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Marlies missed golden opportunity in Game 6 loss |
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The Toronto Marlies looked to close out the Calder Cup Final on Tuesday after taking a 3-2 lead in the series with their best effort in Game 5 on Saturday, but the Texas Stars and goaltender Mike McKenna put forth their best effort in a 5-2 victory over the Marlies in Game 6 at Ricoh Coliseum have pushed the series to a seventh and deciding game on Thursday.
Calle Rosen and Justin Holl scored for Toronto, but their high-powered offense was held off the scoreboard by McKenna until the third period, when Texas had a 3-0 cushion on goals from Curtis McKenzie, Travis Morin and Austin Fyten.
The 35-year-old veteran netminder, who defeated the Marlies in the second round as a member of the Syracuse Crunch last season, rebounded after allowing five goals on 22 shots in Game 5 with a strong 43-save effort on Tuesday. That was particularly important early in the contest, when Toronto dominated the play and pressed for the opening goal, outshooting Texas 16-4 in the first period.
The Marlies lost momentum in the middle frame, as McKenzie (who leads Texas with 11 goals and tied with Andreas Johnsson for the Calder Cup Playoff scoring lead) created a turnover with a hit on defenseman Martin Marincin and tucked the puck past Garret Sparks. The Stars top line of McKenzie, Morin and Justin Dowling struck again later in the second and fourth liner Fyten took advantage of a Colin Greening turnover to extend the lead to 3-0.
Toronto attempted a comeback early in the third, as Rosen scored his third goal in two games on a point blast, but that was quickly squelched by Texas on Sheldon Dries short-handed goal less than two minutes later.
“We let an opportunity get away from us tonight, but it’s over. We have to move on,” Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game. “We have an opportunity now again to play in a one game shot on home ice for a championship. So, we have to turn the page, recognize what didn’t go well for us and why it didn’t go well for us tonight.”
It was not a particularly good night for Sparks (who allowed four goals on 17 shots before being pulled in the third period) or the club’s team defense, but after the game both the Marlies goaltender, teammates and Keefe expressed confidence in the club being able to rebound for the deciding game on Thursday.
“We have had to bounce back. The reason why we are going to Game 7 is that neither team has been able to win two games in a row.” Keefe said. “That’s why we are here, we have had to respond at different times in this series and we have been able to do that. Just like we knew going into today, it wasn’t going to be easy.”
One possible advantage for Toronto is that a couple of their key players have recently encountered the pressure of a Game 7 at the NHL level, which may be of some benefit on Thursday.
“You learn from (Game 7’s) definitely.” said Travis Dermott, who scored against the Bruins in Game 7 last April. “Looking around the room after the game, there's not one face that's not going to be 110 percent next game. This isn't a feeling we want to recreate.”
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The Maple Leafs will hold their annual Rookie Orientation and Development Camp after the NHL Draft next weekend and the club has invited 19-year-old Sarnia Sting defenseman Nick Grima to participate.
Grima is a right-shot defenseman who was dealt by Peterborough to the Sting in a deal involving former Leafs prospect Nikita Korostelev and is considered a good puck mover. The 6’0”195 lb blueliner scored 16 points (1 goal, 15 assists) in 62 games with Sarnia.
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