MILWAUKEE 5, CHICAGO 4
Staring in the face of playoff elimination, Milwaukee rallied from deficits of 3-0 and 4-1 to stun Chicago with a 5-4 road win on Wednesday, cutting the Wolves’ series lead in their West Division semifinal to 3-2.
The series will now shift back to the Bradley Center in Milwaukee for Game 6 on Friday night.
Milwaukee trailed 4-1 in the latter stages of the second period, but Mark Santorelli and Ben Guite notched goals before intermission to make it a 4-3 contest.
Rookie Ryan Thang tallied his first of the playoffs to tie it at 10:53 of the third period, and Chris Mueller netted the game-winner on the power play with just 1:55 left to play in regulation. Admirals defenseman Jonathon Blum assisted on both third-period markers.
Andreas Thuresson scored Milwaukee’s lone goal during the stretch in which Chicago built its 4-1 lead, and defenseman Alexander Sulzer contributed a trio of assists.
Tim Stapleton and Kevin Doell potted first-period goals for the Wolves, and Joey Crabb stretched the lead to 3-0 just 55 seconds into the second frame.
Both Doell and Crabb scored on the power play, and after Thuresson made it 3-1, Chicago forward Anthony Stewart added another power play strike midway through the second.
Matt Anderson and defenseman Nathan Oystrick each posted two helpers for the Wolves in the losing effort.
HAMILTON 5, MANITOBA 4 (2OT)
AHL All-Rookie defenseman P.K. Subban tallied his second goal of the night 6:05 into the second overtime, lifting Hamilton to a 5-4 road win over Manitoba and a 3-1 series lead in the teams’ West Division semifinal.
The Bulldogs can close out the defending conference Moose with another win at the MTS Centre on Friday night.
Subban began Hamilton’s rally from a 4-2 deficit when he scored midway through the second period, and Mike Glumac’s second goal of the night tied it up at 12:19 of the third frame.
Subban scored the game-winner off a shot from the top of the right circle which went through a screen and beat Moose goaltender Cory Schneider up high. David Desharnais and Grant Stevenson earned helpers on the tally.
Brock Trotter also netted a goal for the Bulldogs, while Stevenson (0-3-3), Desharnais (0-2-2), and Aaron Palushaj (0-2-2) each contributed multiple assists.
Hamilton goaltender Cedrick Desjardins was spectacular during the overtime periods and finished with 38 saves in the winning effort. Schneider took the loss with 40 saves.
The Moose scored all four of their goals in the second period, as Evan Oberg, Mario Bliznak (1-1-2), Dusty Collins, and Kevin Clark all put pucks past Desjardins.
Guillaume Desbiens and rookie Sergei Shirokov recorded two assists apiece for the Moose.
TEXAS 6, ROCKFORD 1
Rookie Jamie Benn scored twice and added an assist as part of a four-goal second period for Texas, and the Stars routed host Rockford by a 6-1 count at the MetroCentre on Wednesday.
Texas now holds a commanding 3-0 lead in the teams’ West Division semifinal and can close the series with another victory on Friday night in Rockford.
Benn, who played all 82 regular-season games for Dallas before he was assigned to Texas for the AHL playoffs, finished with four points (2-2-4) overall on the night.
Forwards Mathieu Beaudoin and Greg Rallo joined defensemen Landon Wilson and Garrett Stafford in scoring their first playoff goals for the Stars. Travis Morin, Aaron Gagnon, and rearguard Dan Jancevski each contributed two assists in the victory.
Stars goaltender Brent Krahn surrendered just one goal for the third consecutive game this series, finishing with 26 saves on 27 shots.
Ben Smith scored for the IceHogs, who have now registered exactly one goal in each of their last eight postseason games. Rockford is 0-9 in its last nine playoff contests overall dating back to a 5-1 win over Chicago in Game 5 of the 2008 West Division Finals.
ROCHESTER 6, ABBOTSFORD 1
Rochester erupted for four goals in the second period and rolled to a 6-1 road win over Abbotsford on Wednesday at the Entertainment & Sports Centre.
The Americans, who dropped Game 1 but now hold a 3-1 series lead in their North Division semifinal, can advance to the second round with another triumph over the Heat on Friday night.
Defenseman Jason Garrison notched a pair of second-period goals for the Amerks, while rearguard Jason Garrison and forward Michal Repik scored once apiece. Rochester has now totaled 11 goals in the second period over the last three contests.
Jamie Johnson and Chris Taylor rounded out Rochester’s offense, both scoring on the power play for their first goals of the series.
The Americans finished an impressive 4-for-6 on the man advantage while holding Abbotsford to an 0-for-6 showing. Rochester goaltender Tyler Plante was excellent in net, finishing with 46 saves on 47 shots.
Defenseman Josh Meyers netted the Heat’s lone goal early in the second period, making it a 1-1 game at the time. But Rochester then scored five unanswered goals to pull away with the victory.
