“I thought we came out with the right mindset. The resilience of our group — to bend, but not break — is such a credit to our guys, with the way they handle themselves when our backs are against the wall.”
– John Gruden
“We’re never out of the fight.”
– Vinni Lettieri.
“We always believed in each other.”
– Logan Shaw
Trailing 2-1 with five minutes remaining, the Toronto Marlies‘ season appeared to be winding to a close. What followed was a fairytale finish to the game, consisting of three parts: The Captain stepped up with the tying goal; The Marlies‘ MVP, Artur Akhtyamov, kept Cleveland at bay as the Monsters responded with a big offensive push; Easton Cowan scored the game-winner in the dying seconds to punch the Marlies‘ ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Said Gruden: “How can you not be excited about what just happened in those last five minutes!?”
First Period
There was drama from the outset as Easton Cowan was the recipient of a high stick just three seconds in. The Marlies struggled to set up, generated nothing with the extra skater, and Artur Akhtyamov needed to be alert against Jack Williamson on a shorthanded partial breakaway.
Outside of the wasted power play, the Marlies were sharp and driving most of the play. That was until the six-minute mark, when the Marlies paid the price for a sloppy line change. Easton Cowan, jumping off the bench, tried to track back on Zach Aston-Reese but couldn’t cover, creating a 3v2 situation. The former Toronto forward took a pass from Luca Pinelli in stride and finished into the roof of the net.
Aside from killing off a roughing penalty, the Marlies continued to drive the play and looked likelier to score next. They deservedly tied the game up with seven minutes remaining, giving the Monsters a taste of their own medicine in the process.
While Vinni Lettieri took a nice pass from Dakota Mermis and rounded the net, Logan Shaw was battling out front in the crease, holding his ground by Zach Sawchenko’s right post. Lettieri spun out the side of the net as Shaw, leaning on his defender in front, made it difficult for Sawchenko to guard his near post. Despite Cleveland’s protestations about possible goaltender interference and a discussion among the officials, the tying goal stood.
The Marlies must have been disappointed to head into the intermission tied at 1-1, given the high-danger chances they generated. Alex Nylander couldn’t capitalize on two opportunities created by Jacob Quillan, and the Marlies captain was stopped on a good chance from the right circle.
Akhtyamov made a sharp double save on the dangerous Hudson Fasching in the final 90 seconds to keep the game level through 20 minutes.
Second Period
The middle frame began with four-on-four action following two penalties assessed after the first intermission buzzer. The only chance generated fell to Toronto a minute in, when Cowan’s pass split the Monsters’ defense, but Dakota Mermis couldn’t solve Sawchenko.
60 seconds later, Henry Thrun’s effort from the hashmarks was turned aside, and that would pretty much be the extent of Toronto’s attacking threat in the middle frame. Defensive-zone turnovers and poorly executed breakouts allowed Cleveland to build pressure. The Monsters’ relentless forecheck and cycling game took over as the Marlies spent too much time defending.
To Toronto’s credit, they didn’t implode and gave up only three high-danger chances. Considering how much the ice was tilted, it wasn’t a bad result. Fasching (x2) and Riley Bezeau were rejected by Akhtyamov as the Monsters were unable to convert at five-on-five.
It took a power play for Cleveland to make their domination count, after a bouncing puck got the better of Ben Danford, who was called for a trip that Roman Ahcan knew exactly what he was doing when drawing. After a contested puck on the wall squeaked out into the slot, Michael Pezzetta didn’t win the puck battle against Fasching, who broke in and slid one by Akhtyamov.
While they were second-best in the period, the Marlies squandered a golden chance to tie the game with three minutes remaining. Cowan carved out the opportunity for Lettieri, but the veteran forward shouldn’t have selected a pass with only Sawchenko to beat from the slot.
Third Period
In need of an early push, the Marlies instead stumbled out of the gates and could barely cross the red line successfully as Cleveland sat back and looked to counter. Akhtyamov came to the rescue at the three-minute mark with a double stop on Bezeau and Hunter McKown, a pair of saves that proved critical in hindsight.
Landon Sim attempted to turn the tide for the Marlies, drawing a penalty with his customary work rate and tenacity. The Marlies were unable to capitalize on that power play or on a second opportunity at the midway mark of the period.
With the game and series starting to fade away, the Marlies badly needed a spark. They mustered just four shots through 15 minutes, and the clock was ticking.
Attacking in transition, Henry Thrun drove the center lane as Lettieri surged down the right wing. Lettieri’s pass through the seam found Shaw alone in the left faceoff dot, where the Captain unleashed a one-timer that beat Sawchenko cleanly and tied the game at 2-2. A clutch moment of inspiration from the Marlies’ leader after so many years of playoff disappointment.
To Cleveland’s credit, they responded by pinning Toronto in the defensive zone in search of a late winning goal. Akhtyamov made five saves, including a pair of beauties, to stymie the dangerous Fasching.
With overtime looming, Jacob Quillan was the architect of a dramatic finish. He won a critical puck battle at the Marlies’ blue line to transition defense into offense and dished off to Cowan, who sent the puck behind the net. Quillan read the play, got to the puck first, and sent a reverse, no-look pass into the slot to Lettieri, who was alone in the slot but fanned on his initial shot as well as on the follow-up effort. Johnny on the spot at the back post, Cowan was the recipient of the loose puck to bury the series winner into an empty net.
There were just 11 seconds left on the clock when ‘Cowboy’ rode into town to send the Toronto Marlies into the Eastern Conference Finals, eliminating a team that had been the Marlies’ kryptonite in the not-so-distant past.
Post Game Notes
– Easton Cowan will receive deserved plaudits for going to the net and burying the game-winner, but overall, his performance needs to be better heading into the Conference Final. He’ll need to play faster and more directly, as he’s shaded toward slower build-up play and perimeter hockey too often. You can’t always outskill the opponent in the playoffs; he needs to pick his moments. In one sense, it could be viewed as a source of encouragement that he likely has another level to reach in the next series, as he sits at the bottom of the team with a -6 plus/minus through 13 playoff games. As the calibre of opponent ratchets up a notch against WBS, the Marlies will need Cowan’s best stuff.
– “Just” the 22 saves for Artur Akhtyamov, but he was unquestionably the team’s MVP in this series, posting a combined .922 save percentage. The Marlies simply aren’t moving on right now without him holding them in it when down 2-1 and after the 2-2 goal.
– Logan Shaw’s tying goal was his sixth of the postseason and second in as many games. After five games without a goal, Toronto’s Captain has delivered when the chips were down. Also stepping up among the leadership group, the Marlies’ leading playoff scorer, Vinni Lettieri (6G/7A), recorded a three-point night (1G/2A) in his best performance of the series. He was incredibly clutch in this game and in the third period.
– As per AHL PR, the Toronto Marlies join the 2002 Chicago Wolves and 2023 Coachella Firebirds as the only teams in AHL history to win three winner-take-all games in a single Calder Cup postseason.
– Game 5 lineup:
Forwards
Paré – Shaw – Lettieri
Cowan – Groulx – Tverberg
Quillan – Haymes – Nylander
Pezzetta – Johnson – Sim
Defensemen
Thrun – Rifai
Mermis – Villeneuve
Chadwick – Danford
Goalies
Akhtyamov
Hildeby
