Cleveland brings a 2-1 series lead into Toronto’s Coca-Cola Coliseum tonight (7 ET, 
) with a chance to secure a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.
“(We had a) really good start. You don’t want to be chasing games,” Monsters head coach Trent Vogelhuber said after Wednesday’s 4-0 win, which saw his team score the first two goals for the third game in a row. “We defended well, we made good decisions, we still had offensive looks – those are the 60-minute games (you need).”
Owen Sillinger (1-2-3) opened the scoring for Cleveland 4:57 into Game 3, becoming the 13th different Monsters skater to score a goal this postseason. The defense did the rest, with Zach Sawchenko (5-1, 1.58, .932) needing just 16 saves to record his first shutout since Nov. 29, 2024 – also against Toronto.
“They’re a good team, they’re fast off the rush and offensively creative,” Vogelhuber said of the Marlies. “They’re going to get scoring chances, and our guys are doing a really good job of limiting the high-danger ones. It’s those opportune saves that Sawzy’s been making for us that change a game. That’s what our group needs and he’s been delivering.”
Toronto has been limited to 50 shots on goal total through the first three games of the series, and they have gone five games in a row overall without cracking the 20-shot mark.
“We never found a way to generate anything,” Marlies head coach John Gruden said. “It’s that time of the playoffs where we’re not going to get any freebies. They’re going to make you earn it. We’ve got to find a way to dig in…and we’ve all got to bring it.”
“They’re a good team, but they haven’t seen our best game yet and that’s on us as a whole group to do the right things for 60 minutes,” Marlies captain Logan Shaw said.
The Western Conference Finals are set, with Colorado and Chicago facing off for the right to play for the Calder Cup.
The best-of-seven series begins next week at Blue Federal Credit Union Arena in Loveland, Colorado (Game 1: Thursday, 9:05 ET, ).
The Wolves will be participating in their seventh conference final since joining the AHL in 2001-02. They have won five of the previous six, advancing to the Calder Cup Finals in 2002, 2005, 2008, 2019 and 2022.
Chicago advanced with a 3-2 win over Grand Rapids last night, eliminating the regular-season Central Division champions three games to one. The Griffins’ loss makes this the second postseason in four years that no division winners will reach the conference finals.
“There’s a reason that they (the Griffins) were where they were through the course of the year,” said Wolves goaltender Cayden Primeau (6-3, 2.31, .924) following his 33-save effort in the clinching Game 4 last night. “To advance…is a huge confidence boost, for sure.”
The Eagles have reached the Calder Cup conference finals for the first time; they completed a four-game triumph over Coachella Valley on Wednesday.
“We’re going to be in the final four, and there’s no bad teams,” said Eagles head coach Mark Letetstu. “We’re going to have to be at our best if we want to keep this thing going.”
With the Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche also competing in the Stanley Cup conference finals, this is the second year in a row to see two sets of NHL-AHL affiliates both make their leagues’ final fours, following Charlotte/Florida and Texas/Dallas last season.
