The Toronto Marlies on the strength of three second period goals take a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven series with the Albany Devils with a 5-1 victory at the Times Union Center on Thursday.
Connor Carrick, Connor Brown, Nikita Soshnikov, Brendan Leipsic and Josh Leivo scored for Toronto, who bounced back after a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 3 with a dozen goals in consecutive wins. Leivo and Mark Arcobello had three points and Antoine Bibeau made 21 saves for his third win of the series.
The Marlies return to Ricoh Coliseum on Saturday with a chance to eliminate the Devils and move on to face the winner of the Hershey - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton series in the Calder Cup Eastern Conference Final.
After a scoreless first, Toronto's power play struck for a pair of goals early in the middle frame. Carrick scored his fifth of the post-season on a shot just inside the blueline and Brown scored past Devils goalie Scott Wedgewood after a nice give and go with Josh Leivo and Mark Arcobello.
Soshnikov and Albany's Paul Thompson exchanged goals late in the second, but the Marlies put the game away in the third with Leivo setting up Leipsic and then scoring into the empty net.
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The Maple Leafs have a third prospect headed to the Memorial Cup, as 2015 third rounder Martins Dzierkals scored twice in Rouyn-Noranda's 7-2 victory over Shawinigan on Thursday and eliminated fellow Toronto prospect Dmytro Timashov.
The 19-year-old Latvian winger leads the QMJHL in rookie playoff scoring with 17 points (7 goals, 10 assists). The Huskies join the host Red Deer Rebels, the London Knights (with Mitch Marner and JJ Piccinich) and the winner of the Brandon - Seattle WHL Championship in the tournament that begins on May 19th.
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Listen to the latest edition of "The Convo" with myself and CTV's Norman James, as we discuss former Leaf Phil Kessel's scoring prowess in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and other news in Leafland:
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