The improbable 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs took another turn last night when the Chicago Wolves erased a two-goal third period deficit and beat the Toronto Marlies, 4-3 in overtime, to avoid a sweep and push the Calder Cup Finals into a fifth game tonight at the Coca-Cola Coliseum (7 ET,
, Sportsnet 360, NHL Network, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio).
Domenick Fensore (4-2-6) and Justin Robidas (7-9-16) scored 65 seconds apart early in the third period to tie the game in front Viktor Neuchev (2-4-6) converted 3:18 into OT to give the Wolves their fourth postseason win against elimination.
In a 25-game Finals series trailing 3-0 after three games, Chicago is just the eighth team to force a Game 5 — and only the second to avoid a sweep by winning Game 4 on the road; Syracuse won Games 4 and 5 over Grand Rapids in 2013 before falling in six.
“Our approach was the mentality of Game 7,” the head coach of the Wolves Spiros Anastas said. “We’re 4-0 in the playoffs. That’s who we are. That’s our team. We’re not giving up; we’re fighting.”
Bradley Nadeau (7-10-17) gave the Wolves a 1-0 lead just 28 seconds into last night’s game. It was the fastest goal to start a playoff game since Syracuse Kevin Lynch scored 17 seconds into Game 5 in 2017.
Chicago then withstood adversity that saw Toronto register 15 shots on goal in the first 9:58 of the game, taking a 2-1 lead in goals. Jacob Quillan (2-6-8) and Luke Haymes (4-8-12). Cayden Primeau (9-8, 2.65, .916) made 19 of his 33 saves in the first half, and now has a .906 save percentage in his three starts since returning for the second game.
“We were down our leading man (Felix Unger Sörum) to start the series, we were down with our first goalie,” said Anastas.[Primeau] he’s coming back but he’s coming off an injury… I think he’s still shaking and rusty. But he made big mistakes. As the chain gets longer, the rust will move more and more and it will be more dangerous for us.”
Ryan Tverberg (6-7-13) extended the Marlies’ lead to 3-1 late in the second period. William Villeneuve (2-19-21) recorded two more assists for Toronto – his 19 assists are tied for third most by a defenseman in Calder Cup Playoffs history – and Vinnie Lettieri (10-15-25) had an assist for his eighth point of the series.
“(The game) turned in the first five minutes of the third period,” head coach Marlies John Gruden said. “We were on our heels and they caught the momentum. To be two goals up and go to the third, you have to be at a very high level. We have to learn from that and make sure that if we are in that situation it doesn’t happen again.”
Artur Akhtyamov (14-7, 2.18, .924) stopped 22 of 26 Marlies, allowing four goals for the second time in the series.
“He’s been outstanding for us. We’ll be better in front of him,” Gruden said. “It’s good that we’re back at it. There’s no time to think about it. We can fix it quickly. It’s going to be a great game.”
“This is the fun part,” Anastas said. “When you play on June 18, you learn more each game that goes by, so we hope that will be beneficial for us.”
Quick Highlights:
- The attendance at the Coca-Cola Coliseum last night was 8,401. The AHL welcomed more than 7.3 million fans (regular season and playoffs combined) for the third year in a row.
- The road team has now won 14 of 18 overtime games played in the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs.
- With his assist on the tying goal last night, in Chicago Ryan Suzuki (5-12-17) has seven points (4-3-7) in the Wolves’ four postseason wins.
- Nadeau, Fensore and Robidas – the Wolves’ top scorers in regulation last night – were also the trio representing Chicago at the AHL All-Star Classic in February.
- Toronto’s 21 shots on goal for the first time were the most in the opening period of a playoff game since 2014, when St. John’s IceCaps register 21 shots to start Game 4 against Texas.
- Last night’s game was the eleventh time this postseason the team won after trailing by at least two goals. Chicago has three of those wines.
- The Marlies (1-for-12) hit their first power play of the series in Game 4. The Wolves are also 1-for-12.
- Chicago is up 2-1 for the second night in a row this postseason. Toronto is playing back-to-back for the first time in these contests.
- Toronto and Chicago are now seeking to become the sixth team in AHL history to capture the Calder Cup after winning four straight games, behind the Chicago Wolves (four), the 2000 Hartford Wolf Pack (five), the Hershey Bears (five), the 1989 Adirondack Red and Red Wings (fo19).
