06/10/2008
10:59 PM - ROSEMONT,
Ill.---The Chicago Wolves entered the final 20 minutes
of their season tied 2-2 and came out Calder Cup
Champions after American Hockey League MVP Jason Krog hammered out a hat trick
to lift his team to a 5-2 victory over the
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in Game 6 of the Calder
Cup Finals at the Allstate Arena Tuesday night.
The Wolves wrapped up the championship series,
4-games-to-2 to capture their second Calder Cup and
fourth league title in their 14-year history, which
includes winning the International Hockey League's
Turner Cup 10 years ago in 1998, and again in 2000.
With the score knotted at two goals apiece, Krog
put the Wolves back on top, 3-2, 4:44 into the final
frame. Right wing Jesse Schultz drove down the ice,
carrying the puck out of Chicago's zone, before pulling
up to the left of the goal. As he hesitated, a Penguins
player fell to the ground trying to block a shot,
opening up the ice for a pass to Krog. The league's
regular-season MVP roofed a shot up under the crossbar
as he fell forward, landing on his stomach as the shot
hit the twine.
A breakaway goal with 4:37
remaining in the game gave Krog a hat trick and sent the
Allstate Arena crowd ablaze for the final minutes of the
contest.
"This team has everything that makes up
a championship team," said head coach John Anderson.
"Shear dedication and team work that's what won it for
us tonight"
Wolves goaltender Ondrej Pavelec held off 25 of 27
Penguins shots in the 24th postseason contest of his
rookie campaign (16-8). Penguins goaltender John Curry (14-9), also playing in
his first pro season, stopped 33 attempts.
Chicago (16-8) opened scoring when defenseman Nathan Oystrick cranked a slapshot
past Curry from the top of the key to put Chicago up,
1-0, 17:39 into the first period.
Krog made the
Wolves lead two, 2:05 into the second frame. The AHL's
leading scorer intercepted a clearing attempt by
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in their zone, moved in and rifled
a shot through Curry.
The Penguins got on the
board, 5:48 into the second frame, when a long blast
from Nathan Smith hit the Wolves
defenseman in front of the net squarely in the back and
bounced up, where Luca Caputi, who the blueliner had
been guarding, tipped it into the net.
A
five-on-three power play late in the second period gave
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (14-8) the chance to draw even,
2-2. Tripping and hooking calls to the Wolves Brett Sterling and Steve Martins 63 seconds apart put
Chicago on the defensive, and Mark Ardelan's bullet from the right
face-off circle found its way to the back of the net
just as the first penalty expired.
Left wing Brett Sterling knocked in his fourth
goal of the playoffs with just over two minutes
remaining in the game to round out scoring, 5-2.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 0 2 0 -- 2
Chicago 1 1
3 -- 5
First Period---1, Chicago, Oystrick 3
(Kwiatkowski, Krog), 17:39 pp. Penalties---Bonvie,
Wilkes-Barre Scranton (holding), 7:52; Lovejoy,
Wilkes-Barre Scranton (holding), 16:19.
Second
Period---2, Chicago, Krog 10 (unassisted), 2:05; 3,
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Caputi 4 (Smith, Lannon), 5:48;
4, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Ardelan 6 (Brent), 18:52 pp.
Penalties---Goligoski, Wilkes-Barre Scranton (hooking),
4:17; Sterling, Chicago (high-sticking), 4:17; Sterling,
Chicago (tripping), 16:52; Martins, Chicago (hooking),
17:55.
Third Period---5, Chicago, Krog 11
(Schultz, Kwiatkowski), 4:44; 6, Chicago, Krog 12
(Kulda, Kwiatkowski), 15:23; 7, Chicago, Sterling 4
(Litte), 17:42. Penalties---None.
Shots on
goal---Wilkes-Barre/Scranton: 9-12-6--27. Chicago:
13-14-11--38. Power plays---Wilkes-Barre/Scranton: 1-2.
Chicago: 1-2. Goalies---Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Curry
(33-38). Chicago, Pavelec (25-27). A---9,808.
Referee---Dean Morton. Linesmen---Scott Cherrey and
Bryan Pancich. |
