The two remaining AHL division champs slugged it out for the first time this afternoon in Toronto, and Ben Smith tied it late in the second, and Alex Brooks won it for the Marlies in Game 1. Toronto had taken a 2-0 lead before the Phantoms came back with three in a row. Both conference finals have their second games Sunday.
Over in Denmark, once again, the United States won’t play for gold. Sweden put it away in the second period, rolling 6-0. A 41-save shutout for Anders Nilsson. Sweden will meet Switzerland, 3-2 winners over Canada, in Sunday’s gold-medal game for the second time in six years. The U.S. will meet Canada at 9:45 a.m. Eastern, looking for its fifth bronze since 1996 and its third since 2013, but the U.S. still hasn’t earned better than bronze in a Worlds that wasn’t based on Olympic results since 1950.
And RIP, John Bonasera and Frank Crisafi.