TORONTO -- Mired in a 10-game scoring slump dating back to the regular season, Marlies forward Spencer Abbott elected to go against a popular post-season trend and shave his playoff beard Thursday morning. The move paid off as Abbott scored a natural hat trick to lead the Toronto Marlies to a 4-1 win over the Texas Stars that ties the American Hockey Leagues Western Conference final at two. "It wasnt working for me personally so I decided to switch something up," said Abbott of the fresh shave. "I was kind of hearing it when I first did it there, but I guess now they cant really say a whole lot. I was in a bit of a slump there and its nice to get that off my back. Getting three is just a bonus." Added Marlies coach Steve Spott: "(He) wanted to reset and a fresh start so he definitely did that. Im going to get to the Shoppers Drug Mart, maybe get some razors. Its funny how superstition plays a part of this. Whatever works, but it definitely worked for Spencer tonight." Abbott, who had not scored in seven playoff games after missing 12 games with a shoulder injury, picked up all three goals on Marlies power plays. Defenceman T.J. Brennan assisted on all three Abbott goals while Peter Holland extended his point streak to eight games with two assists. "I think its all a credit to my line mates," said Holland of the streak. "Ive been playing with great players and Spotters been putting me in great situations in order to get the job done and when the power play is going, you can get on the score sheet. As long as were winning, the points dont really matter to me." With Marlies defenceman Andrew MacWilliam off for boarding at 14:26 of the third, the Stars pulled goaltender Cristopher Nilstorp giving Texas a two minute, two-man advantage, but the visitors were unable to capitalize. Following the penalty kill, Jerry DAmigo added an empty netter to give Toronto a four-goal cushion. However, with just 1:42 remaining, Radek Faksa spoiled Marlies goaltender Drew MacIntyres bid for his third shutout of the post-season. MacIntyre made 27 saves for his ninth win of the playoffs, while Nilstorp stopped 24 shots in the loss. "Weve done a good job this year with responding when weve dealt with adversity," said Spott. "We lost two in a row, we definitely didnt play the way that we wanted to play (Wednesday). "The first (goal) was big, but the second one, thats the one thats been a challenge for us. Weve done a pretty good job getting the first goal in this series, but we wanted to have the push back right away to try to get the second one and try to back them off." With the win, Toronto avoided losing three straight for the second time all season (Nov. 9-14). Abbott opened the scoring at 1:36 of the first period, beating Nilstorp from the point. On the Marlies second power play of the night, Abbott put home the rebound off of a Brennan point shot past a sprawling Nilstorp. Holland nearly made it 3-0 at 11:20 of the first, beating Nilstorp but hitting the post. Toronto has now out-scored opponents 16-3 in the opening frame during the Calder Cup playoffs. Abbott completed the hat trick at 7:05 of the second on a two-man advantage, beating Nilstorp who was screened well by Toronto forward Josh Leivo. "It was pretty obvious we were giving him the gears a little bit before the game, but hey, whatever you need to do," said Holland of Abbotts shave. "If hes going to score three goals and hes going to help us win, then thats fine by us, but were going to ride him a little bit longer, thats for sure." The Marlies finished 3 for 6 with the man advantage while holding the Stars scoreless on five tries. Stars forward Chris Mueller had his five-game point streak halted in the loss. Notes: Marlies defenceman Korbinian Holzer missed the game with a lower-body injury and was replaced by Dylan Yeo. Veteran centre Jerred Smithson replaced Tyler Biggs on Torontos fourth line. ... Toronto FC midfielder Dwayne DeRosario dropped the puck in a pre-game ceremonial faceoff. ... Game 5 of the series goes Saturday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum. Cheap NBA Jerseys Authentic . Mauer drove in two runs before leaving with an injury, Eduardo Nunez homered and the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 10-2 on Tuesday night. Discount NBA Jerseys . - Vince Carter, heading into his 17th NBA season, doesnt consider age a big issue anymore. https://www.nbachinajerseys.us/.com) - The Dallas Mavericks had a five-game winning streak snapped last time out, but theyll try to get back into the winners circle Sunday evening when the Milwaukee Bucks pay a visit to American Airlines Center. NBA Jerseys Outlet .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at LeBron James and the Miami Heat winning their second straight NBA championship. Cheap Nike Basketball Jerseys . As each game passes (each has played close with the exception of last night) it becomes clearer just how evenly matched these two teams are and how one mistake, or one bad inning, is likely to sway the result.TORONTO - Garrett Billings scored six goals and added six assists as the Toronto Rock dominated the Philadelphia Wings 20-10 in National Lacrosse League action on Friday night. Stephan Leblanc and Kasey Beirnes had four goals and two assists apiece, Colin Doyle had three goals and four assists, Rob Hellyer scored once and assisted on seven, and Ethan OConnor and Scott Johnson also scored for the Rock (4-3). Toronto goaltender Nick Rose mmade 41 saves for the win.dddddddddddd Kevin Crowley and Tracey Kelusky scored three goals each for Philadelphia (3-5). Pat Saunders had two goals and two assists, Brodie Merrill had a goal and three assists, and Ryan Ward scored once and assisted on two. Wings goaltenders Brandon Miller and Evan Kirk split time in net, with Miller stopping 16 of 25 shots in just under 32 minutes, and Kirk giving up 11 goals on 24 shots. ' ' '