The Baby Penguins’ magical season came to an abrupt and disappointing end last night at Mohegan Arena in Game Six of their Calder Cup Eastern Conference Final series against the more seasoned Toronto Marlies.
Ex-Baby Pen and Penguin forward Alex Nylander inserted the dagger against his former team, beating Sergei Murashov (37 saves) at 13:44 of overtime to vanquish our kids by a 2-1 margin.
The Baby Pens snagged the early lead on a power-play goal by Aidan McDonough at 6:26 of the first period, but were unable to pad their advantage against Toronto goalie Artur Akhtyamov, who made 39 saves and was exceptional throughout the six-game set. Easton Cowen knotted the score for the Marlies at 9:11 of the second frame, setting the stage for Nylander’s game- and series-winner.
Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now attended the game and wrote an excellent summary of the proceedings, including insightful reviews of many of the Baby Pens I’d highlighted in yesterday’s PP article. Here’s a link to Dan’s recap, “It’s Over. What We Learned from Penguins Prospects’ Playoff Run.”
Well worth the read.
The defeat brings the final curtain down on the 2025-26 season for the Penguins’ organization. The Wheeling Nailers were vanquished by the Florida Everblades in Game Five of the ECHL Kelly Cup Eastern Conference Final on May 30.