The Toronto Marlies face the specter of a four game sweep in the Calder Cup Final after losing 1-0 to the Norfolk Admirals Thursday night on possibly the ugliest and most unfortunate overtime goal since Sergio Momesso’s blast from outside the blue line past Allan Bester in the 1990 Norris Division Semi-Final.
The Marlies got veteran Mike Zigomanis back in the lineup after a four game absence, but were forced to mix up their lines early on as rookie Spencer Abbott was injured early in the game and did not return.
Toronto were at their best in the opening twenty minutes, outshooting the visiting Admirals 11-6, but their best chance did not register on the shot clock, as Matt Lashoff rang one off the post behind Norfolk goalie Dustin Tokarski.
In the final two periods and in overtime, the best Marlie on the Ice was Ben Scrivens, who his club in the game with a number of key stops, including a great stop on Ondrej Palat’s shorthanded breakaway early in the middle frame.
Norfolk nearly took the lead with seconds remaining in the second as Tyler Johnson beat Scrivens, but the shot hit the same post as Lashoff’s blast earlier in the game.
The Admirals buzzed around the Toronto zone for most of the third, outshooting Toronto 10-3 and had a glorious opportunity to win the game in regulation, as defenseman Mark Fraser took a holding penalty with less than five minutes to go, but the Marlies penalty killers were up to the task.
Norfolk gave Toronto's power play a chance to redeem themselves, taking a bench minor for too many men 1:12 into overtime, but they were again unable to generate a good scoring chance, going 0-6 on the night and 1 for 20 in the series.
The winning goal came at 9:02 of overtime, as Admirals defenseman Mike Kostka shot the puck high off the glass into the Toronto zone. As Scrivens headed behind the net, the puck hit a stanchion and headed parallel to the goal line. Before Scrivens could recover, the puck drifted into the gapping net, which released a collective gasp from over 8000 fans at Ricoh Coliseum.
Coach Dallas Eakins said it best in his post-game remarks.
“I would rather somebody take a pair of steel toed boots and kick me in a delicate region than to lose a hockey game like that.”
Toronto will attempt to stay alive Saturday afternoon at 3pm.
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