-back in playoffs very often. But we didn't expect to win four (straight)."
Captain Logan Shaw predicted Villeneuve would recover the same way rookie forward Easton Cowan did in a game-costing giveaway earlier in playoffs, same for Akhtyamov. "We're all right, we're in good spirits," Shaw insisted. "You give us this position in March and we would've taken it. There's a lot of hockey to be played and you know the last win is the hardest. For us it's just managing our emotions and the puck."
Nadeau Scores First Goal
Early Marlie jitters saw Wolves' Bradly Nadeau strike on a first-shot opening-minute goal, but there was a quick response. Jacob Quillan back-handed a puck between his legs in the blue paint on the power play and Haymes buried his own rebound on a 3-on-2. It was Toronto's first power play goal in 10 tries during the final, just Quillan's second goal of playoffs after missing time with an upper body injury. Next frame, Toronto killed a 48-second 5-on-3 before Dakota Mermis sent Ryan Tverberg flying in for a 3-1 flick. But it couldn't cash a late second-period power play on a bench minor and Chicago, affiliate of the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, scored twice before the third was six minutes old.
After defenceman Domenick Fensore, Justin Robidas, son of former Leaf Stephane, revved up and swept around Akhtyamov's cage for a wraparound. Cayden Primeau, who began the season with the Leafs as Joseph Woll's short-term replacement, made 32 saves to keep his team in Thursday's match. "Arty's a hell of a goalie and we may have cracked him a bit today with our urgency around the net," Anastas said. The Wolves won twice on the road when facing elimination in the Western Conference Finals, beating Colorado in Games 6 and 7. "Our approach (Friday) is Game 7 mentality," the Toronto-born Anastas said. "We're perfect in elimination games (4-0) so it's Game 7. These games have been close (all one-goal or empty netters) so maybe we take another one and bring it back to Chicago."
