ROSEMONT, Ill. (theahl.com) … Vinni Lettieri’s goal with 8:28 remaining in regulation sent the Toronto Marlies on to a 4-2 win over the Chicago Wolves in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals on Friday night.
Lettieri gathered a loose puck in his own zone, outskated four Chicago defenders, and drove the net before flicking a shot past goaltender Amir Miftakhov (2-1). Toronto had broken a pair of Chicago leads before Lettieri’s goal snapped a 2-2 tie. The Marlies have won five consecutive road games and are 8-3 away from home this postseason.
Lettieri, who also recorded an assist on Toronto’s first goal along with an empty-netter in the final minute of play, leads the Calder Cup Playoffs with 10 goals and 20 points through 19 games.
Chicago hosts Game 2 on Sunday afternoon (4 ET, , Sportsnet One) before the series moves to Toronto.
Toronto’s Artur Akhtyamov (12-6) made his league-leading 18th start of the playoffs and had 26 saves. Miftakhov took his third consecutive turn in net for the Wolves, finishing with 21 stops.
Chicago’s Bradly Nadeau opened the scoring 11:24 into the game with his sixth goal of the postseason and fourth in his past five contests. However, Marlies rookie defenseman Ben Danford’s first pro goal evened the game with 2:15 left in the period.
Skyler Brind’Amour restored Chicago’s lead at 14:13 of the second period, finishing a 2-on-1. However, Toronto again broke a Chicago lead as Marlies forward Cédric Paré got loose and beat Miftakhov in the last minute of the second period.
Bo Groulx and Borya Valis recorded two assists apiece for the Marlies.
(Toronto leads series, 1-0)
Game 1 – Fri., June 12 – Toronto 4, CHICAGO 2
Game 2 – Sun., June 14 – Toronto at Chicago, 4:00
Game 3 – Tue., June 16 – Chicago at Toronto, 7:00
Game 4 – Thu., June 18 – Chicago at Toronto, 7:00
*Game 5 – Fri., June 19 – Chicago at Toronto, 7:00
*Game 6 – Sun., June 21 – Toronto at Chicago, 4:00
*Game 7 – Tue., June 23 – Toronto at Chicago, 8:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
On the American Hockey League beat for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.