Once again, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins proved to be road warriors.
Facing a two-goal deficit after the first period, the Penguins rallied to take the lead in the second period, only to have Toronto tie it in the third. But Rutger McGroarty scored off a turnover with three minutes left to give the Penguins a 4-3 victory over the Marlies in Game 4 of the AHL Calder Cup Eastern Conference Final at Coca-Cola Coliseum in Canada on Wednesday night.
The win evens the best-of-7 series at 2-2 with the pivotal Game 5 on Friday at 7 p.m. in Toronto. The teams will then head back to Mohegan Arena on Sunday at 6:05 p.m. for Game 6. If necessary, Game 7 would be Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena.
Neither team has been able to win on its home ice thus far in the series. In their two regular-season meetings, the road team won. The Penguins had the third-most road wins in the league during the season (25) and they improved to 5-1 on the road in the playoffs.
“That’s the group we have,” McGroarty said in a postgame video press conference. “Being in the locker room, we know we’re never out of games. We knew (the first period) wasn’t our best at all. We responded well. Good teams find a way to win. That was huge.”
Clinging to a 3-2 lead in the third, the Penguins’ Chase Pietila was called for a tripping penalty. With time winding down in the Toronto power play, there was a scramble in front with goalie Sergei Murashov and several players down on the ice. The puck came to Luke Haymes at the bottom of the right faceoff circle and he shot it into the open net. Initially, the referees waved it off for goaltender interference. But after conferring, they ruled it a good goal and the game was tied, 3-3, at 13:04.
Just when it seemed as if the game might be headed to overtime, Easton Cowan tried to send a back pass in his zone to teammate William Villeneuve. However, McGroarty intercepted it and when Villeneuve fell down, McGroarty was able to skate in alone on goalie Artur Akhtyamov and beat him with a shot through the pads at 17:00 to put the Penguins back in front, 4-3.
“I don’t know if it was Brozer (Tristan Broz) or Hayesie (Avery Hayes) who did a great job of not letting him go up the wall,” McGroarty said. “I just kind of read off that and filled the middle lane. Then I was lucky enough to catch the pass and have a breakaway.”
Akhtyamov was pulled in the final minute for a sixth attacker as the Marlies looked for the tying goal, but Murashov and the Penguins were able to hold them off. After the final buzzer sounded, a scuffle broke out that resulted in all the skaters on the ice receiving roughing penalties.
Toronto took a 2-0 lead in the first period thanks to special teams. Cedric Pare of the Marlies was in the box for hooking when, on the Penguins power play, Toronto cleared its zone by sending the puck down the ice. Murashov came out of the net to play it, but the puck skipped under his stick and into the goal crease. Benoit-Olivier Groulx outraced a Penguins player and poked the puck into the net for a shorthanded goal at 4:19.
Then, at 14:06, the Penguins were called for too many men on the ice. Eight seconds into the ensuing Toronto power play, Vinni Lettieri took a perfect pass from Cowan at the top of the right faceoff circle and wristed a shot past Murashov to make it 2-0.
“Obviously, nothing needs to be said about the first goal. Stuff happens,” Penguins coach Kirk MacDonald said. “Things went off the rails for the rest of the period after that. Self-inflicted, I don’t think we generated much on their own in the first period. We helped generate a lot of offense for them. Ton of credit to the guys. They took the intermission and regrouped. I thought our intent right from the drop of the puck in the second was much better. I take that back, bad line change at the start. But Sergei redeemed himself and once we got through that, we got going north and got some momentum.”
Indeed, in the second period, the Penguins battled back although Murashov needed to stop Lettieri on a breakaway 45 seconds in to keep it a two-goal game.
Defenseman Scooter Brickey picked the perfect time to score his first AHL goal. Brickey fired a shot from the right point and, with traffic in front of Akhtyamov, the puck appeared to deflect off a Marlies player and into the net at 3:14.
Brickey then recorded a secondary assist on Pietila’s game-tying goal at 9:00. Pietila took a pass from Gabe Klassen at the center blue line and, with McGroarty setting a screen in front of Akhtyamov, fired a shot that found the top corner of the net to make it 2-2.
Pietila also dropped the gloves with Toronto’s Landon Sim late in the first period. McGroarty thought that was a turning point in the game.
“Tills fighting Sim, that was huge,” McGroarty said. “He’s a guy who might not get recognition, but he’s been huge for us all year. Chase is one heck of a hockey player. He had a feel in the game and what needed to be done and took full advantage. Then came up with a big goal as well.”
At 19:09, the Penguins took the lead. Ville Koivunen picked up the puck behind the Toronto goal and from the right corner sent a shot on goal that Akhtyamov stopped with his pad. However, the rebound went to Klassen in front and, despite being tied up by two Marlies players, was able to knock it into the net and send the Penguins into the third period on top, 3-2.
Murashov shook off his early gaffe and finished with 32 saves for the Penguins. Akhtyamov had 23 saves for Toronto.
“Sergei has a goldfish memory and it’s super cool,” McGroarty said. “It’s not too often you get to play in front of a guy like that. Him and Joel (Blomqvist) are both incredible. Serge is a special human, a special player. I can’t say enough nice things about him.”
In the Western Conference Final, the Chicago Wolves beat the Colorado Eagles, 2-1, in Game 4 on Wednesday night to even that series at 2-2. Game 5 is Friday in Chicago with Game 6 back in Colorado on Sunday.