Marlies take down Comets, advance to division finals

Photo: Jeff Pexton

The Toronto Marlies finished off their North Division semifinal series with a 4-1 win in Utica on Friday night.

The Marlies won the series, three games to one, and will take on either Syracuse or Rochester in the division finals beginning Thursday.

Xavier Parent staked the Comets to a 1-0 lead after the first period but Toronto dominated the middle frame, scoring three times on 23 shots. Carl Dahlström tied things up at the 5:04 mark, and Matteo Pietroniro and Logan Shaw scored 39 seconds apart midway through the period to give the Marlies a 3-1 lead.

Kyle Clifford capped the scoring with an empty-netter in the waning seconds of the third.

Erik Källgren (2-0) made 28 saves to earn the win for the Marlies. Nico Daws (3-3) finished with 33 stops for the Comets.

North Division Semifinals (best-of-5)
N1-Toronto Marlies vs. N4-Utica Comets
Game 1 – Thu., Apr. 27 – TORONTO 6, Utica 5 (OT) | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 29 – Utica 7, TORONTO 2 | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., May 3 – Toronto 5, UTICA 2 | Recap
Game 4 – Fri., May 5 – Toronto 4, UTICA 1