The Calder Cup Finals were supposed to be over by now. The Chicago Wolves were supposed to hoist the Cup on opposing ice this past weekend. There was supposed to be talk of how this Wolves team was the most dominant of any previous one that reached a championship final.
However, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins would have none of that.
After avoiding a sweep on home ice in Game Four, they rallied from a 1-0 second period deficit in Game Five to score five unanswered goals the rest of the way. The Wolves' 3-0 series lead was suddenly cut down to 3-2 in roughly a 24-hour span.
Now, the Wolves return home to the Allstate Arena to try and seek out a victory that would allow them to celebrate a Calder Cup victory with their hometown fans. They have every reason to feel good about their chances based on that fact alone.
This postseason, they have won their last six home games and are 10-2 at home overall. The Allstate Arena has seen two of the Wolves' three previous championships clinched, in 1998 and 2002.
Home attendance has not been huge so far this postseason, but potential-home-clinching-game history suggests that it will crack at least 10,000, maybe more. No team has ever lost the Calder Cup Finals after taking a 3-0 series lead and only four teams have lost after taking a 3-2 series lead.
However, if the Wolves are going to plan a postgame party in Rosemont, they'll have to win one of these games first. They have been outscored 6-1 since the third period in Game Four.
They had plenty of chances to score in Game Five, but Penguins goaltender John Curry played spectacularly and stopped all but one shot on goal.
Game Six will determine what can hold out more: the Wolves' home-ice advantage or the Penguins' momentum gained from their last two victories. The only sure thing is that the Finals will be over by Thursday night.
What isn't so certain now is who will be skating around with the Cup on the Allstate Arena ice.
comments (0) write a comment »
write a new comment
This article has no comments.