TORONOT – A re-occurring theme for the Toronto Marlies has continued to haunt its pursuit of the Calder Cup. Its not just the poor discipline that gets in the way. A certain Moose player has found his way to be a thorn in the side of the Marlies defense, and not just this year. The player in mention is Moose star Jason Krog. As a key member of last season’s Chicago Wolves that eliminated the Marlies the skillful forward has once again been a bitter pill to swallow this time round. Krog was a pivotal part in last nights 5-2 victory in game five putting the Moose in a good position heading back to Winnipeg. Looking to put right the disaster of game four the Marlies came out strong. Only the outstanding play of Cory Schneider in net kept the score sheet blank. Despite out shooting the Moose 14 to six, it was the Moose that took the lead. Striking on the first power play of the night Moose leftwinger Jason Jaffray registered his fourth of the series to go one up with just over six minutes on the clock. Showing signs of better discipline the Marlies faced just two penalty killing situations in the first. A late period strike from Anton Stralman tied the game for the Marlies going into the second period. Unfortunately for the Marlies the good behavior didn’t last long. Numerous calls kept the Marlies on the back foot for the majority of the period. Once again Marlies netminder Justin Pogge got called for tripping putting the Moose on the powerplay, but lucky for Pogge his defense stood tall. A much more even affair through out the second was broken when Schneider dropped a powerful slap shot from Jaime Sifers to an awaiting Daryl Boyce who pounced on the rebound. The lead was short-lived for the Marlies as the Moose responded with a quick goal from Krog to level the scoring again going into the break. A five-minute onslaught in the third finished off the lacking Marlies. An unassisted effort from Jaffray following a mistake by Jonas Frogren gave the vistors a one goal lead and then a very soft shot from the corner by Krog for his second of the night beat a sprawling Pogge in net. The Marlies had a chance to get back in the game when Boyce went one-on-one with Schneider but it was to no evail as the netminder’s glove held strong. Outshooting the Marlies 17-11 the Moose took a firm grip off the game and the series when a final goal by Guillaume Desbiens finished off the Marlies with five minutes remaining. One battle that was won by the Marlies came in the form of a fight at the final whistle. Continuing the trend of the series the players once again pushed and shoved but this time through frustration the gloves come off. As players paired off it was the fight between Boyce and Greg Rallo that got the fans to their feet. Clearly this was Boyce trying to ignite a flame in his team mates for the next game, a game the Marlies must win as the series heads back to Winnipeg for game six.
Contact the author at Kevin.oconnor@prohockeynews.com Catch all the playoffs at Intotheboards.net
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