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 then Viktor Neuchev scored the 4-3 overtime winner. Alex Nylander was foiled for Toronto moments earlier.
That stunned more than 8,000 fired-up fans at Coca-Cola Coliseum who were primed to celebrate a second American Hockey League title in eight years. Now it’s on to Friday at the same locale, with the Wolves trying to take it back home for Games 6 and 7.
Early Marlies Jitters and Quick Response
Early Marlies jitters on Thursday saw the Wolves’ Bradly Nadeau strike with a first-minute goal on Chicago’s first shot, but there was a quick response. Jacob Quillan backhanded a puck between his legs in the blue paint on the power play and Alex Steeves buried his own rebound on a 3-on-2. It was Toronto’s first power-play goal in 10 tries during the final, and just Quillan’s second goal of the playoffs after missing time with an upper-body injury.
Villeneuve Makes AHL History
William Villeneuve’s assist on Steeves’ goal gave him 18 this postseason, tied for the fourth-most in a single season in AHL history. Cayden Primeau faced 21 shots in the period. In the next frame, Toronto killed a 48-second 5-on-3 before Dakota Mermis sent Ryan Tverberg flying in for a flick to make it 3-1.
Chicago’s Comeback
But Toronto couldn’t cash in on a late second-period power play after Chicago was assessed a bench minor, and Chicago, the affiliate of the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, scored twice before the third was six minutes old. After a goal by defenceman Domenick Fensore, Justin Robidas, son of former Leaf Stéphane Robidas, revved up and swept around Artur Akhtyamov’s cage for a wraparound.
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. Before the game, Chicago coach Spiros Anastas declared he was coming back with Primeau in Game 4 as “a great professional with a great pedigree. He’s been paramount to our success, and we trust that he can win Game 4.”
The Wolves won twice on the road when facing elimination in the Western Conference final, beating Colorado in Games 6 and 7. “Now there might be an advantage for us. Now we’ve got nothing to lose,” Anastas added. “Max pressure, 60 minutes. You’re either going to win or lose, that’s it. Everyone’s counting us out, so maybe that lets us play a little more freely.”
