Logan Shaw scored his second goal of the game at 3:46 of overtime as the Toronto Marlies beat the Chicago Wolves 5-4 on Sunday to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Calder Cup final.
A goal at 3:46 of overtime decided it, and Logan Shaw made sure the Toronto Marlies didn’t wait for a third game. Shaw scored his second goal of the night to lift the Marlies to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Wolves on Sunday, giving Toronto a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Calder Cup final.
The night didn’t start with the celebration. The Marlies surrendered a goal to Juuso Valimaki with 17 seconds left in the third period, forcing overtime. From there, Shaw struck to seal the win.
Benoit-Olivier Groulx scored twice for Toronto, while Alex Nylander added a single. Vinni Lettieri and William Villeneuve each contributed three assists as the Marlies built a lead they had to fight to keep.
Valimaki answered for Chicago with two goals, and the Wolves got production from Charles Alexis Legault and Noah Philp as well. Justin Robidas and Ryan Suzuki each had two assists for the visitors.
What swung the sequence from momentum to panic was the way the game unfolded over the three periods. The Wolves led 2-1 after the first period and trailed 3-2 heading into the third period—then Valimaki’s late strike tied it up just before the horn.
The rest of the numbers offered a snapshot of how evenly the contest was played. The teams were tied in shots with 32 apiece. Chicago went 1-for-4 on the power play, while Toronto finished 0-for-2.
Now the series shifts to Toronto with a chance to close it out at home. The Marlies can win the Calder Cup championship series at Coca-Cola Coliseum with Games 3, 4 and 5 scheduled there (if necessary).
The Wolves, meanwhile, are trying to recover after dropping Friday’s opener 4-2. Game 3 has Chicago visiting Toronto on Tuesday, with the Abbotsford Canucks holding last year’s Calder Cup title.
Calder Cup final Toronto Marlies Chicago Wolves Logan Shaw Juuso Valimaki overtime winner Benoit-Olivier Groulx Alex Nylander Vinni Lettieri William Villeneuve Coca-Cola Coliseum Game 3
OT goals are basically cheating lol 3:46 is wild.
How do you let a guy score with 17 seconds left and then act surprised it goes OT? That seems like coaching 101. Also 0-for-2 on the power play feels like Toronto choked a little.
Wait so Shaw scored twice but they needed overtime because Chicago got one at the end? I thought overtime meant Sudden Death like in the movies but I guess it’s just normal. Either way, 2-0 series lead is huge, unless the Wolves come back like 5-4 always happens.
I saw “Marlies” and assumed it was like a minor league preseason thing, but Calder Cup final?? So is this the actual NHL playoffs for the farm teams or what. Either way, Chicago only 1-for-4 on the PP and still ties it up late… makes no sense to me. Coca-Cola Coliseum sounds fake too, like that can’t be real, so maybe the whole game is scripted.