Led by Zenon Konopka with two goals and an assist, the Portland Pirates moved to within one win of another series triumph with a 4-1 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack in Game 5 of the Atlantic Division final at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Thursday night.
The Pirates take a 3-2 series lead into Sunday evening’s Game 6, also to be played in Portland.
Konopka has 19 points in 11 playoff contests, good for second in the AHL’s postseason scoring race. He has now recorded a point in 23 straight games, dating back to the regular season.
Geoff Peters had a goal and an assist, and Ryan Shannon added his sixth goal of the series for the Pirates.
Jani Hurme finished with 27 saves, including 13 in the third period. Portland owned a 31-15 edge in shots over the first 40 minutes.
Nigel Dawes picked up the only goal for the Wolf Pack, his fifth of the postseason.
In Calder Cup Playoff history, 88 best-of-seven series have been tied at 2-2; the Game 5 winner has taken the series 70 times (79.5 percent). The Wolf Pack have already bucked those odds once this spring, rallying to win Games 6 and 7 from Manchester in the first round.
