Calder Cup Playoffs – Western Conference Quarterfinals – Game 4 – Series Tied, 2-2

Toronto Marlies 4 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 5

May 2, 2015

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Tomas Nosek notched a pair of special teams tallies to counter an early Toronto goal, and the Grand Rapids Griffins scored three times in the final period before surviving a late Marlies push to claim a 5-4 win in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals on Saturday at Van Andel Arena.

The Griffins, who improved to 4-1 overall and 4-0 at home when facing playoff elimination under coach Jeff Blashill, will try to earn a third consecutive win to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals when they host the decisive Game 5 against the Marlies on Sunday at 5 p.m.

Grand Rapids is 2-0 in winner-take-all games under Blashill, with both victories coming during the 2013 Calder Cup run. The Griffins have taken the last three such affairs on home ice, dating to their Game 7 victory over Manitoba in the 2006 North Division Finals.

For the third time in the series and the second time by the Marlies, a team scored before the game was a minute old. Toronto’s Matt Frattin did the honors this time at the 46-second mark, snapping a shot from the right circle that snuck just under Tom McCollum’s crossbar and bounced out. Initially waved off by the referee, the goal was confirmed upon video review.

The Griffins answered with a spectacular shorthanded goal by Nosek at 6:44. The only Grand Rapids player deep in the Toronto zone against four Marlies, he picked the pocket of Byron Froese in the slot and quickly whipped the puck past the glove of Christopher Gibson.

Nosek’s second goal came during a power play less than five minutes later and gave Grand Rapids a 2-1 lead. Xavier Ouellet’s slap shot from the left point sailed over the net, but after the puck caromed off the end glass, Nosek was waiting at the left post to jam it behind Gibson at 11:07.

Toronto pulled even 2:24 into the second period, when Stuart Percy’s lazy floater from the point was deflected into the top of the net by Matt Rupert from the slot. A suspect goaltender interference call on Anthony Mantha late in the frame gave the Marlies the chance to take a lead into the final 20 minutes, but some yeoman work by McCollum between the pipes kept the score deadlocked.

The second-effort of Andreas Athanasiou staked the Griffins to a 3-2 advantage 2:30 into the third period. After speeding around a Marlies defender and being denied by Gibson, he immediately collected the puck below the left goal line and threw it at the netminder’s backside, banking it into the cage.

After the Griffins killed off a Toronto power play, their own unit provided them a two-goal cushion at the 5:52 mark. Off an Andy Miele faceoff win in the left circle and a feed from Mark Zengerle, Teemu Pulkkinen blasted a cannon past Gibson for his playoff-leading sixth goal and his 29th lamp-lighter in his last 25 games with Grand Rapids.

Tyler Bertuzzi scored what proved to be his second game-winning goal in as many playoff games with 4:42 remaining from the edge of the right circle, a tally that would prove to be crucial as the Marlies’ Brendan Mikkelson (18:55) and T.J. Brennan (19:20) both scored with Gibson pulled in the final minutes to keep the outcome in doubt until the final second.

McCollum turned back 28 of the Marlies’ 32 shots on the night and was a key factor in Toronto’s 0-for-5 performance on the power play. Toronto, which allowed the Griffins to go 2-for-4 with the advantage, saw Gibson finish with 22 saves.

Note: Grand Rapids is attempting to become the 11th team in AHL history to win a best-of-five series after trailing 0-2. Providence last accomplished the feat in 2013.

Three Stars: 1. GR Nosek (two goals); 2. GR Athanasiou (goal); 3. GR McCollum (W, 28 saves)

Calder Cup Playoffs – Western Conference Quarterfinals – Game 4 – Series Tied, 2-2

Toronto Marlies 4 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 5

May 2, 2015

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Tomas Nosek notched a pair of special teams tallies to counter an early Toronto goal, and the Grand Rapids Griffins scored three times in the final period before surviving a late Marlies push to claim a 5-4 win in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals on Saturday at Van Andel Arena.

The Griffins, who improved to 4-1 overall and 4-0 at home when facing playoff elimination under coach Jeff Blashill, will try to earn a third consecutive win to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals when they host the decisive Game 5 against the Marlies on Sunday at 5 p.m.

Grand Rapids is 2-0 in winner-take-all games under Blashill, with both victories coming during the 2013 Calder Cup run. The Griffins have taken the last three such affairs on home ice, dating to their Game 7 victory over Manitoba in the 2006 North Division Finals.

For the third time in the series and the second time by the Marlies, a team scored before the game was a minute old. Toronto’s Matt Frattin did the honors this time at the 46-second mark, snapping a shot from the right circle that snuck just under Tom McCollum’s crossbar and bounced out. Initially waved off by the referee, the goal was confirmed upon video review.

The Griffins answered with a spectacular shorthanded goal by Nosek at 6:44. The only Grand Rapids player deep in the Toronto zone against four Marlies, he picked the pocket of Byron Froese in the slot and quickly whipped the puck past the glove of Christopher Gibson.

Nosek’s second goal came during a power play less than five minutes later and gave Grand Rapids a 2-1 lead. Xavier Ouellet’s slap shot from the left point sailed over the net, but after the puck caromed off the end glass, Nosek was waiting at the left post to jam it behind Gibson at 11:07.

Toronto pulled even 2:24 into the second period, when Stuart Percy’s lazy floater from the point was deflected into the top of the net by Matt Rupert from the slot. A suspect goaltender interference call on Anthony Mantha late in the frame gave the Marlies the chance to take a lead into the final 20 minutes, but some yeoman work by McCollum between the pipes kept the score deadlocked.

The second-effort of Andreas Athanasiou staked the Griffins to a 3-2 advantage 2:30 into the third period. After speeding around a Marlies defender and being denied by Gibson, he immediately collected the puck below the left goal line and threw it at the netminder’s backside, banking it into the cage.

After the Griffins killed off a Toronto power play, their own unit provided them a two-goal cushion at the 5:52 mark. Off an Andy Miele faceoff win in the left circle and a feed from Mark Zengerle, Teemu Pulkkinen blasted a cannon past Gibson for his playoff-leading sixth goal and his 29th lamp-lighter in his last 25 games with Grand Rapids.

Tyler Bertuzzi scored what proved to be his second game-winning goal in as many playoff games with 4:42 remaining from the edge of the right circle, a tally that would prove to be crucial as the Marlies’ Brendan Mikkelson (18:55) and T.J. Brennan (19:20) both scored with Gibson pulled in the final minutes to keep the outcome in doubt until the final second.

McCollum turned back 28 of the Marlies’ 32 shots on the night and was a key factor in Toronto’s 0-for-5 performance on the power play. Toronto, which allowed the Griffins to go 2-for-4 with the advantage, saw Gibson finish with 22 saves.

Note: Grand Rapids is attempting to become the 11th team in AHL history to win a best-of-five series after trailing 0-2. Providence last accomplished the feat in 2013.

Three Stars: 1. GR Nosek (two goals); 2. GR Athanasiou (goal); 3. GR McCollum (W, 28 saves)