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Round 3, Game 3: Toronto vs. Hershey
By Sherry Jean, Posted on May 25, 2016
Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final between the Marlies and Hershey Bears is set for tonight at 7:30pm on TSN2 and TSN1050. The Bears currently lead the series 2-0 with a 3-2 overtime win over the Marlies in Hershey on Saturday.
Game 2 Summary:
Connor Brown scored his team-leading seventh goal of the post season to open the scoring for the Marlies.
Mark Arcobello recorded his second goal of the playoffs, 17:42 into the second period.
Connor Carrick assisted on the Marlies opening goal, his ninth assist of the post season. Carrick leads the AHL post season scoring race with 15 points through 12 games.
Josh Leivo collected two assists in the contest, his third multi-point game of the playoffs. His point total now stands at 10 through 12 games, second amongst Marlies skaters
Puck drop is at 7:30pm on TSN2 and TSN1050. Don’t forget to follow the Marlies on Twitter and tune in to our #MarliesLive chat.
TSN2 Channel Listings
Cable Provider SD HD
Bell Fibe 401 1401
Bell Satellite 402 1402
Rogers 407/495 98/994
Shaw 182 237
Cogeco 862
Telus 401 851/1401
MTS 21 1021
Access Communications 282 582
SaskTel 112 412
Marlies take inspiration from Raptors to come back in conference finals
After losing the first two games against the Hersey Bears, the Marlies remain upbeat that they can win the series.
By Kevin McGranSports Reporter
Tues., May 24, 2016
Connor Brown says the Toronto Marlies don’t necessarily need the inspiration, but they’ll gladly take the positive vibes this city is experiencing thanks to the never-say-die Toronto Raptors.
“I was watching. It’s pretty awesome them being down two and coming back,” said Brown after an optional practice on Tuesday. “A lot of resilience on that team.
“You can take inspiration from anywhere you look. Right now, it’s the Raptors. They believe,” added Brown. “We have confidence in our group. Whether we can draw comparables from outside, we really believe we have a chance to come back.”
Like their NBA brethren, the AHL Marlies lost the first two games of their Calder Cup Eastern Conference Final on the road to the Hershey Bears.
But in a twist made possible only because of wonky arena availability dates, the Marlies still have home-ice advantage. Games 3, 4, 5 and 7 are all scheduled for the Ricoh Coliseum, starting with Game 3 on Wednesday night (7:30 p.m., TSN-2).
“That’s in our favour,” said Brown. “We don’t feel out of it for sure. We feel confident. We definitely believe. We believe in each other. We’ll find a way, having the next four of five at home. We’ve got to really own our home ice now that we have that advantage.”
Throughout these playoffs, the Marlies haven’t made anything easy on themselves.
Scorers, for example, have struggled to find the back of the net: the Marlies have only three goals over two games so far against the Hershey Bears.
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Goaltending has been an issue. As strongly built as the team is among its 18 skaters, especially strong along the blue line, goalies Antoine Bibeau and Garret Sparks have had their share of down moments.
And even though they were the league’s top team and, therefore, top seed, they have started on the road in two of their first three series.
It didn’t hurt them in sweeping Bridgeport in the first round. Albany proved a tough-to-put-away opponent, leading 2-1 after three games and stretching the second-round series to seven games.
“If you don’t fight for it, it’s not worth winning,” said centre William Nylander. “It’s not going to be easy ever to win a championship. Nobody ever wins in a cakewalk.
“We’re down 2-0, and we just have to battle back. That’s just the way it is.”
The Marlies remain remarkably upbeat.
“We’re back on home ice and we’re hoping to swing the series back,” said centre Mark Arcobello. “Teams aren’t just going to give you wins. We have to work for them. Some games have been tough, but what matters is winning the series, whether it takes four games or seven.”
Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe said he’d keep his starting goalie a secret until Wednesday. He’s given his banged up players time off, taking advantage of a stretched-out schedule that he hopes will ultimately work in his team’s favour.
“We do have a hole, we have a challenge, the margin for error is very slim. We’ve taken away some of the luxury to be able to lose games. We have two home games. We have to earn the third and then we can use home ice to our advantage,” Keefe said. “We’ve responded well when we needed to.
“Here we are again with another opportunity to do that. It’s a challenge. Hershey is a good hockey team. But we still like our team. We have to score more. Feeling good about our game doesn’t make it any easier.”
The backs-against-the-walls games in which the Marlies have thrived are moments the young players need in their development.
“Key games, close games bring out the best in guys,” said Brown. “You see what you’re made of.”
