Toronto: V. Lettieri (6) (D. Mermis, W. Villeneuve), L. Shaw (6) (V. Lettieri, C. Paré), E. Cowan (4) (V. Lettieri, J. Quillan)
Goaltender: A. Akhtyamov (22/24) W
Cleveland: Z. Aston-Reese (2) (L. Pinelli, B. Gaunce), H. Fasching (4) PP (L. Pinelli, S. Svozil)
Goaltender: Z. Sawchenko (21/24) L
- Vinni Lettieri registered the secondary assist on Thrun’s third period goal. He also had the primary assists on Shaw’s and Cowan’s goals. He has 14 points (7 goals, 7 assists) in 12 games this postseason and leads the AHL in points.
- Logan Shaw scored at 15:30 of the third period to tie the game. He has 11 points (6 goals, 5 assists) in 13 games this postseason.
- Easton Cowan scored the game-winning goal at 19:48 of the third period. This was his first game-winning goal of the postseason. He has eight points (4 goals, 4 assists) in 13 postseason games.
- Dakota Mermis had the primary assist on Lettieri’s first period goal. He has six assists in 13 postseason games.
- William Villeneuve recorded the secondary assist on Lettieri’s first period goal. He has 11 points (1 goal, 10 assists) in 13 postseason games. Villeneuve leads the AHL in assists (10).
- Cédric Paré picked up the secondary assist on Shaw’s third period goal. He has six points (3 goals, 3 assists) in 13 postseason games.
- Jacob Quillan had the secondary assist on Cowan’s third period goal. He has six points (1 goal, 5 assists) in 13 games this postseason.
- Artur Akhtyamov stopped 22 of 24 shots he faced. He is 7-4-0 this postseason with a 2.18 goals against average and a 0.922 save percentage.
| TEAM NOTES Toronto advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals facing Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in a best-of-seven series beginning at Mohegan Sun Arena on Wednesday, May 27. Toronto returns to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2019. The Marlies will face the Penguins in the postseason for the first time in franchise history.The Marlies join the 2002 Chicago Wolves and the 2023 Coachella Valley Firebirds as the only teams in AHL history to win three winner-take-all games in a single Calder Cup postseason, per AHL PR.Toronto is 8-4 in winner-take-all games and 2-4 on the road.The Marlies hold an all-time record of 18-13 in elimination games.Toronto is 4-5-0 when not scoring first.The Marlies were 1-for-2 on the penalty kill and 0-for-3 on the power play. Toronto is 2-5-0 when not recording a power play goal and 6-2-0 when allowing a goal on the penalty kill.Toronto and Cleveland both recorded 24 shots. Vinni Lettieri led the Marlies with four shots on net. Toronto is 1-0-0 when recording the same number of shots as their opponent. |
| MARLIES LEADERS Goals 6 (V. Lettieri, L. Shaw) Assists 10 (W. Villeneuve) Points 13 (V. Lettieri) PPG 3 (V. Lettieri, L. Shaw) Shots 29 (A. Nylander) +/- +6 (C. Paré) PIMS 48 (M. Pezzetta) |
POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH JOHN GRUDEN
On today’s game:
How can you not be excited about what just happened and those last five minutes. I do believe it started from the first five minutes. We came out with the right mindset. We did a lot of good things. Of course, they’re going to have their moments but just the resilience of our group, our ability to bend and not break and never get to far straying from the task at hand. It’s such a credit to our guys. The way they handled themselves on the bench and the way they handle themselves when our backs are against the wall. I said it to them between periods, we bet on you guys with our backs against the wall and they perform. Man how exciting was that? So, that was pretty special.
On Logan Shaw:
(He) means a lot. This is Logan and I’s third year together and for me, he’s gotten to be a better all-around player and a better all-around leader. His leadership is second to none. What he brings with those guys. He’s another coach and the way he goes about his business and his demeanour. I can’t say enough good things about him and it’s pretty special. It’s fitting that he gets the game-tying goal and then their line with Lettieri and Cowboy with the game-winner. It’s just so much excitement and he’s been playing outstanding hockey.
On where Artur Akhtyamov’s performance made the difference in today’s game:
The biggest moment was when they scored that power play goal to go up 2-1. I thought we were carrying a lot of the play and then that last 10 minutes where they could have gone up two goals on a couple of breakdowns on our end, that was the difference to keep it to only a one-goal deficit going into the third. Because if we go down two, that’s going to be extremely hard to come back against a really talented, good hockey team. And that was the difference for me.
LOGAN SHAW (1 GOAL)
On the team’s comeback:
I think belief that we have in that room. I didn’t think (the game-winning goal) was going to happen in the last 10 seconds but that was our fourth elimination game and I’ve said it before, it could take 19 minutes to get this game tied up. We just play the right way the whole way through and we bend sometimes and we got away from our structure but we always believed in each other and right now we’re just playing for each other and for the guy next to us. We just have a lot of positivity and a lot of guys in that room who are willing to do everything to win. It took us 59 minutes and 50 seconds to get that one done but it felt good.
On his game-tying goal in the third period:
(Paré) made a great play in the neutral zone over to Vinni and I don’t know really how, I didn’t really get to watch it yet. I don’t how I was open. I was kind of just floating around the weak side and Vinni just put the puck over and as soon as it left my stick, I’m looking at the net and I could see it going in the whole way. It was a pretty cool feeling.
UPCOMING GAMES:
*All times Eastern Standard Time
Game 1 – Wed., May 27 at W-B/Scranton, 7:05 p.m.
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.
