Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
Why did you go quietly? The Chicago Wolves haven’t started yet.
This is a team that has fought back to make its mark in every game of the Calder Cup Playoffs. Expect that same comeback when they face the Toronto Marlies in Game 5 of the Calder Cup Finals tonight (7 ET,
, Sportsnet 360, NHL Network, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio).
The Wolves are used to handling the emotional battle that comes with maneuvering their way into the Calder Cup Playoffs. It was back to the Central Division semifinals against the Texas Stars, where Chicago led by two goals with eight minutes left in Game 4 before the Stars rallied to win in overtime and force a decisive Game 5. The Wolves gathered themselves, came out and defeated the Stars, 6-1, to advance.
Then came the Grand Rapids Griffins, a powerhouse team that finished 20 points ahead of the second-place Wolves in the regular season. Any notion that this series was going to be a regular affair was quickly put to rest when the Wolves rolled into Grand Rapids and took Games 1 and 2 before eventually knocking off the Griffins in four games.
Their biggest effort came in the Western Conference finals against the Colorado Eagles. A 7-3 loss in Game 5 at home stopped a difficult task: enter Colorado and win twice at Blue FCU Arena – and do it without the first injury to the goalie. Cayden Primeau. Amir Miftakhov took over and made 36 saves in Game 6, then stopped 39 more shots in Game 7 to eliminate the Eagles.
All of that brought the Wolves to the Calder Cup final to face the Marlies. But two close losses on home ice — both after giving up leads — followed by a 1-0 loss in Game 3 left Chicago and its season on the brink.
It was even more dicey in Game 4 at the Coca-Cola Coliseum with the Calder Cup waiting for a possible presentation. In front of a Toronto crowd, the Wolves faced a first-period battle from the Marlies, who outscored them, 21-5. Primeau caught them, however, and the Wolves escaped the period down just 2-1. They met again in the second half, seeing the Marlies take a 3-1 lead Ryan Tverberg goal with 1:55 to go in the frame.
Here came the Wolves, though.
Domenick Fensore‘s rise of the left round gun Artur Akhtyamov. 1:05 later, a broken play was allowed Justin Robidas to put things in a folding place. It was 3-3, the Marlies called it over, and the Wolves were back in control. Viktor Neuchev completed the comeback at 3:16 of overtime, past Akhtyamov.
Hold a celebration.
“Our approach was the mentality of Game 7,” the head coach of the Wolves Spiros Anastas he said after the 4th game. “We’re 4-0 in playoffs. That’s who we are. That’s our team.
“We don’t give up hope, we fight.”
In the American Hockey League for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams and currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the league’s top scorer in 2016.
