Wolves leave unfinished business
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. -- The Calder Cup was repacked in its protective case Saturday night, ready to travel 700 miles west.
For the second straight night, the Chicago Wolves couldn't finish off the host Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Dave Gove, Connor James and Mark Ardelan scored in the last eight minutes of the second period to lead the Penguins to a 5-1 win in Game 5 of the Calder Cup Finals.
The Wolves lead the best-of-seven series 3-2. Game 6 is 7 p.m. Tuesday at Allstate Arena.
"The way we played tonight, you do have to worry a bit," said Wolves center Bryan Little. "They're a team that is gathering momentum right now with a couple big wins at home. I think we have to come out strong. We'll be back home, comfortable, in our own arena with our own fans. We have to take advantage of that because they did tonight."
The Wolves took a 1-0 lead midway through the second period when Little chipped a lunging backhand over goalie John Curry on the rebound of a Jordan LaVallee shot.
But the Wolves, who were 11-0 when scoring first in the playoffs, gave up 3 goals in the final eight minutes of the period to fall into a deep hole.
Gove lifted a Tim Wallace centering pass over the glove of goalie Ondrej Pavelec at 12:35, James beat defenseman Brian Fahey up the left wing and scored at 14:36, and Ardelan stuffed in a rebound on the power play with 31 seconds to go.
Wolves coach John Anderson viewed it as a pair of isolated defensive breakdowns rather than a dramatic momentum shift in the series.
"(Gove's goal) was a 3-on-3 and we went to pick up the trailer and went to the wrong guy and they banged it in. Great play," Anderson said. "Then Connor James comes down about 2,000 miles per hour, made a beautiful shot top shelf and changed the whole complexion."
Luca Caputi and Ben Lovejoy added third-period goals for the Penguins, who got 33 saves from Curry.
"You don't get here with bad goaltending," Anderson said. "If a goalie plays spectacular, that can carry you sometimes."
No team has ever come back to win the Calder Cup Finals after losing the first three games. The Penguins are the first team to rebound from that deficit to force a Game 6.
"(Chicago) got that first goal and certainly that was their goal tonight, to play with the lead," Gove said. "It says a lot about our team. Back against the wall, they score first, no big deal. We came back with a big goal right away and got the momentum back."
Wolves veteran winger Steve Martins, who missed the previous two games with an unspecified injury, returned to the lineup.