Penguins rally past Phantoms, even series at 1-1

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 5, PHILADELPHIA 4 (OT)
Kurtis McLean tied the game with 45.4 seconds left in regulation, and Chris Minard (pictured) scored 2:07 into overtime as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton rallied for a 5-4 win over Philadelphia on Saturday at the Wachovia Arena.

The victory allowed the Penguins to tie the East Division finals at a game apiece, with Game 3 slated for Monday in Philadelphia.

Trailing 4-1 entering the third period, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton received goals from Tim Brent at 3:36 and Luca Caputi at 13:25 to make it 4-3. With goaltender John Curry pulled in favor of an extra attacker, McLean tallied the equalizer at the 19:14 mark, his first goal of the playoffs.

Minard’s game-winner in overtime was his second goal of the night and seventh of postseason play, tying him with Brent for the league lead in that category. The marker came unassisted.

Ryan Potulny initially put the Phantoms out in front with a power play goal at 18:27 of the opening period. After Minard tied it with a power play tally of his own midway through the second, Philadelphia scored three times in a 1:17 span to take their 4-1 edge.

Boyd Kane lit the lamp at both 15:22 and 16:29, and Lars Jonsson followed with his first goal of the playoffs at 16:39. It remained 4-1 until the Penguins’ third-period comeback.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender John Curry stopped 26 of 30 shots in the winning effort.


CHICAGO 7, ROCKFORD 3
Chicago jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first period and withstood a Rockford rally to post a 7-3 win over the IceHogs in Game 2 of the West Division finals on Saturday in front of 6,323 fans at the Allstate Arena.

The Wolves hold a 2-0 lead in the series as it shifts to Rockford for Game 3 on Sunday afternoon.

Darren Haydar netted a pair of goals for Chicago, giving him three tallies over the first two games of the series.

Colin Stuart and Bryan Little posted a goal and an assist, while Joe Motzko, Boris Valabik, and Steve Martins added a goal apiece.

Brian Fahey chipped in an assist and was a plus-5 for the Wolves, and Joel Kwiatkowski, Andre Deveaux, and Jason Krog each posted two helpers.

Trailing 4-1 in the third period, the IceHogs closed to within a goal on markers by Petri Kontiola and Bryan Bickell. But Chicago rattled off three scores in a row to end the game.

Wolves goaltender Ondrej Pavelec stopped 42 of 45 shots in the winning effort, as his club was outshot 22-11 in the third period alone.