With their season on the line, the Chicago Wolves had no choice but to take this game one period at a time. One slip up, and their season would be over. On the other side, the Toronto Marlies couldn't get too high with just one win to go after a 1-0 shutout win in Game 3 on Tuesday night. In front of their home fans, they had a chance to finish the job on Thursday.
Bradly Nadeau scored 28 seconds into the first period. He put a pass from Juuso Valimaki to Artur Akhtyamov's short side, ensuring there would be no shutout tonight. That was just about the last good thing that happened to Chicago in the period. Nadeau took an interference penalty, allowing Jacob Quillan to score on the power play, and Luke Haymes added another before the midway point.
The Wolves were outshot 21-5 in the opening period and trailed 2-1 heading into the second. Things started rolling in their direction slowly in the second. They had 48 seconds of a 5-on-3 opportunity, but they couldn't get the tying goal. Instead, late in the period, Ryan Tverberg scored to push Toronto's advantage to two. The Wolves sat 20 minutes away from the end.
Early in the third, the Wolves flipped the script. Nikita Pavlychev provided the screen in front of the net, and Domenick Fensore provided the snipe. Akhtyamov had no chance of stopping it. He looked one way, and Fensore's shot went the other, beating the Marlies' goalie over his glove-side shoulder to pull within a goal.
Chicago needed just 65 seconds to tie it. Justin Robidas started the play by carrying the puck around the net and firing a shot towards the mass of humanity at the top of the crease. It appeared that Cal Foote kicked the loose puck to Robidas, who swooped around the net again to finish a wrap-around, tying the game at three with plenty of time left.
Toronto had a few chances late in the third, but the game continued into overtime. That's when the Wolves completed their comeback. Pavlychev was in the middle of it again, throwing a shot at the net for a rebound. Instead of Toronto clearing the puck, Ivan Ryabkin got his stick on the puck, allowing Viktor Neuchev to collect it and fire it home, keeping Chicago's season alive with a 4-3 overtime win.
The trio of Neuchev, Pavlychev, and Ryabkin had a pretty good game. Neuchev (1G, 1A) and Ryabkin (2A) finished with two points each, and while Pavlychev didn't pick up a point, his work was all over this game. The top scorers got something, too. Nadeau and Robidas each picked up goals, and Ryan Suzuki added an assist, his team-leading 12th.
Two of the three goals that Cayden Primeau allowed over the first two periods weren't the prettiest in the world, especially the 2-1 goal in the opening frame. However, he locked it down over the final two periods. His biggest stop came shortly before the winning goal, denying a point-blank chance from the slot with a little help from the guys around him. He finished with 33 saves on 36 shots.
The first step in the Calder Cup comeback is complete, with the Wolves surviving to see another day. They'll look to repeat their performance on Friday night in Game 5. If the Wolves can stave off elimination for a second time, they'll send the series back to Chicago, where anything feels possible. Otherwise, a Toronto win on Friday gives them the Calder Cup and ends the AHL season for good.
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