The Toronto Maple Leafs‘ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, continues to prove they are an elite team this season, picking up five out of a possible six points over three games this week. From thrilling overtime finishes to a rare West Coast matchup, the team showed its ability to compete under adversity.
A franchise-record fifth-consecutive overtime game saw the Marlies rally back against the Hershey Bears, led by a clutch performance from Alex Nylander. They followed up with a commanding shutout win against the San Jose Barracuda, only to fall short in a rematch shootout.
With injuries and call-ups thinning their roster, unsung heroes like Sam Stevens and Zach Solow stepped up, while goaltenders Dennis Hildeby and Artur Akhtyamov kept their team in every game. Here’s how the week unfolded and what’s next for this determined Marlies squad.
Game One: Marlies 4, Hershey Bears 3 (OT)
The Marlies had their game go into overtime for a franchise record fifth time in a row. Hildeby allowed the first three goals in a game for his second start in a row and then settled down to shut out the opponent the rest of the way, allowing the Marlies to come back and tie the game. The last time that happened was last Saturday versus the Belleville Senators when the game went to a 12-round shootout before the Senators won the game when the 24th shooter put one past Hildeby. The Marlies came out on top this time when Nylander sent Nick Abruzzese in alone on Hershey goalie Hunter Shepard 47 seconds into the extra period. Abruzzese beat Shepard with a wrist shot glove side to complete the comeback.
Related: 5 Maple Leafs’ Surprises Driving Their Early Success
Goals by Mike Sgarbossa, Brennan Saulnier, and Luke Philp in the first period gave the Bears a 3-0 lead and they were skating circles around the Marlies. It appeared at that time that without Alex Steeves, Fraser Minton, and Nikita Grebenkin in the lineup, along with the injured Cedric Pare and Joseph Blandisi, the Marlies would be no match for the two-time defending AHL champion. They seemed resigned to their fate, and the score was 3-0 for the first 14 minutes of the second period. With 5:18 left in the second period, Solow batted a rebound of a shot by Sam Stevens past Shepard to give Toronto some life.
Then, with seven seconds left in the period, the Marlies dumped the…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Hockey Writers…