The Toronto Marlies face the possibility of being swept in four straight after a 8-2 loss to the Hershey Bears in Game 3 of the Calder Cup Eastern Conference Final at Ricoh Coliseum on Wednesday. Former Leaf Zach Sill scored the game winner with 52.5 seconds left in the second period and a emotion-crushing short-handed marker 18 seconds into the third to chase Marlies goalie Antoine Bibeau. Garret Sparks faired no better in relief, allowing four goals on nine shots.
Josh Leivo and Colin Smith scored for Toronto, who now trail the best-of-seven series 3-0 and will face elimination on Friday.
"I don't have the answers on where the intensity went. Obviously our players recognize where we're at and what the situation is in the series." head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game. "When we're on the power play and have a chance to get going, it's a huge period and we give up that goal on that first shot, it's disheartening."
After both Toronto netminders lost starts in Hershey, the Marlies turned back to Bibeau for Game 3 and he did not appear sharp from the outset, as Dustin Gazley converted a generous rebound for the opening goal 3:02 into the first period.
Hershey's Dustin Gazley scoring the opening goal past Antoine Bibeau in the Bears 8-2 win over the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday.
Image courtesy of Christian Bonin at TSGPhoto
Toronto responded quickly to the Bears opening salvo, as Mark Arcobello fed a goalmouth pass to Leivo to tie the game and took the lead just over two minutes later, as Ben Smith sent his namesake and linemate on a clear breakaway, who roofed it past Hershey goalie Justin Peters.
The Marlies had opportunities to extend the lead on three first period power plays (including a 19 second 5-on-3) but missed on good scoring chances or made one pass too many. After failing to convert on their fourth man advantage, Hershey tied the game early in the second on a Chris Bourque blast that beat Bibeau through the five-hole.
Zach Sill, the former Maple Leaf, gives @TheHersheyBears…‹ the go-ahead goal & the Bears lead 3-2 after two.#TORvsHERhttps://t.co/iwh9UlXRo5
— AHL (@TheAHL) May 26, 2016
The Bears took the lead for good late in the middle frame, as Eric Burgdoerfer's point shot was booted out by Bibeau right to Sill, who quickly fired it by the Marlies goalie.
Toronto started the third with a power play due to a Hershey helmet infraction, but a pair of short-handed goals ended any chances of a comeback. Sill's wrist shot that was initially stopped but dribbled past Bibeau ended his night. Moments later, Ryan Bourque scored on a breakaway past Sparks to make it 5-2, which drew boos from the 6,851 fans at Ricoh.
Goals from Jakub Vrana and Christian Djoos rounded out the scoring, leaving the Bears jubilant and the Marlies searching for answers.
"It's important for all of us to do our jobs here and to keep everybody motivated (and) pick up the pieces, not just our goaltenders but our whole team." Keefe said. "It doesn't feel good right now. We have a big hole here, no question, but we are still in the series.
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THN's Draft Preview is out now! Reports on the top 100 prospects & all NHL teams. Details: https://t.co/lRmpGd5UrI pic.twitter.com/aRIGXD50wY
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) May 25, 2016
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The deal between the Maple Leafs and the Sharks for goaltender James Reimer is now complete. The trade made on the weekend prior to the NHL trade deadline was Reimer and minor leaguer Jeremy Morin for goaltender Alex Stalock, forward Ben Smith and a conditional 2018 4th round pick.
The condition was that the pick would be upgraded to a 2018 3rd rounder if the Sharks advanced to 2015-16 Stanley Cup Final, which they did with a 4-2 victory over St. Louis on Wednesday.
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