Wolves fall to Admirals 5-4 in game 6 of west division semifinal
MILWAUKEE -- The Chicago Wolves rallied from a 4-1 deficit to send the game to overtime before falling to the Milwaukee Admirals, 5-4, in Game 6 of the West Division Semifinal at the Bradley Center Friday night. The series is now tied, 3-games-to-3, with Game 7 to be played in Chicago on Monday at 7 p.m.
Trailing, 4-2, midway through the third period, Chicago responded with a pair of power-play goals to tie things up, 4-4. Center Jason Krog kicked things off when he made it 4-3 at 9:51 of the third period. Right wing Tim Stapleton ripped a shot from the right face-off circle and the rebound kicked onto the waiting stick of Krog parked at the corner of the net for a quick flip past Admirals goaltender Mark Dekanich.
The Wolves tied the game, 4-4, with a power-play tally from Johnny Pohl at the 13-minute mark of the third period. Defenseman Nathan Oystrick carried the puck down the ice and ripped it across for Pohl to slap straight down the slot.
Right wing Ryan Maki scored the game-winner, 4:22 into overtime after a face-off in the Wolves zone sent the puck straight across the ice near the goal line. Maki reached around Krog in front of the net and poked the puck, which bounced off Chicago's skater and past goaltender Drew MacIntyre to give Milwaukee (3-3) a 5-4 win.
"We played a strong hockey game. I like the way we battled back," said Wolves Head Coach Don Lever. "We had things under control in overtime and then the puck goes in the back of the net off our own player's stick. It's unfortunate."
Milwaukee got on the board first, 2:46 into the contest with a marker from center Ben Guite. Tristan Grant wrestled the puck away from a Wolves player along the boards in Chicago's zone and sent a pass across to Maki, who centered it for a streaking Guite to snap past Chicago goaltender Peter Mannino.
The Admirals made their lead 2-0 with 5:51 left in the first period when Marty Murray scored off a face-off in the Wolves zone. The puck kicked out and slipped under the stick of a Wolves defenseman and Mark Santorelli picked it up and got a shot off. Mannino blocked it but couldn't recover to stop the follow-up by Murray. MacIntyre (0-1) came in the replace Mannino following the goal. Chicago (3-3) responded to narrow the edge to 2-1, 71 seconds later when Pohl took a pass from Krog and one-timed a wrister from the slot past Dekanich.
Dekanich (3-3) posted 22 saves for Milwaukee.
Right wing Chris Mueller made it 3-1 in Milwaukee's favor at 1:53 of the second period when he took a pass from Andreas Thuresson in the right face-off circle and flung it past MacIntyre. Twenty-eight seconds later, defenseman Teemo Laakso gave the Admirals a 4-1 lead when he slipped a shot past MacIntyre after a defensive breakdown in front of the Wolves net.
MacIntyre made 11 saves in 50:13 of duty in taking the eventual loss, while Mannino stopped four of six shots in the first 14:09 of the contest.
Right wing Joey Crabb helped pull the Wolves back within two, 4-2, with his team-leading fourth goal of the postseason at 5:42 of the middle frame. Defenseman Noah Welch knocked an Admirals skater off his feet and Crabb collected the puck, walked in and fired a long blast past Dekanich.
The Wolves will host Game 7 at the Allstate Arena on Monday, April 26 at 7 p.m.