Chicago Wolves get a second chance at home to finish off Grand Rapids
After five minutes had elapsed in Game 3 of the Central Division Finals against Grand Rapids, the Chicago Wolves trailed 2-0. Chicago coach Spiros Anastas and his squad expected pushback from the Griffins, who entered the contest with a 2-0 deficit in the best-of-five playoff series.
The Wolves evened the contest at 2-2 by the conclusion of the first period. Both teams scored once in the second period, and after neither team found the back of the net in the third period, the contest entered overtime. Nearly 10 minutes into the extra period, Grand Rapids scored to secure a 4-3 victory.
“We didn’t play our best hockey, but it was a one-shot game, and we came back from down 2-0,” Anastas said. “What it shows about our team is that you can’t give us many opportunities.”
The series is now 2-1 in Chicago’s favor. The Wolves have another chance to close out the series in Game 4, which will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday inside Allstate Arena in Rosemont.
Anastas said that Chicago was too prone to neutral zone turnovers in Tuesday night’s overtime defeat, allowing the Griffins to obtain easier opportunities to get shots on goal. Defender Domenick Fensore, who scored the Wolves’ first goal of Game 3, echoed the message.
“A lot of the stuff they had was from our own mistakes or things we weren’t doing well,” Fensore said. “I think just cleaning up those aspects of our game and getting back to what we were doing well in those first two games — that will lead to some more success for us.”
Chicago was outshot 46-20 in Game 3, as the Wolves were forced to operate in its defensive zone for a hefty part of the evening. Chicago goaltender Cayden Primeau, who Fensore called “the backbone” of the team, finished the game with a season-high 42 saves.
Anastas wasn’t too happy about Grand Rapids’ 46 shots on goal, a number that he felt was too high. Primeau’s heroics kept the Wolves in the game, but it wasn’t enough. In Anastas’ eyes, his team was just one step slow all night, something he called “uncharacteristic.”
“It’s our first off-game of the playoff run, probably our worst game the last couple months,” Anastas said. “It happens. We’re a hockey team that’s been through a lot — a lot of ups and downs and emotions and physical fatigue. It’s not really so much to the fact that it happened, but it’s how we respond to it.”
The contest as a whole was slower than most games for Chicago, as Anastas hopes the Wolves can bring a quicker pace and more physicality into Game 4.
In addition, Anastas wasn’t content with totaling just 20 shot attempts.
“We didn’t stress their (defense) as much as we did in the first two games, and that was indicative with the clear plays they were able to make,” Anastas said. “They were flicking a lot of pucks on us, where in the first two games, they weren’t able to get those flips off because we were on them.”
Chicago finds itself in a similar situation to the one it was in just over two weeks ago. In Game 4 of the Central Division Semifinals against the Texas Stars, the Wolves had a chance to close out the series at home but came up short in overtime. Two days later, in a do-or-die Game 5. Chicago dominated with a 6-1 win to move on.
Now the Wolves have yet another chance to bounce back, this time to move on to the Western Conference Finals.
“Our group is very competitive,” Fensore said. “When things don’t go our way, we’re right onto the next thing. We want to prove that we can bounce back and get the job done.”
To Anastas, Tuesday’s setback was far from a disaster. Still holding a 2-1 lead after a close loss amid a poor performance, Chicago brings confidence into Game 4.
“These are all learning experiences that you can compound and stack on each other that will tell a real nice story in a Calder Cup run,” Anastas said. “This is part of our story. It’s nothing to hang your head about. Just recalibrate and be ready to execute on Thursday.”