Cleveland takes a 2-1 series lead into Toronto’s Coca-Cola Arena tonight (7 p.m. ET, 
) has a chance to get a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.
“(We) had a really good start. You don’t want to chase the game,” Monsters head coach Trent Vogelhuber His side scored the first two goals for the third consecutive game following Wednesday’s 4-0 win. “We defended well, we made good decisions, we still had an offensive presence — those are the 60 minutes of play (you need).”
Owen Silinger (1-2-3) opened the scoring for Cleveland 4:57 into Game 3, becoming the 13th different Monsters skater to score this postseason. The defense did the rest Zach Sochenko (5-1, 1.58, .932) needed just 16 saves to record his first shutout since Nov. 29, 2024, also against the Toronto Raptors.
“They’re a good team, they’re fast and they’re creative offensively,” Vogelhuber said of the Marlies. “They’re going to get scoring chances and our guys do a really good job limiting high-danger chances. It’s those well-timed saves that Sozzi makes for us that change the game. That’s what our team needs and he’s been providing it.”
The Toronto Raptors have been limited to 50 shots in the first three games of the series, and they have gone five straight games without breaking the 20-shot mark.
“We never found a way to produce anything,” Marris head coach John Gruden explain. “At that point in the playoffs, we’re not going to get any freebies. They make you earn it. We’ve got to find a way to dig in… We all have to bring it.”
“They’re a good team but they haven’t seen our best game yet and our whole team needs to do the right things for 60 minutes,” Marlies captain Logan Shaw explain.
The Western Conference Finals have been set, with Colorado and Chicago competing for the Calder Cup.
The best-of-seven series begins next week at Blue Federal Credit Union Arena in Loveland, Colo. (Game 1: Thursday, 9:05 ET, ).
The Wolves will compete in their seventh conference final since joining the AHL in the 2001-02 season. They won five of their first six games and advanced 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 champion 3-1. The Griffins’ loss makes this the second playoff game in four years without a conference champion reaching the conference finals.
“There’s a reason they (the Griffins) have had the year they’ve had,” Wolves goaltender said Kayden Primo (6-3, 2.31, .924) He made 33 saves in Game 4 last night. “The improvement…is certainly a huge confidence boost.”
The Eagles are in the Calder Cup sectional finals for the first time; they defeated Coachella Valley in four games on Wednesday.
“We’re going to be in the Final Four and there’s no weak team,” the Eagles head coach said. Mark Lightstu. “If we want this to continue, we have to do the best we can.”
The Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche also compete in the Stanley Cup Conference Finals, marking the second consecutive year that two NHL-AHL affiliates have reached the league’s Final Four at the same time, following last season’s Charlotte/Florida and Texas/Dallas.
