Adam Brooks scored at 3:18 of the third period to lift the Marlies to a 4-3 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in Saturday’s opening game of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Marlies vaulted to a quick 2-0 lead after Miro Aaltonen scored the first two goals of the game. But the Phantoms promptly rallied with three straight tallies of their own before Ben Smith netted the equalizer late in the second period, setting the stage for Brooks’s heroics.
Garret Sparks made 26 saves in goal for Toronto.
“We’re obviously not happy that we gave up our lead in the second period there,” coach Sheldon Keefe said to reporters after the game.