The Toronto Marlies will face off against the Texas Stars for the 82nd American Hockey League championship when the 2018 Calder Cup Finals get underway on Saturday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto.

The Texas Stars won the Robert W. Clarke Trophy as the American Hockey League’s Western Conference champions for 2017-18, claiming the title with a 2-1 overtime victory over the Rockford IceHogs in Game 6 of their best-of-seven series at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park on Monday night.

The Stars are heading to the Calder Cup Finals for the third time in the franchise’s nine-year history. They will take on the Eastern Conference champion Toronto Marlies in the best-of-seven Finals beginning Saturday afternoon.

Guided by head coach Derek Laxdal, the Stars – the top development affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars – finished second in the AHL’s Pacific Division with a record of 38-24-8-6 (90 points, .592) before defeating the Ontario Reign (3-1) in the division semifinals, the Tucson Roadrunners (4-1) in the division finals and the IceHogs (4-2) in the conference finals. The Stars reached the Calder Cup Finals in their inaugural season in 2009-10, and won the championship in 2013-14.

Led by head coach Sheldon Keefe, the Marlies finished with the best record in the AHL during the regular season (54-18-2-2, 112 points, .737), then defeated the Utica Comets (3-2) in the division semifinals before sweeping both the Syracuse Crunch (4-0) and the Phantoms (4-0) to earn the right to play for the Calder Cup.

2018 Calder Cup Finals (best-of-7)
Toronto Marlies vs. Texas Stars
Game 1 – Sat., June 2 – Texas at Toronto, 4:00
Game 2 – Sun., June 3 – Texas at Toronto, 4:00
Game 3 – Tue., June 5 – Toronto at Texas, 8:00
Game 4 – Thu., June 7 – Toronto at Texas, 8:00
*Game 5 – Sat., June 9 – Toronto at Texas, 8:00
*Game 6 – Tue., June 12 – Texas at Toronto, 7:00
*Game 7 – Thu., June 14 – Texas at Toronto, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern