Toronto Marlies eliminate Laval, advance to face Cleveland in North Division finals

The Toronto Marlies are moving on to the American Hockey League’s North Division Finals.

On Saturday, the Marlies scored two unanswered third-period goals to secure a 3-2 win over the Laval Rocket and punch their ticket to the next round.

Marlies head coach John Gruden turned to goaltender Artur Akhtyamov for the 24-year-old’s fourth straight start. After being pulled in Game 4, Akhtyamov responded by turning aside 20 of 22 shots to pick up his fourth win of the playoffs. Speaking to the media post-game, Akhtyamov addressed whether he felt any pressure during this highly spirited affair.

“I prepared like it was a regular game. Obviously, it’s an important game, but I kept a neutral mood,” Akhtyamov said. “My team played well. They played great defence, especially in the third period.”

Akhtyamov was a big reason behind the Marlies’ upset over the first-place Rocket. The Rocket led the North Division with 90 points, eight ahead of the 82 the Marlies finished with. During the 2025-26 Calder Cup playoffs, Akhtyamov has posted a 4-2-0-1 record, a 2.14 goals-against average and a 0.917 save percentage. The goaltender touched on what it meant for this group to take down the Rocket in five games and move on to face the Cleveland Monsters.

“We’re really happy because they are a really good team with some really good players,” Akhtyamov said. “We’re glad we beat them, but we need to be ready for the next round. This is only the start.”

After Owen Beck opened the scoring for the Rocket, rookie defenceman Blake Smith knotted the game at one with a shot from the point, recording his first career professional playoff goal in his first career professional playoff game. Following the game, Gruden spoke about why he felt comfortable inserting Smith into this pressure-filled situation.

“Just the easy it was going with them, adding [Vincent] Arseneau. We just added another big body to protect some of the defenseman back there, and to help [Noah] Chadwick in situations with scrums,” Gruden said. “You got to make sure you are putting people in position to succeed, and Blake is a tough kid who is willing to take a hit to make a play. He’s a hockey player, and I could just tell he wasn’t going to be afraid of the moment. I thought he was outstanding.”

Beck answered Smith’s goal on the power play just under three minutes later, beating Akhtyamov blocker side to give the Rocket a 2-1 lead heading into the third period.

With their backs against the wall, the Marlies received a boost they needed from an unlikely source. 27-year-old Reese Johnson recorded his first goal of the playoffs, finishing off a centring pass from Marc Johnstone. Michael Pezzetta, who appeared in nine games with the Maple Leafs this season, picked up the secondary assist.

Just over five minutes later, the Marlies dealt the Rocket the death blow. After a won faceoff, defenceman Dakota Mermis fed William Villeneuve, who was able to send a saucer pass cross-ice to Vinni Lettieri, and the 31-year-old made no mistake, one-timing Villeneuve’s feed past Rocket goaltender Kaapo Kähkönen to give the Marlies a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

The Marlies and Monsters will begin their best-of-5 North Division finals on Thursday in Cleveland at Rocket Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. EST.

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