The Toronto Marlies kicked off the North Division semifinals on the right foot with a convincing 4-1 win over the Rochester Americans to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
The opening minutes saw exciting back-and-forth action and it was obvious that emotions were running high as both teams looked to tilt the ice in their favour. The Amerks outshot the Marlies 15-6 in the opening frame but neither team could find the back of the net as the game remained scoreless after 20 minutes of play.
Nicholas Baptiste opened the scoring at 2:53 of the second period, burying a rebound from an awkward angle. Chris Mueller and Rasmus Sandin picked up the assisted on the opening goal. At 14:31, Chris Mueller extended the Marlies’ lead to 2-0, tapping home a shot from Rasmus Sandin. Dmytro Timashov registered the secondary assist on the goal. The Marlies held a 2-0 lead through 40 minutes of play.
At 10:50, Mueller found himself right on the doorstep on the power play and potted his second of the night to give the Marlies a 3-0 cushion. Jeremy Bracco and Rasmus Sandin recorded the assists on Mueller’s second of the night. At 14:45, Adam Brooks scored a beautiful shorthanded wrap-around goal to extend the Marlies lead to 4-0. Pierre Engvall had the lone assist on the goal. Late in the frame, the Amerks found the back of the net and spoiled the shutout for Kasimir Kaskisuo. Tage Thompson was the lone goal scorer for Rochester.
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