Justin Pogge made his professional hockey playoff debut last night and if he is smart, he savoured every minute of it.
Labelled as the Maple Leafs' goalie of the future, Pogge appeared in relief of Scott Clemmensen during a 6-3 loss by the Marlies to the San Antonio Rampage at the Ricoh Coliseum. But coach Greg Gilbert hinted strongly he will go with Clemmensen for Game 3 of the American Hockey League division semi-final on Monday in San Antonio.
"Chances are Scott will be going back in," Gilbert said. "(Pogge) made some good saves, but the second goal (he allowed), I don't know how he ended up on his back outside the net. It was a good experience for him to get some action."
Clemmensen, pulled after allowing four goals on 19 shots, said if the roles were reversed, he would expect to get the call for Game 3. The best-of-seven series is tied 1-1.
"I was told to be ready if there was a time I needed to come in, and I felt I did that," said Pogge, who made 15 saves,. "There were a lot of nerves, but you settle down pretty quick. We'll see how it goes."
NOT GOING ANYWHERE
Before Leafs fans get up in arms and think Pogge should be the main man in the playoffs, remember that Vesa Toskala has a two-year, $8-million US contract that kicks in next season. Toskala is not going anywhere any time soon.
Ben Ondrus, Jay Harrison and Bates Battaglia scored for Toronto before a crowd of 3,367, a nice improvement over the 1,063 who turned out for Game 1 on Wednesday. Chad Kolarik, with a hat trick, Joey Tenute with two goals and Matt Murley scored for the Rampage.
Gilbert has more to worry about than who starts in goal on Monday. His team was lazy and several turnovers led to Rampage goals.
"There was not much I liked," Gilbert said. "We were sloppy in every area of the game. They challenged us physically and we did not respond. We were soft. If you are not prepared to play, bad things happen. The onus is on everybody."
