The Toronto Marlies celebrated their Calder Cup victory with friends, family and fans on Monday at Real Sports Bar & Grill.
“We just care. We believed in each other and we worked hard. We had fun, we enjoyed it, we enjoyed coming to the rink every single day,” said Captain Logan Shaw.
“No one’s ever won at this level in that dressing room before, so everyone really bought in and trusted that we would get the job done.”
The Marlies defeated the Chicago Wolves 4-3 in Game 5 on Friday at Coca-Cola Coliseum to secure their second title in franchise history.
“To win, you got to get lucky for sure. We had some luck throughout playoffs. We had guys battle through injuries and all the guys that wouldn’t have played in the regular season,” Shaw said.
“We had guys score big goals when they had to score. We had goalies make big saves when they had to.”
It was a power play goal by Vinni Lettieri late in the second period that put Friday’s game out of reach for the Wolves.
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He took a moment to thank the fans for their support.
“We’re champions today, tomorrow and forever and we etched our names in history, and we couldn’t have done it without you guys, so thank you,” Lettieri said.
Marlies goaltender Artur Akhtyamov made 27 saves in the net for the victory.
He was named MVP of the playoffs, winning the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy.
“What these guys accomplished was incredible and really special and just something that we’ll all remember forever,” said Marlies General Manager Ryan Hardy.
“These things just kept building, where it started to feel like destiny.”
The last time the Marlies won the American Hockey League’s top prize was in 2018.
As for what made this team so special, head coach John Gruden says it was the brotherly bond among the players.
“I really knew when I saw them off the ice hanging out. No one was eating alone, there wasn’t any cliques. It was a team and that, you can’t fake. So, when I saw that, I knew we were going to win this thing,” Gruden said.
Long-time Marlies fan Vinay Sharma was there during the 2018 celebrations and couldn’t pass up the chance to do it again this time around.
“It was something I will never ever forget. It’s a full-circle moment,” he said.
“Hockey is a very competitive sport. It’s very hard to win. A lot of work goes through on and off the ice. For them to come together, it’s something I knew I had to come and celebrate with the team. ”
Some fans even had the chance to hold up the Calder Cup and take photos with it.
Cat Ryckman, who has been going to Marlies games with her mom since she was a little girl, was one of them.
“I was in stadium for when we won Game 5 and that was unreal. Honestly, the energy was great,” she said.
“It’s a dream for them and it’s a dream for us to get to see them have that hard work pay off and be able to bring a cup home.”
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