Post by torontogm on May 30, 2020 1:12:52 GMT -5
Toronto, ON - The Marlies rode their groove to a cup victory. It seems as simple as that. After needing the full seven games to get past Laval and Denver, the baby Leafs managed to pull off eight wins in nine games to finish things off.
This is the first Marlie win under their current GM, though they have been contenders most seasons. The entire organization is currently in something of an up cycle with this Marlies victory, and the strong regular season of the parent Maple Leafs.
This Marlies club could smell blood and came out strong. Jordan Greenway opened the scoring at 3:09 and Nicolas Meloche followed that up with a tally at 7:17 of the first. Nelson Nogier responded less than a minute later to make a tight first frame interesting.
In the second, the Marlies took over the game in terms of possession and on the scoresheet. They outshot the Knights 19-9 and sandwiched goals by Jake Bean and Daniel Audette around a powerplay marker by Nick Merkley.
Toronto stifled the Knights in the third, holding them to just five shots. Travis Boyd scored a powerplay goal to put the game away at 14:08, though the way the club controlled the play, things were looking pretty certain by that time anyway.
"That was a tough series, and they put up one hell of a fight," said coach Dave Hakstol. "It feels real good to get this done at home. I'm really proud of the way my boys battled hard. We barely made it out of the first, barely made it out of the second, and then we just settled down and played our game. I kept asking them to trust the system, and to their credit they did."
"This is real sweet to do this in front of our fans," said veteran Patrice Cormier, who was a dominant 56% in the faceoff circle in these playoffs. "We wanted to get it done tonight, and here we are!"
It is a huge win for the Marlies. It is expected that a couple of spots will open up with the Leafs, and players like Cormier, Travis Boyd, Jordan Greenway, and Nicolas Meloche made real strong cases for next year or the year after. But for now, the Marlies will be happy to bask the success of the season.
--- Damien Crox for the Toronto Scar
This is the first Marlie win under their current GM, though they have been contenders most seasons. The entire organization is currently in something of an up cycle with this Marlies victory, and the strong regular season of the parent Maple Leafs.
This Marlies club could smell blood and came out strong. Jordan Greenway opened the scoring at 3:09 and Nicolas Meloche followed that up with a tally at 7:17 of the first. Nelson Nogier responded less than a minute later to make a tight first frame interesting.
In the second, the Marlies took over the game in terms of possession and on the scoresheet. They outshot the Knights 19-9 and sandwiched goals by Jake Bean and Daniel Audette around a powerplay marker by Nick Merkley.
Toronto stifled the Knights in the third, holding them to just five shots. Travis Boyd scored a powerplay goal to put the game away at 14:08, though the way the club controlled the play, things were looking pretty certain by that time anyway.
"That was a tough series, and they put up one hell of a fight," said coach Dave Hakstol. "It feels real good to get this done at home. I'm really proud of the way my boys battled hard. We barely made it out of the first, barely made it out of the second, and then we just settled down and played our game. I kept asking them to trust the system, and to their credit they did."
"This is real sweet to do this in front of our fans," said veteran Patrice Cormier, who was a dominant 56% in the faceoff circle in these playoffs. "We wanted to get it done tonight, and here we are!"
It is a huge win for the Marlies. It is expected that a couple of spots will open up with the Leafs, and players like Cormier, Travis Boyd, Jordan Greenway, and Nicolas Meloche made real strong cases for next year or the year after. But for now, the Marlies will be happy to bask the success of the season.
--- Damien Crox for the Toronto Scar
