Wolves Season Ends in Game 7 Overtime
Published on May 11, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Chicago Wolves News Release
ROSEMONT, Ill.---The Chicago Wolves took the lead three times but the Texas Stars battled back on each occasion and forced overtime before forward Jamie Benn snared the game-winner to give Texas the 6-5 win in Game 7 of the West Division Finals at the Allstate Arena Tuesday night.
The Stars will advance to face the Hamilton Bulldogs in the Western Conference Finals.
Benn wrestled the puck away from the Wolves along the boards before snapping a shot past Chicago goaltender Drew MacIntyre at 4:57 of overtime.
"It is tough to lose in a Game 7," said Wolves Head Coach Don Lever. "Our guys gave their heart and soul and battled and scraped to get here. Our guys tried their best but their best player won their game for them. You have to give them a lot of credit. They kept coming at us and we couldn't get our momentum back."
The game opened with a flurry of four goals in a span of 5:15. Chicago (7-7) jumped out to a 2-0 lead, 4:22 into the contest, but Texas retaliated to make it 2-2 within the following 53 seconds.
Right wing Spencer Machacek put the Wolves on the board first with his fourth first goal of the postseason, when he wrapped around the back of the net and slipped the puck under Stars goaltender Matt Climie at 3:22 of the first period.
Sixty seconds later, Brett Sterling made the lead 2-0. Climie made a diving save on a shot by defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy and Sterling hacked at the rebound until he succeeded in pushing it over the goal line.
Texas (8-3) answered 30 seconds later with a tally from center Travis Morin. Left wing Landon Wilson intercepted the puck and sprung out on a breakaway, and Morin followed up to pop the rebound past MacIntyre.
Twenty seconds after that, Texas evened the score, 2-2. Defenseman Maxime Fortunus took a long shot and Mathieu Beaudoin tried to knock home the rebound. MacIntyre was there but coughed up another rebound and left wing Scott McCulloch was able to put it past him.
Machacek put the Wolves back in front with a shorthanded goal at 18:09 of the first period. The forward stripped a Stars player off the puck at their blueline and drove down the ice alone, firing a shot past Climie.
Right wing Tim Stapleton regained the two-goal lead for Chicago, 4-2, at 2:16 of the second period. The forward gained control of the puck and raced down the ice with right wing Joey Crabb, passing across to Crabb before receiving a centering pass and wristing a shot past Climie.
Center Aaron Gagnon narrowed Chicago's lead to 4-3 at 9:10 of the second period. Defenseman Trevor Ludwig threw a pass up the ice from deep in the Stars zone and Gagnon collected it and sprung out on a breakaway, deking and slipping a shot past MacIntyre, glove side.
MacIntyre (1-2) posted 47 saves on 53 shots in his second postseason start for Chicago.
Texas tied it up again, 4-4, when Fortunus' shot from high in the slot flew past MacIntyre, stick side, 4:09 into the third period.
Chicago pulled ahead again, 5-4, at 9:45 of the third period. Sterling threw it out in front of the net and Krog backhanded a high shot up over Climie's left shoulder.
Climie (1-0) turned aside 24 shots in his first playoff start for the Stars.
Texas netted the equalizer to send the game to overtime, knotted 5-5, when defenseman Andrew Hutchinson flung a long floater, which deflected off a skate in front of the goal and clanked into the back of the net with 6:50 remaining in the third period.
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