Toronto Marlies/Maple Leafs forward Vinni Lettieri (71) was designated Player of the Game for his game-winning and insurance goals in Game One of the 2026 Calder Cup Finals (Source: David Kirouac-Imagn Images)The Toronto Marlies beat the Chicago Wolves 4-2 to win Game One of the 2026 Calder Cup Finals.
The first period was a stale-mate with both teams putting up 11 shots each and going 0-for-1 in the power play. The Wolves did go on a 4-0 shooting run for 6:21 minutes in the middle of the frame where AHL All-Star forward Bradley Nadeau cashed in by scored on a rebound after Marlies goalie Artur Akhtyamov first made a save off a Ryan Suzuki shot. Toronto defenceman Ben Danford responded back at the 17:45 mark by launching a shot from the point into the Chicago net to level the scores 1-1 going into the first intermission.
The second period went off to a slow start with only seven combined shots in the top half. The Wolves' first shot did not come in until the 4:13 mark in their second unsuccessful power play. But at the 14:13 mark, Chicago forward Noel Gunler would find fellow forward Skyler Brind'Amour in the slot with the latter finishing with the go-ahead goal to put the Western Conference champions up 2-1. After the Leafs AHL affiliates would also go unsuccessful on their second man-advantage, Marlies forward Ryan Tverberg would feed fellow forward Cedric Pare in the slot and Pare would also zip the puck past Chicago goalie Amir Miftakhov to tie the game for the second time at two apiece.
Despite being outshot 8-3 at the time including giving up four shots on an unsuccessful third Chicago power play, Toronto scored their well-earned game-winning goal at the 11:32 mark of the third frame when forward Vinni Lettieri put the puck past Miftakhov while simultaneously battling Wolves forward Noah Philp for possession. The 31-year-old would later plant the insurance goal to seal Game One for the Eastern Conference champions.
Chicago goalie Miftakhov made 21 saves off 24 shots for a save percentage of 0.875.
Toronto goalie and AHL All-Star Akhtyamov made 26 saves off 28 shots for a save percentage of 0.929.T