Marlies beat Amerks 4-2, advance to North Division semifinals

Logan Shaw’s two goals gave Toronto the statement finish it needed, and William Villeneuve’s rink-length empty-netter at 18:30 of the third period turned a tense close into a 4-2 Marlies win over Rochester that ended the series two games to one.

The Marlies did not just survive the deciding game. They controlled the most important stretches, got 29 saves from Dennis Hildeby, and answered every push from the Americans with the kind of execution that has been missing from too many recent Toronto first-round exits. After losing to Belleville in 2024 and Cleveland in 2025, this group finally cleared the opening test and did it with authority.

Shaw was the separator. The veteran forward, who finished the 2025-26 regular season with 23 goals, 31 assists and 54 points in 72 games, scored twice to drive the offense in Game 3 and give Toronto the cushion it needed after Rochester had made the series uncomfortable. Vinni Lettieri had powered the Marlies to a 5-0 win in Game 1, but Shaw’s follow-up performance showed that Toronto had more than one way to beat a playoff opponent.

Rochester refused to fold. Konsta Helenius and Olivier Nadeau scored for the Americans, and Devon Levi turned aside 35 of 38 shots, which kept the game alive deep into the third period. But the Marlies had already shown they could dictate this matchup by overwhelming Rochester in the opener, then answering a 4-0 Game 2 shutout loss without letting that setback spill into the finale.

Villeneuve’s late empty-net goal was more than insurance. It was the clearest sign of how Toronto handled the final minutes of an elimination game, protecting the lead and then finishing cleanly instead of letting Rochester linger around one bounce away from chaos. That matters now because the Marlies head into a far tougher North Division semifinal against the Laval Rocket, with Game 1 set for Wednesday and Game 2 listed for Friday, May 1, 2026.

Toronto had already earned its playoff spot on April 16 with a 4-3 overtime win over Utica, securing its fourth straight Calder Cup berth and 15th overall. This series showed why the Marlies can believe in a deeper run: they absorbed a shutout loss, reset quickly, and closed with the kind of composed, two-way playoff hockey that can travel into May.