Grand Rapids rode a three-goal second period to a 5-2 win over Chicago at Allstate Arena on Saturday night, eliminating the Wolves and advancing to the Western Conference championship series.
With a 4-1 win in the Central Division Finals, the Griffins will play for the right to represent the West in the 2017 Calder Cup Finals.
Tyler Bertuzzi broke a 1-1 tie at the 3:53 mark of the second with the first of his two goals on the night, and Tomas Nosek and Kyle Criscuolo scored 2:40 apart later in the period as the Griffins advanced to the conference finals for the third time in the last five years (2013, 2015, 2017).
Evgeny Svechnikov also scored for Grand Rapids, which totaled 22 goals in the five games vs. Chicago. Jared Coreau (7-1) finished with 22 saves on the night.
Andrew Agozzino and Samuel Blais scored for the Wolves.
Central Division Finals – Series “K” (best-of-7)
C1-Chicago Wolves vs. C2-Grand Rapids Griffins
Game 1 – Wed., May 3 – Grand Rapids 4, CHICAGO 1
Game 2 – Fri., May 5 – CHICAGO 7, Grand Rapids 3
Game 3 – Sat., May 6 – GRAND RAPIDS 4, Chicago 2
Game 4 – Mon., May 8 – GRAND RAPIDS 6, Chicago 3
Game 5 – Sat., May 13 – Grand Rapids 5, CHICAGO 2
Svechinkov off a play from Criscuolo opens the scoring for @griffinshockey. #CHIvsGR pic.twitter.com/qBbQDYpOqY
— AHL (@TheAHL) May 14, 2017
