Marlies’ William Villeneuve praises Artur Akhtyamov after Game 3 win: ‘He always looks in control’
The Toronto Marlies have pushed the Laval Rocket to the brink of elimination.
On Sunday, the Marlies defeated the Rocket 6-2, giving themselves a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-5 North Division semifinals. The Marlies jumped on the Rocket from the onset of puck drop, with captain Logan Shaw scoring 11 seconds in on the power play. Easton Cowan, Henry Thurn, and Alex Nylander would also find the back of the net before the end of the first period.
“The coaches wanted us to come out hot, and that’s what we did,” Cowan said, speaking post-game to the media. “We were feeling good today, and that’s just a really good team win.”
“I’m just more engaged. You don’t need to throw big hits, but just cutting through hands and triangles opens up a lot of space for me. I’m just trying to keep that going,” Cowan said. “It feels pretty good anytime you score, and obviously, helping your team win feels good.”
“I think this is just a stretch where you get lucky a little bit,” Villeneuve said. “Obviously, the power play has been getting on the board recently, and it’s been very positive. It brings a lot of confidence to our group, and I thought we played a great overall game.”
After the early support, Artur Akhtyamov took care of the rest, stopping 26-of-28 shots, in what was his second straight start. After being replaced by Dennis Hildeby in the third game of the first round, Akhtyamov has appeared to win back the crease after limiting the high-powered Rocket offence to four goals on 59 shots during the past two victories.
“He’s one of the best human beings I’ve ever met, and it’s really easy to get out there and play in front of him. He brings a lot of confidence and calmness to our group, and it showed in the past couple games,” Villeneuve said. “He always looks in control technique-wise. He’s been awesome all season, he got rewarded with a great contract, and he’s been even better in the playoffs.”
Game 4 of the series will take place on Tuesday at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
“You want to win as quickly as possible. We know that the hardest game is coming, and we’re excited for the challenge,” Villeneuve said. “We went down early in Laval and came back in game two, then won, and today we had a great showing. We’ve been doing a lot of great things that brought us success, and we just need to repeat that Tuesday.”