Marlies stay alive as Pogge wins first playoff start
Goaltender Justin Pogge won his first ever AHL playoff start as the Toronto Marlies routed the Chicago Wolves 6-1 on Wednesday night at Ricoh Coliseum. The Marlies trail the best-of-seven Western Conference Final 3-1.
Pogge stopped 30 out of 31 shots, many of them with a lightning-quick glove hand. "I was surprised to get the start," Pogge told reporters following the game. "I felt I played pretty well, but the guys in front of me let me see a lot of shots and they were blocking shots."
Marlies coach Greg Gilbert explained the decision to start the 22-year-old netminder who has served as Scott Clemmensen's backup throughout the playoffs. "Sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures. We have two good goalies, and sometimes you just have to make a change." Gilbert would not commit to a starting goalie for Friday's night's Game #5, but praised his goalkeeper on this evening's efforts. "He did a good job and made some really big saves for us."
The Marlies had three breakaway goals in the game, scored by Chris Harrington, Colin Murphy and Alex Foster. Defencemen Andy Wozniewksi and Staffan Kronwall also found the net, while Murphy finished with a pair of goals including the opener. It was the first time in this series that the Marlies scored first in a game. "We only had two goals in the first 3 games (of the series). It was nice to score that first goal and give us a little bit of confidence."
The two teams head back to Chicago's AllState Arena for the fifth game of the series Friday.
Forward lines: Tlusty-J. Mitchell-Ondrus, Battaglia-Newbury-Harrington, Murphy-Foster-Ling, Leveille-GiliatiAubin
Links: Game Summary | Event Summary | Game Day Thread
Pogge stopped 30 out of 31 shots, many of them with a lightning-quick glove hand. "I was surprised to get the start," Pogge told reporters following the game. "I felt I played pretty well, but the guys in front of me let me see a lot of shots and they were blocking shots."
Marlies coach Greg Gilbert explained the decision to start the 22-year-old netminder who has served as Scott Clemmensen's backup throughout the playoffs. "Sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures. We have two good goalies, and sometimes you just have to make a change." Gilbert would not commit to a starting goalie for Friday's night's Game #5, but praised his goalkeeper on this evening's efforts. "He did a good job and made some really big saves for us."
The Marlies had three breakaway goals in the game, scored by Chris Harrington, Colin Murphy and Alex Foster. Defencemen Andy Wozniewksi and Staffan Kronwall also found the net, while Murphy finished with a pair of goals including the opener. It was the first time in this series that the Marlies scored first in a game. "We only had two goals in the first 3 games (of the series). It was nice to score that first goal and give us a little bit of confidence."
The two teams head back to Chicago's AllState Arena for the fifth game of the series Friday.
Forward lines: Tlusty-J. Mitchell-Ondrus, Battaglia-Newbury-Harrington, Murphy-Foster-Ling, Leveille-GiliatiAubin
Defence pairings: Harrison-Sifers, Wozniewski-Muir, Kronwall-Walser
Goaltenders: Pogge (W 60:00, 31 SV, 1 GA), Clemmensen (20:00)Links: Game Summary | Event Summary | Game Day Thread
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