 |
Power
Play |
7TH
- 18.6 |
Penalty
Killing |
11TH
- 84.0 |
FORWARDS |
MARTIN
ST. PIERRE |
21-67-88
(+3) |
PETRI
KONTIOLA |
18-50-68
(+17) |
TROY
BROUWER |
35-19-54
(-8) |
DEFENSEMEN |
PRESTIN
RYAN |
7-17-24
(+1) |
JUSTIN
FLETCHER |
5-11-16
(+3) |
DANNY
RICHMOND |
2-12-14
(+8) |
GOALTENDERS |
COREY
CRAWFORD |
29-19-5
(3 SO)
2.83 GA
.907 PCT |
|
WADE
FLAHERTY |
13-8-1
(2 SO)
2.54 GA
.917 PCT |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Rockford
at Chicago |
|
|
SCHEDULE |
| 1 |
MAY
1 |
ROCKFORD
1 - CHICAGO 4 |
SEED
2 |
2 |
MAY
3 |
ROCKFORD
3 - CHICAGO 7 |
SEED
1 |
44-26-2-6
(98) |
3 |
MAY
4 |
CHICAGO
1 - ROCKFORD 3 |
53-22-2-3
(111) |
| |
4 |
MAY
7 |
CHICAGO
2 - ROCKFORD 3 |
|
| |
5 |
MAY
9 |
ROCKFORD
5 - CHICAGO 1 |
|
| |
6 |
MAY
11 |
CHICAGO
4 - ROCKFORD 3 |
|
| |
7 |
MAY
13 |
ROCKFORD
1 - CHICAGO 4 |
|
| Chicago
Wins Series 4-3 |
|
SERIES
PREVIEW
|
| by Matt Chin - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
The
battle for Illinois bragging rights pits the Chicago Wolves
against the Rockford IceHogs, the AHL affiliate of the
Chicago Blackhawks, in the West Division Final. This has
turned out to be one of the fiercest rivalries in the
AHL even though Rockford is in their first year in the
league.
In ten games with the IceHogs the Wolves compiled a 6-3-0-1
record against their Interstate 90 rivals where they won
all five games that were played at the Allstate Arena.
Offense
Chicago has one of the most dominant first liners in AHL
Triple Crown winner Jason Krog, center Darren Haydar and
Brett Sterling. In the playoffs though, the offensive
numbers came from players throughout the lineup where
almost everyone has contributed points including most
of the defensemen.
Kris Versteeg has really turned it up for Rockford with
3 goals and 2 assists in the playoffs. He continues to
put up great numbers as he did in the regular season in
scoring 18 goals in only 58 games.
Defense
Coach John Anderson of the Chicago Wolves said that Pavelec
is a key player as the last line of defense when his teammates
in front of him are caught deep or out of position. Chicago
might have lacked on the defensive end at even strength
but on the penalty kill the team is one of the tops especially
when they were down two men.
Rockford, in the first round, has one of the best defenses
allowing only six goals in five games. The team only has
two players that are in the minus column.
Goaltending
This will turn out to be one of the best goaltending match
ups where tow of the league’s best will face each other.
Chicago’s Ondrej Pavelec (1.74 GAA and .929 save percentage
in 6 playoff games) and Rockford’s Corey Crawford (1.10
GAA and .955 save percentage in 5 playoff games) were
almost identical in the statistical department in the
regular season where Pavelec has a slight edge but Crawford
was up to task after dispensing the Houston Aeros in the
first round. Both players have taken the load for their
teams as they are being closely looked at to be part of
their NHL parent’s rosters as they played in part due
to injuries.
What to expect
Even though the Wolves dominated the series in the regular
season, look for a long and physical series. In the last
home and home series at the end of the season, the two
teams hooked up for 268 penalty minutes in both games
with 186 in the second to last game of the season. These
two teams might have even played well in the first round
just so that they would get a chance to meet each other
again in the playoffs.
Looks like Rockford knew how to tone things down in the
first round to get the job done as they only accumulated
58 penalty minutes in five game but with an opponent like
the Wolves you never know.
Look for the Wolves to do well on the special teams play.
Even though the IceHogs allowed only six goals in the
first round, look for the Wolves veteran leadership to
show what it takes in playoff hockey from that of Joel
Kwaitkowski who can set up the play from the blueline
and as well score a goal from time to time.
The team that will win will be the one that can score
early and set the pace of the game. If the Wolves can
play the puck and the man as they have in the last two
games, they should be able to dispatch the IceHogs. The
teams need to look and gage the physical factor as the
teams are again playing back to back games where “issues”
can build up the emotions can take over in losing control
of the game.
Rockford lead the division most of the first half of the
season but Chicago quietly started winning and became
one of the dominant teams in the league. Both team know
how to win and what to do to get there. The teams have
played enough that they really don't need to look a game
tape, so look for an evenly played series. |
|
| Game
1 |
Rockford
1 - Chicago 4 |
| by Matt Chin -
PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Chicago
Leads Series 1-0 |
Rosemont,
IL
- The Chicago Wolves powered their way with a 4-1 victory against interstate rival Rockford IceHogs in the series opener of the West Division Finals. Special teams play was a huge factor for the home team. The Wolves scored their first three goals on the power play while the penalty killers fought off all six Rockford man-advantages that they faced.
The first goal came at the 15:03 mark in the first period. Wolves center Jason Krog took the puck near the goal line and popped it out to Arturs Kulda at the near blueline, who fired it cross ice to Joel Kwiatkowski. His laser shot found the back of the net. It looked like IceHogs goaltender Corey Crawford might have been screened as he had no time to react to the one-timer. Kwiatkowski was also credited with an empty-net goal that closed out the scoring.
Late in the second period, with Chicago on the power-play, the Wolves had numbers in front of Crawford. Brett Sterling backhanded a pass to an awaiting Darren Haydar who swept the puck in for the goal.
In the third, Rockford was called for a five-minute major after center Colin Fraser was called for a high-stick that drew blood from Steve Martins, who in turn was given a 10-minute misconduct call for arguing. The IceHogs were able to kill the penalty, but just before it ended, Rockford captain Jim Fahey was called for a high-stick. The Wolves again went aggressive to the net as Jordan LaVallee tried to backhand a shot in but the puck rebounded out to Sterling who slapped it in on the open side.
“I didn’t like our five-minute power-play. They created a couple of good chances but they became desperate at that point,” said Wolves coach John Anderson. “We got to be a little smarter than that. But other than that, I think our power play moved the puck well and had some good chances.”
Ondrej Pavelec was superb in goal again facing 30 shots. The only fault was that one goal went through. Jack Skille scored the only Rockford goal late in the game.
“It was a faceoff that our “D” blocked the shot and he didn’t know where the puck was. He (Skille) just shot the puck to the net and I guess it was in. But it was nothing, it was 3-1 but there was still five minutes left so there is a little danger. Then they had the power play, but (our) PK played great tonight,” said Pavelec
Pavelec's play continued to impress his coach as the young netminder attempts to lead the Wolves further into the playoffs.
“It’s not those little saves, but those big saves at the opportune time can really change the game,” said Anderson. "He is just solid. It makes us feel a little confident. It makes us be able to do a few more things offensively. I don’t want to say take chances but be a little more liberal.”
Crawford played well but he never got the support in front of him. He saved 29 of the 32 shots he faced.
“The game could have gone either way," said Anderson. "The shots were pretty tight and the chances for and chances against were pretty were very close."
Before the game, the Wolves signed goaltender Craig Kowalski who played for their ECHL affiliate in Gwinnett. He shared the ECHL lead and matched a career-high with 29 wins and ranked fourth in the league with a career-best 2.33 goals-against average, in 44 regular-season games. In the Kelly Cup Playoffs, he went 4-3 with two shutouts before the team was eliminated.
The two teams will face each other again at the Allstate Arena for Game 2 on Saturday, May 3rd.
|
|
| Game
2 |
Rockford
3 - Chicago 7 |
|
by Matt Chin - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Chicago
Leads Series 2-0 |
Rosemont,
IL
- The Chicago Wolves beat the Rockford IceHogs 7-3 at
the Allstate Arena for their seventh win of the 2008 playoffs.
The win kept Chicago’s win streak at home against the
IceHogs this season at seven games. The series now goes
Sunday to Rockford for a late afternoon game. This win
also marked the franchise’s one hundreth playoff victory
in 13 years of Wolves hockey.
Rockford needed to come out strong to slow down the Chicago
offense. They did that in the beginning but it soon faded.
The team played the man more than the puck even though
they finished their checks they were far from taking control
of the puck.
Things started to turn bad for the IceHogs as the Wolves
scored two quick goals. As the IceHogs were coming off
a penalty, they couldn’t clear the puck out of their zone.
As the puck was rattling near the crease, winger Joe Motzko
ping-ponged a shot in past netminder Corey Crawford as
the Wolves struck first in the second game of the West
Division Finals.
Just under one minute later Rockford’s Martin St. Pierre
was called for a roughing penalty. The Wolves started
to roll on the power-play as they did in the last game
as captain Darren Haydar received the puck, found his
spot and fired a bullet from the top of the far circle.
The Wolves at this point didn’t make too many errors.
They had crisp passing on the man advantage and the was
evident as patience paid off as veteran Steve Martins
took a pass from Colin Stuart and took two steps and fired
a bull’s-eye from the point past Crawford to give the
Wolves a commanding 3-0 after the first. In the second,
things seem to calm down for Rockford, at least in the
goal department. Captain Jim Fahey got a score past Ondrej
Pavelec who couldn’t set fast enough as the puck seemed
to rebound off the Wolves netminder and in. And that was
pretty much the action in the second.
To start the third the scoring was nixed on the same Rockford
penalty. Wolves winger Colin Stuart escaped with the puck
for the breakaway and scored the shorthanded tally. But
a quick shift later Petri Kontiola kept his points streak
alive at five games as he shot a big fat rebound into
the open net. With this goal the IceHogs also broke a
0-28 powerplay drought. Still early in the period, Rockford
looked like they were gaining momentum when Bryan Bickell
lifted a shot on in over Pavelec’s shoulder to bring the
IceHogs within one. But the Wolves started to peel away
after composing themselves. Goals from Bryan Little, Boris
Valabik and Haydar’s second of the game capped the scoring
to send the 6,323 fans in the stands home with a decisive
home win.
“It’s nice to get an assist here and there, but you know
to score goals, it doesn’t really matter who scores on
our line, just as long as we score," said Haydar. "Tonight
we were a minus and that is something that obviously we’re
not happy about and I’m definitely not happy about. We
won the game so that is a bonus. We’re up two, I guess
we need to regroup and get ready for tomorrow’s game.”
In the first series against Houston the IceHogs gave up
only 11 goals in the five games played. But in just the
two games played that have given up that same number.
“It’s hard to believe that in a 7-3 game both goaltenders
stood on their head," said Chicago coach John Anderson.
"We have got to be way more disciplined in our systems.
I was a little disappointed in seeing them come back like
that on a couple big mistakes. Maybe that’s a lesson well
learned. Thank goodness we have the firepower to come
out of it.”
Both goalies faced a ton of shots as Crawford took 38
to Pavelec’s 45. Both teams played hard but they teetered
back and forth with inconsistencies. Chicago stayed strong
on the special teams and Rockford is just starting to
take baby steps in that direction. Chicago has great depth
in their team on the scoring department and that bodes
well when the scoring is picked up on the other lines.
As the game turns to Rockford for Games three and four
we will see if the home team dominance continues between
these two rivals.
|
|
| Game
3 |
Chicago
1 - Rockford 3 |
|
by Matt Chin - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Chicago
Leads Series 2-1 |
Rockford,
IL
- “We played well here against them and we got it done,”
said Rockford coach Mike Haviland as the IceHogs came
back home and defeated the Chicago Wolves 3-1. The win
brought the series to 2-1 on the best-of-seven series
in the West Division Finals as the home team has taken
each game. This was similar in the regular season between
the two teams as each pretty much dominated at home.
Rockford's three goals we all rebounds on the second chance. The first period saw the Wolves as the more dominating team but they could not get on the board. But that all changed when the tide shifted to the IceHogs in the second. Rockford outshot the Wolves 21-7 and scored two goals.
The first goal came when Justin Fletcher kept the puck low on a shot to the net that rebounded off Ondrej Pavalec to set up Kris Versteeg with traffic in front. This came right after Rockford power-play chance. In the same period with the faceoff coming in the Wolves zone, the IceHogs kept the pressure there as Derek Nesbitt fired a shot of a bounce on an attempt from Niklas Hjalmarsson.
Early in the third the Rockford scoring ended as Petri Kontiola kept his point streak alive as the IceHogs blistered shot after shot on Pavelec until Kontiola pounded the net for the score.
Chicago finally got on the board but it was "too little, too late". Bryan Little finally scored on the power-play to stretch the Wolves streak with a power play goal to 13 games.
“They just wanted it more than us. They came out more determined, that’s what it came down to today,” said Wolves coach John Anderson. “We had a lot of quality chances that were blocked. We have a couple of days to regroup from this and get back at it.”
As said in reviewing the last few games, the Rockford IceHogs played the man more but was shying away from the puck, but today they finally adjusted and stayed at home to protect the net. “The guys came out really hard tonight," said Rockford goaltender Corey Crawford. "They really sacrificed their bodies.”
Crawford had an outstanding game stopping all but one of the 28 shots he faced. Not to be outdone, Pavelec had an equally difficult task while facing 43 shots. So far in this series it has been the special teams and the play of the goaltenders. This game was a role reversal in every sense. There was a change of homes, change of tactics and a change in confidence and that has shown with every home team that skated in each game of this series.
Rockford finished on the rebounds which is rare for Pavelec to allow so many. They played a game that was more at home instead of playing the puck and eventually losing a chance on the play allowing Chicago to grow on their power-play strength. All in all, the big win was the adjustment of their penalty kill.
The series will continue with Game 4 of the West Division Finals on Wednesday, May 7 at the Rockford MetroCentre.
|
|
| Game
4 |
Chicago
2 - Rockford 3 |
|
by Matt Chin - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Series
Tied 2-2 |
Rockford,
IL
- There is nothing like Mom’s home cooking with a great meal but look out for dessert were it is not that sweet but it is still from Mom. That is how this series has played out where the home team plays so well just to get a little complacent to allow the other team to get back into the game to keep it close.
Tonight the Rockford IceHogs defeated the Chicago Wolves 3-2 to tie the series at two games apiece. As with all the games the home team scored first and often but in the final period the team that is behind has every opportunity to get back into the game. Chicago Coach John Anderson said, “It sure helps to have an early lead in (this) series.”
In the first period there was a lot of good up-and-down action until late in the period when the IceHogs struck first. What started out as a broken play turned into a goal as Derek Nesbitt fired a shot towards the net where Wolves netminder Ondrej Pavelec stacked his pads to make the initial save, but the rebound came out sharply to Martin St. Pierre who took the perfect shot in for the initial score on the power play late in the period.
The second period saw Rockford crowd the crease as Troy Brouwer tried to poke the puck in past Pavelec, but as he moved, the puck slipped around his pads and into the goal. Brouwer again added to his goal total with a minute left in the period as the IceHogs had numbers on the rush as the Wolves defense left Pavelec high and dry.
Wolves Assistant Coach Todd Nelson said that what the team needed to do was to get some traffic around the net and take more shots and eventually one will get in. This is how the Wolves have pretty much played when they were at home but this series has been a total role reversal depending on who the home team was.
Chicago finally got something together halfway through the period as they seems to have settled into their system albeit a little late but they did gain some momentum, whether it carries on Friday at the Allstate Arena has yet to be seen.
At the 10:26 mark on the Wolves specialty, the power play, they finally got on the board as defenseman Brian Fahey fired a shot from the near slot that zoomed over Corey Crawford on the blocker side. This goal got the Wolves to play more of their style of game. They were able to cycle and control the puck better than they have all game. Jesse Schultz, with some speed, rushed toward the Rockford net and got the puck in with 6:22 left in the period. Rockford stood tall as the Wolves looked like they had fresh legs but couldn’t pull the trigger to knot the game up.
Chicago had 16 shots on goal in the second as Crawford had another great night stopping 32 of the 34 shots he faced. His counterpart, Pavelec, saved 27 of 30 in another good but not spectacular game as he had in all the playoff games up to the third game in this West Division Finals game.
“We came out, we played a great game and I think that we got a little rattled in the third there,” said IceHogs Head Coach Mike Haviland. “(Still) the guys played extremely well.”
The series now returns to Chicago at the Allstate Arena on Friday as the series has turned into the best of three. The next game will come back to the Rockford MetroCentre for a Mother’s Day afternoon tilt. If necessary, Game 7 will be on Tuesday.
|
|
| Game
5 |
Rockford
5 - Chicago 1 |
|
by Matt Chin - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Rockford
Leads Series 3-2 |
Rosemont,
IL
- The Rockford IceHogs finally broke the ice on the road in becoming the first team in the West Division Finals to not only score first in the opponents barn but is the first team to break serve in a dominant win against the Chicago Wolves by a score of 5-1.
We can say the Wolves dominated the first period just by the mere shots they posted, 11-4 but that was not the case. As the period progressed, both team played physically and chased the loose pucks hard in to the boards. There was as much up and down action as you would see in a tennis match. The Wolves could not sustain any momentum and were uncharacteristically poor on the power play in which they went 0-6. But the IceHogs played a consistent game albeit not in fancy fashion. In saying this it is amazing that there was no score in the first.
In the second, the Wolves started to fall apart and the IceHogs began to pick up their game. At the 2:08 mark of the period, Rockford struck first as Jack Skille caught the Wolves running away from the net to score easily. “That’s huge, I think it’s huge,” commented Rockford Coach Mike Haviland on the first goal. “It gives us so much confidence. We got a young team, and when we got confidence and we score we seem to get even more. We end up getting one, maybe two, and then we settle in and just play our game. I think it has been like that for both teams really, in this series. It was huge especially tonight in this building. It was huge for us.”
The ‘Hogs struck again on a careless play as Wolves defenseman Grant Lewis chased after and carried the puck behind the net with Colin Fraser chasing him. As the both came around the net, Lewis lost the puck at the goal line where Fraser caught and unsuspecting Ondrej Pavelec with a tuck tip-in for the unassisted goal.
Troy Brouwer finished the Rockford second period "Pick-3" by Rockford with a short-handed shot off a centering pass that floated high and in on Pavelec. But the Wolves we able to muster some strength late in the period by finally getting in some quality shots along with creating traffic in front of the net which is one of their signatures as Jason Krog showed persistence in getting the goal in on Corey Crawford.
Chicago had hoped to carry this momentum into the third but it was quickly squashed. Off the faceoff, Adam Berti kept pushing the issue with the puck and eventually was able to backhand a shot over Pavelec’s shoulder. Rockford finished the scoring for the game on a 4-3 power play goal from Brouwer who has scored two goals a game in two consecutive games. By this time Robert Gherson had come in to replace Pavelec.
“The first couple of games of the playoffs I was fighting the puck a bit," said Brouwer. "(I was) shooting a lot but nothing was going in for me. Now I guess the puck just seems to have eyes and going in for me right now.”
Crawford was spectacular in goal stopping all but one of the 41 shots he faced. He was by far the best player on the ice. “He has been outstanding,” said Haviland. “You need goaltending to win. I thought he was the number one star tonight by far especially in the first half. I don’t think we had our legs in the first as we would like to and he made some big saves.”
As for the other side, Pavelec had one of his worse outings in the playoffs going 20-25 before being replaced. He seemed out of sorts at times and out of position and allowing the big rebounds that the team is not accustom to.
“I have got to give them credit, they found ways to hang in the first period and then they come out strong in the second and then shut us down in the third,” said Chicago Coach John Anderson. “They did a pretty good job that way. I think scoring the first goal is huge for us. It is a lot easier playing with a lead than without it. They scored at opportune times. That puts the team behind the eight ball, so it takes us out of the way we want to play.”
With the loss the Wolves are one game away from being eliminated, but Anderson has been in this position before.
“My first year here in Detroit. We lost there and had to come back here for two games and we were down three games to two and found out ways to win two games," said Anderson. "But you know we need to take one game at a time. Let’s walk before we can run. Let’s get the game in Rockford and go from there.”
The first period play and chasing the puck back and forth seemed to fatigue the Wolves through the rest of the game. They didn’t seem to have their feet under them and the lacked many simple aspects of the game. They did not play the puck well, they couldn’t make the plays happen, fore-checking was nonexistent, goaltending dropped below average, and the special teams spent more time trying to get the puck out of their zone more than attacking the IceHogs in theirs. So a lot needs to happen between now and the next game in Rockford for a Mother’s Day special. If the Wolves are able to win, the teams will return back to Chicago on Tuesday, May 13.
|
|
| Game
6 |
Chicago
4 - Rockford 3 |
| Rockford
IceHogs |
Series
Tied 3-3 |
Rockford,
IL
- The Rockford IceHogs cut a three-goal lead to one, but couldn't finish the comeback as the Chicago Wolves won 4-3 and forced a Game 7 at the Allstate Arena. The IceHogs gave up four power-play goals in just under eight minutes in the second frame to give the Wolves a 4-1 lead.
To start the scoring, Petri Kontiola potted his fourth goal of the postseason on a power play at 15:33 in the first period. Martin St. Pierre and Troy Brouwer were credited with the assists.
But then the Jason Krog scored a power-play marker at 10:48 in the second with assists from Brett Sterling and Joel Kwiatkowski to tie the game. And at 14:40 in the same period, Kwiatkowski scored another power-play goal to take a 2-1 lead. Darren Hayder and Krog had the helpers.
The man-advantage hits kept coming as Nathan Oystrick got in on the action with a 4-on-3 power-play tally at 16:32 with helpers from Jesse Schultz and Bryan Fahey. Krog added a second marker at 18:25 to put the Wolves up 4-1 while skating on a two-man advantage. Haydar and Kwiatkowski contributed on the helpers.
But the IceHogs comeback started on a 4-on-4 tally from Kontiola at 19:02 with one second left on a Wolves penalty. Kris Versteeg and Bryan Bickell had the assists.
And Versteeg made the score 4-3 with a power-play goal 58 seconds into the third frame with helpers from St. Pierre and Kontiola.
That's how the score remained, however, as the Wolves evened the best-of-seven series at three. The final game of the series will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Allstate Arena.
|
|
| Game
7 |
Rockford
1 - Chicago 4 |
|
by Matt Chin - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Chicago
Wins Series 4-3 |
Rosemont,
IL
- On a rainy night, the Chicago Wolves devoured the Rockford IceHogs in Game 7 of the West Division Finals, 4-1. The series win allowed the Wolves to advance to the Western Conference finals against the Toronto Marlies. This will match the No. 1 seed Chicago against the No. 2 seed Marlies, who finished two points behind the Wolves.
Tuesday night's game started well for both teams. Forechecking and back-checking was the order of the day, evidenced by the lack of shots. Wolves Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec was making plays and had great movement in the net, but the biggest thing was that he was not allowing the big rebound that would come back to hurt him.
The first penalty was called on the IceHogs late in the period. On the power play, winger Joe Motzko tried to fire a puck on net but it bounced behind and rebounded off the backboard to Jesse Schultz who shuttled the puck in on Corey Crawford’s glove side which gave the Wolves the all-important first goal at the 18:27 mark.
In the second, both teams were playing well in front of their nets. They made the blocks, pinched in on the player with the puck and sacrificed the body to make the save. Brett Sterling was disciplined enough to draw a Rockford penalty on Kris Versteeg. Chicago’s bread-and-butter struck again, as Jason Krog blasted a one-timer from Darren Haydar from the far circle and through Crawford’s pads. Krog who was held goal-less in the first 10 playoff games has finally seen the net with four goals in the last three games.
“I was still getting the shots against Milwaukee earlier in the series but they just weren’t flying on their way in,” said Krog, “I’m playing with great players so I am going to get opportunities every night and I know that and fortunately they’re starting to go in now”.
The third presented more of the same. At the 8:57, the Wolves broke through with and even-strength goal as Bryan Little was able to pick up his own rebound and get the shot in as Crawford was trying to recover from the first attack. But as with most of this series, the losing team was able to get back with a momentum shifter. Rockford winger Versteeg was able to get traffic in between him and Pavalec and was able to get a shot in over the shoulder and in.
The IceHogs pulled Crawford in for the extra attacker with a little over three minutes to try to eat away at the score but Colin Stuart placed the nail in the coffin as he tapped in an empty netter with a 1:24 left.
“Rockford was a lot better team. They pushed us right to the very end. They are well coach(ed), they played very hard,” said Wolves Head Coach John Anderson, “They had us reeling in the third period because they came so hard but you know we survived it and our goaltender played great. We adjusted a few things on our power play, and the guys really did it well and that was the difference right there.”
Pavelec faced 39 shots allowing one and Crawford was 19 for 23. Both goaltenders made saves that would make anyone’s head spin but they both had help also from the players in front of them.
“He has been wonderful all series. Even in the games we lost,” said Anderson of his goalie. “He made big saves every game. When you have a goaltender like that, you at least have a chance to win a hockey game. You can’t win championships with average goaltending, you’ve got to have the real deal in there and I think he is that.”
The two teams were very close as they battled through the seven game series. “It was a battle. What a great team they are," said Krog. "It’s too bad that someone has to lose. It was so close."
Chicago's goaltending was outstanding down the stretch and was key to the Wolves win in this series. “I cannot say enough about him (Pavelec) the last two games," said Krog. "He surprises me more and more, I think. Throughout the season he started to get stronger and took his game to another level after Christmas. Once he got comfortable, and you know he seemed to get stronger as the playoffs too. He has been able to steal games for us. It’s huge when you are playing good teams like this.”
Now the series goes to the next step in the Western Conference Finals as the Chicago Wolves will take on the Toronto Marlies who the previous night defeated the Syracuse Crunch in seven games after starting the series down three games to one. Game 1 will begin at the Allstate Arena just outside Chicago on Friday, May 16 at 7:30pm CST.
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
Power
Play |
3RD
- 20.8 |
Penalty
Killing |
7TH
- 84.4 |
FORWARDS |
JASON
KROG |
39-73-112
(+16) |
BRETT
STERLING |
38-33-71
(+7) |
JOE
MOTZKO |
37-43-70
(+10) |
DEFENSEMEN |
JOEL
KWIATKOWSKI |
21-29-50
(+23) |
NATHAN
OYSTRICK |
15-28-43
(+8) |
BRIAN
FAHEY |
14-23-37
(+13) |
GOALTENDERS |
ONDREJ
PAVELEC |
33-16-3
(2 SO)
2.77 GA
.911 PCT |
|
ROBERT
GHERSON |
8-6-0
(2 SO)
2.61 GA
.914 PCT |
|
|
|
