With the Wolves' tying the series in Game 4, the Western Conference Finals turned into a best-of-three between Chicago and Colorado. The big guns stepped up for the Wolves to knot the series at two games apiece, with Bradly Nadeau picking up the game-winning goal and assisting on a short-handed goal by Justin Robidas, earning the group a 2-1 win.
Chicago's first ten minutes were strong. Skyler Brind'Amour opened the scoring from the slot with his first goal of the postseason. Then, Robidas' persistence on the power play allowed him to jam a shot home at the side of the net, doubling the Wolves' lead. However, Tristen Nielsen brought his team even, getting a bounce to draw closer before scoring on the power play to tie it up after 20 minutes.
The Wolves got their lead back early in the second. Viktor Neuchev worked around a defender and found Bradly Nadeau alone at the backdoor to keep his streak rolling. From there, it was all Colorado. Matt DiMarsico tied it 32 seconds later. Taylor Makar scored short-handed to give Colorado its first lead. Chase Bradley finished the trifecta. In the 3:30 after Nadeau's goal, it was suddenly 5-3 Eagles.
With a two-goal lead, Eagles' netminder Trent Miner shut it down from there. Colorado got a little cushion before the midway point from Alex Gagne, and it was smooth sailing from there. Jason Polin put one more into the empty net to kick the extra point as the Eagles cruised to a 7-3 win, putting them a game away from the Calder Cup Final.
The difference in the game was the Wolves' power play after Nadeau scored the go-ahead goal in the second. Poor puck management was their undoing. Noah Philp tried to pass it back to Ryan Suzuki, but Colorado was there to poke it away and create a short-handed 2-on-0. Then, right as the penalty ended, both Ronan Seeley and Brind'Amour couldn't corral the puck, leading to another breakaway.
While he finished the game as a -4, Justin Robidas scored another goal on the power play, tying him for the AHL lead this postseason with his fourth while up a man. Bradly Nadeau also scored in back-to-back games, giving him and Robidas three-game point streaks. It was a rough outing for Cayden Primeau after playing on consecutive nights, though I hardly think you can put this loss on him.
With the series now in Colorado's favor, the Wolves need to find something within themselves. First, they'll need to tie the series, getting that chance on Sunday night in Colorado. Should they survive to fight another day, it'll be winner takes all in Game 7 the following night. Not having Felix Unger Sorum has been rough, so it'll be up to guys like Nadeau and Robidas to lay it all on the line for the Wolves.
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