Marlies, Stars open Calder Cup Final

For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter The Toronto Marlies are one step away from bringing the first hockey championship to Toronto since the Leafs Cup win in 1967, as they take on the Texas Stars in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Final at Ricoh Coliseum on Saturday. The contest will be the first time that the Marlies face the Stars this season, who eliminated Ontario, Tuscon and Rockford to get to the Final since their AHL Championship in 2014. “For us, especially playing against a team we haven’t seen yet this season, it’s just to focus on our game.… Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe said after practice on Friday. “You get to this point and you feel good about yourself as a team and want to go out and execute and be sharp. And then as we get going, we’ll get a feel for our opponent and maybe make some adjustments as we feel that we need to. But our group feels good about itself and we want to come out and be ready to go.… Unlike six years ago, when Toronto lost to the young Norfolk Admirals with a team made up primarily of career minor leaguers, it is the Stars this time around that are the more experienced squad, with veterans Travis Morin, Curtis McKenzie, Brian Flynn and Justin Dowling handling the bulk of their offense and and 35-year-old Mike McKenna in goal. McKenna led Syracuse past the Marlies last May before losing to Grand Rapids in the Calder Cup Final. Toronto has been focused on player development with their AHL affiliate. Older players like Ben Smith, Colin Greening and Chris Mueller have important support roles, but youngsters Andreas Johnsson, Carl Grundstrom, Pierre Engvall, Trevor Moore, Adam Brooks and Dmytro Timashov all pitching in offensively and making key contributions for the Marlies. Keefe has chosen not to mess with success with a club that has won nine straight playoff games and will keep his forward lines the same at the start of the series. Here is the latest edition of "The Leafs Convo", please watch and subscribe to our YouTube page.and/or listen on iTunes.