Michael Carcone scored 1:13 into overtime and Toronto took a 2-0 series lead in the North Division Finals with a 4-3 win over Cleveland on Friday night.
The Monsters host Game 3 of the series in Cleveland on Sunday afternoon (3 p.m. ET, NHL Network, AHLTV).
Carcone one-timed a pass from Jeremy Bracco and beat Brad Thiessen from the left-wing circle to give the Marlies their 17th win in 19 home games over the last three postseasons.
Chris Mueller scored his fifth goal of the playoffs and Joseph Duszak scored his first as a professional to stake Toronto to a 2-0 lead just 9:30 into the game.
But Cleveland tied things up as Sonny Milano scored at 17:58 of the first period and Dan DeSalvo struck 3:15 into the second to make it 2-2. Milano and DeSalvo would finish with three points each for the Monsters.
Egor Korshkov, a 2016 draft pick by the Maple Leafs who joined the Marlies this week, scored in his AHL debut to put Toronto on top 3-2 late in the second, but Ryan Collins evened things back up with his first postseason goal 40 seconds into the third period.
Cleveland, which was held to 16 shots on goal in Game 1, outshot the Marlies by a 38-26 margin in Game 2.
Kasimir Kaskisuo improved his playoff record to 5-0 with a 35-save performance.
North Division Finals – Series “J” (best-of-7)
N3-Toronto Marlies vs. N4-Cleveland Monsters
Game 1 – Wed., May 1 – TORONTO 5, Cleveland 2 | Recap
Game 2 – Fri., May 3 – TORONTO 4, Cleveland 3 (OT)
Game 3 – Sun., May 5 – Toronto at Cleveland, 3:00
Game 4 – Tue., May 7 – Toronto at Cleveland, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sat., May 11 – Cleveland at Toronto, 4:00
*Game 6 – Mon., May 13 – Toronto at Cleveland, 7:00
*Game 7 – Wed., May 15 – Cleveland at Toronto, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern