The Western Conference is down to two teams in the AHL. The Chicago Wolves have endured two tight series thus far, beating the Texas Stars in five games and the Grand Rapids Griffins in four. They're the top team in the Central Division this season, and they're one step away from playing for the whole thing.
Their series against top-ranked Grand Rapids featured four one-goal contests. Josiah Slavin scored in the third period of Game 1 to put the Wolves on the right side of the series. Felix Unger Sorum played the hero in Game 2, scoring his second goal of the night in overtime. After the Griffins avoided elimination with an overtime win in Game 3, Noah Philp's two-goal night in Game 4 sealed the deal.
The Wolves have relied on a very balanced attack through two series. Ryan Suzuki, Bradly Nadeau, and Unger Sorum are tied for the team lead with eight points. Unger Sorum enters on a five-game point streak. Their defense has gotten in on the act quite a bit, too. Cal Foote is right behind the forward trio with seven points, and Juuso Valimaki has six.
Cayden Primeau was another big part of the Wolves' win over the Griffins. The Wolves were outshot in Games 2 through 4 by a fair margin, but Primeau was outstanding. He recorded 30 or more saves in all three games, including 42 stops in their overtime loss in Game 3. Primeau has faced the fourth-most shots of any goalie in the AHL (290), posting a .924 save percentage and a 2.31 GAA.
Strong goaltending is at the forefront for the Colorado Eagles
The Pacific Division does things a little differently. As the league's largest division, only the top team gets a bye into the Division Semifinals. The Eagles finished second, meaning they had to play a best-of-three series to get it started. They made quick work of San Diego in two games before finishing Henderson and Coachella Valley in four games each.
A big reason for those quick series has been goalie Trent Miner. Hurricanes fans might remember him for his relief appearance in Denver earlier this season. Miner replaced Scott Wedgewood after the Canes blitzed him for four goals in the first period. Miner made 20 saves in relief before the Canes won the game in the shootout during their State Fair road trip at the start of the year.
During these playoffs, Miner has been nearly unbeatable. He has played all ten games for Colorado, winning eight of them. Four of those eight wins have been shutouts, posting a league-best 1.26 GAA with a .947 save percentage. He only had one shutout in 32 games during the regular season. Miner's only win with the Avalanche this season was also a shutout, stopping 29 shots against Columbus.
The Wolves didn't face Miner during the regular season. All four meetings took place over two weekends in February. Three of the four were one-goal games won by Chicago, including a pair of overtime wins finished by Unger Sorum. Cayden Primeau won both of his starts, while Amir Miftakhov split his. Kyle Keyser picked up Colorado's lone win in two starts, while Isak Posch went 0-1-1.
The Eagles' offense was led this season by Alex Barre-Boulet, who finished second in the league with 70 points. His 26 goals tied Jayson Megna for the team lead. This postseason, Barre-Boulet is third on the team in points (8), behind Ivan Ivan (10) and Tristen Nielsen (9), whose six goals are currently tied for third in the AHL.
The series begins tonight in Colorado for the first of two games at Blue Federal Credit Union Arena. Games 3 and 4 are guaranteed to transpire from Allstate Arena in Chicago, with a potential for Game 5 if both teams earn at least one win. Should the series need more than five games, Colorado holds home ice, so the Wolves will be the visitors for Games 6 and 7.
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