The Toronto Marlies could not muster any offense against the Hershey Bears in the opening game of the Calder Cup Eastern Conference Final, as they managed only 20 shots in a 3-1 loss at the Giant Center on Friday.
William Nylander scored the only goal for Toronto and Antoine Bibeau made 20 saves on the night, as the Marlies fall behind 1-0 in the best-of-seven series, just as they did in their Conference Semi-Final with Albany.
Nylander, who had not scored since Game 3 of the Devils series, took a pass from Kasperi Kapanen and beat veteran goalie Justin Peters on the backhand to give Toronto the lead nine minutes into the first period, but the Marlies could not build on their lead and Hershey enjoyed the decided advantage in the final 40 minutes.
William Nylander. Remember the name. #TORvsHER #CalderCup pic.twitter.com/v2KXjQU3yP
— AHL (@TheAHL) May 20, 2016
Carter Camper tied the game early in the second for the hometown Bears, who host the first two games of the series due to a scheduling conflict at their arena next week. Hershey nearly took the lead at the end of the middle frame, but a Bears go-ahead goal was waived off after video review revealed that the puck did not cross the goal line until after time expired.
Toronto's good fortune did not last long, as Liam O'Brien scored past Bibeau early in the third to put the Bears ahead. Frustration clearly began to set in with the Marlies, as the club took two minors after Hershey took the lead and resulted in former Leaf Zach Sill's power play goal.
“We got worse and worse as the game wore on. No urgency, no purpose. The structure to our game was a massive step backwards for us." Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe said following the game. "We've given (Hershey) confidence now, when you come out and play your worst game of the playoffs in Round 3,… that’s pretty disappointing.…
The Marlies tinkered with their lineup, inserting Frederik Gauthier and Tobias Lindberg for Sam Carrick and Colin Smith and based on how the club as a whole played, you could expect more changes for Game 2 on Saturday.
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Leafs 2015 first rounder Mitch Marner had an auspicious beginning in the opening game of the Mastercard Memorial Cup on Friday, scoring two goals and three assists in a 6-2 victory for the London Knights over the host Red Deer Rebels.
Mitch Marner's pass to Dvorak. Oh my... pic.twitter.com/RPwweIgzXV
— Brett Markowitz (@brett_0) May 21, 2016
The top line of Marner, Christian Dvorak and Matthew Tkachuk accounted for 10 points on the evening, with the Leafs fourth overall pick assisting on London's three first period goals and adding a pair of goals in the middle frame.
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