Toronto: E. Cowan (5) (J. Quillan, R. Tverberg), W. Villeneuve (2) PP (C. Paré, L. Shaw), M. Pezzetta (2) (M. Johnstone, H. Thrun), L. Shaw (7) EN (H. Thrun)
Goaltender: A. Akhtyamov (34/36) W
W-B/Scranton: A. Alexyeyev (1) (M. Ilyin, H. Brunicke), R. McGroarty (3) (T. Broz, A. Alexyev)
Goaltender: S. Murashov (12/15) L
- Easton Cowan scored at 1:38 of the second period. He has nine points (5 goals, 4 assists) in 14 postseason games.
- William Villeneuve scored on the power play at 16:56 of the second period. He has points (1-2-3) in three consecutive games. Villeneuve has 12 points (2 goals, 10 assists) in 14 postseason games.
- Michael Pezzetta scored the game-winning goal at 18:24 of the third period. He has three points (2 goals, 1 assist) in 13 postseason games.
- Logan Shaw scored on the empty net at 19:13 of the third period and earlier registered the secondary assist on Villeneuve’s second period power play goal. He has points (2-3-5) in three consecutive games. Shaw has 13 points (7 goals, 6 assists) in 14 games this postseason and tied for the lead in points in the AHL with Vinni Lettieri.
- Jacob Quillan had the primary assist on Cowan’s second period goal. He has points (1-3-4) in three consecutive games. Quillan has seven points (1 goal, 6 assists) in 14 games this postseason.
- Ryan Tverberg recorded the secondary assist on Cowan’s second period goal. He has nine points (5 goals, 4 assists) in 14 postseason games.
- Cédric Paré picked up the primary assist on Villeneuve’s second period power play goal. He has seven points (3 goals, 4 assists) in 14 postseason games.
- Marc Johnstone registered the primary assist on Pezzetta’s third period goal. He has three assists in 10 postseason games.
- Henry Thrun recorded the secondary assist on Pezzetta’s goal and the lone assist on Shaw’s goal, both in the third period. This was his second multipoint game. He has eight points (1 goal, 7 assists) in 14 postseason games.
- Artur Akhtyamov stopped 34 of 36 shots he faced. He is 8-4-0 this postseason with a 2.17 goals against average and a 0.924 save percentage.
| TEAM NOTES Toronto is 5-5-0 when not scoring first.The Marlies were 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and 1-for-2 on the power play. Toronto is 6-0-0 when recording a goal on the power play and 2-3-0 when not allowing a goal on the penalty kill.Wilkes-Barre/Scranton outshot Toronto 36-16. Logan Shaw and Henry Thrun led the Marlies with three shots on net. Toronto is 5-4-0 when outshot by their opponent. |
| MARLIES LEADERS Goals 7 (L. Shaw) Assists 10 (W. Villeneuve) Points 13 (V. Lettieri, L. Shaw) PPG 3 (V. Lettieri, L. Shaw) Shots 30 (A. Nylander) +/- +6 (C. Paré) PIMS 50 (M. Pezzetta) |
POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH JOHN GRUDEN
On winning the first game:
It’s huge. I thought we played really in moments today. We still know how dangerous they are on their transition game. We got a little cute on a few shifts there but again, bend, don’t break mentality. When it matters the most, our group just finds a way to show up.
On special teams:
Mark Giordano did a really good job of finding a couple of things that we could exploit and they did exactly that. They got a good PK, they’ve been good in the postseason but at the end of the day when you get these opportunities because power plays are going to be few and far between, we’ve got to make them pay for those huge momentum swings and I thought our PK was outstanding as well. We had a couple of breakaways. The special teams, a lot of credit to Mike Dyck and Mark Giordano on those.
On William Villeneuve:
He moves the puck well and his decision making has been really good. It’s like a quarterback back there. You get a lot of pressure and it’s not what you give him, it’s what you leave. He’s making simple plays and doing a really good job of taking hits to make plays and he’s grown a lot in the playoffs. That’s really good to see. He’s a great kid, he’s a great teammate, he’s loved by his teammates. For him to have this type of success and keep playing is very big for our group.
MICHAEL PEZZETTA (GAME-WINNING GOAL)
On the energy heading into Game 1:
We were ready for the game. Conference Finals now if you can’t get excited for that, I think there’s a problem. So, we were just ready for the game. Tried to stick to our game plan and play a hard game. I think we had a pretty solid game.
On the game-winning goal:
Just great forecheck from (Johnson) and (Johnstone) and (Johnstone) found the wall there. He had a nice little slip play and it was nice to pot that one there. It’s fun playing with those guys. I love those guys. Just keep building.
On Marc Johnstone returning to the lineup tonight from injury:
He was definitely wanting to come back. The minute he got hurt, he was like, I’m coming back, just get me to the Conference Finals boys and I’m back in the lineup and that’s exactly what he did. It’s just a testament to him as a person and can’t say enough good things about him.
UPCOMING GAMES:
*All times Eastern Standard Time
Game 2 – Fri., May 29 at W-B/Scranton, 7:05 p.m.
Game 3 – Mon., June 1 vs. W-B/Scranton, 7:00 p.m.
Game 4 – Wed., June 3 vs. W-B/Scranton, 7:00 p.m.
*Game 5 – Fri., June 5 vs. W-B/Scranton, 7:00 p.m.
*Game 6 – Sun., June 7 at W-B/Scranton, 6:05 p.m.
*Game 7 – Tue., June 9 at W-B/Scranton, 7:05 p.m.
