Toronto Marlies take Game 2
And we’re ready for puck drop. #ChicagoWolves pic.twitter.com/xYrLJ0ZBM0
— Courtney Terlecki (@coco_terlecki) May 11, 2014
Toronto Marlies got off to an early lead, a deficit the Chicago Wolves could not recover from. The Marlies had in two scores less than eight minutes in, while the Wolves couldn’t capitalize on an early power play opportunity.
By the end of the first period, the Wolves trailed 3-0, although they had taken eight shots on goal compared to the Marlies seven.
End of 1: #ChicagoWolves trail @TorontoMarlies 3-0 (Holland, Smith, Leivo). CHI holds slight SOG lead at 8-7. #CHIvsTOR
— Chicago Wolves Live (@ChiWolvesLive) May 11, 2014
The second period fared slightly better for the Wolves in terms of goals saved, Jake Allen saving 14-of-17. Wolves only had five shot attempts that period, all of which Drew MacIntyre was able to save.
The Wolves also continued their scoreless power play streak.
#ChicagoWolves get a few looks with the extra man, but MacIntyre continues to come up big for the Marlies. #CHIvsTOR
— Chicago Wolves Live (@ChiWolvesLive) May 11, 2014
Third period started 4-on-4 and the Wolves were finally able to score roughly two minutes in.
GOAL! Shane Harper gets the #ChicagoWolves on the board 1:46 into the third as he beats MacIntyre top shelf. #CHIvsTOR
— Chicago Wolves Live (@ChiWolvesLive) May 11, 2014
Late into the third, the Wolves were finally able to capitalize on a power play as well as their own empty net.
Empty net helps @ChicagoWolves make this a 3-2 game nearing the end of the third. #CHIvsTOR
— Courtney Terlecki (@coco_terlecki) May 11, 2014
Yet the Wolves’ momentum was short lived as the Marlies came back and took advantage of the empty net, making it 4-2 with under a minute to play. The Wolves were unable to recover despite the late rally.
D’Amigo gets the empty-net goal to makes it 4-2 over #ChicagoWolves with 52.7 remaining. #CHIvsTOR
— Chicago Wolves Live (@ChiWolvesLive) May 11, 2014
#ChicagoWolves rally late but fall 4-2 to @TorontoMarlies in Game 2, going down 0-2 in the WCSF. CHI goals by Harper and Jaskin. #CHIvsTOR
— Chicago Wolves Live (@ChiWolvesLive) May 11, 2014
The key players for tonight’s game: Drew MacIntyre(G) and Kenny Ryan(RW) of the Toronto Marlies.
MacIntyre saved 22 of 24 on shots. The Wolves had slightly more shots then the Marlies, however because of MacIntyre’s ability to have save after save, the Marlies were able to come out ahead.
Kenny Ryan ended with a plus-2 after his two assists, both of which were shorthanded.
The Wolves will need to continue to work on scoring in the power play.
In the two games the Marlies and Wolves met in the regular season, both teams lost at home. The next two games will be played in Toronto, the Marlies are 1-0 at home while the Wolves are 1-1 away this postseason.
#ChicagoWolves now travel to Toronto and will hit the ice for Game 3 on Wednesday @ 6 p.m. Fans can catch the action on The U-Too. #CHIvsTOR
— Chicago Wolves Live (@ChiWolvesLive) May 11, 2014
Power play and save struggles
#ChicagoWolves trying to capitalize another PP #CHIvsTOR pic.twitter.com/B0qbvIu3mQ
— Courtney Terlecki (@coco_terlecki) May 11, 2014
The power play is a fascinating advantage that you don’t see in many other sports. In basketball you get free throws, in football you get penalty yards, but in hockey you take a person off the ice for a up to a few minutes.
Yet teams like the Chicago Wolves have had difficulty capitalizing on these opportunities.
The Wolves were last in the AHL in power play percentage in the regular season. While their first round of playoffs fared slightly better, they have continued to struggle.
Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals proved again that the Wolves are lacking in a vital area as they went 0-for-3 in the power play.
Game 2 against the Toronto Marlies has not changed.
A PP chance from the line of Jaskin, Aucoin, and Cracknell slides just wide before MacIntyre makes a diving stop. #CHIvsTOR
— Chicago Wolves Live (@ChiWolvesLive) May 11, 2014
Late into the second period, the Wolves had two power play opportunities, and were unable to score on either.
#ChicagoWolves get a few looks with the extra man, but MacIntyre continues to come up big for the Marlies. #CHIvsTOR
— Chicago Wolves Live (@ChiWolvesLive) May 11, 2014
Outside of the power play, the series thus far has had an uneven match up between goaltenders; Jake Allen of the Wolves and Drew MacIntyre of the Marlies. Through the playoffs leading up to Game 2, Allen averaged 3.24 goals allowed, while MacIntyre averaged only 1.5. Allen had a .882 save percentage, and MacIntyre saving .953 percent of shots attempted.
Through the first period of Game 2, MacIntyre was 8-for-8 on goals saves while Allen only 4-for-7.
While the Wolves have generally managed to maintain a slight lead on shots, Allen will need to step up for the team to have a chance in this series.
#ChicagoWolves get a flurry of chances late in the period, but MacIntyre turns them away. #CHIvsTOR
— Chicago Wolves Live (@ChiWolvesLive) May 11, 2014
The #ChicagoWolves have controlled much of the play the last few minutes, but haven’t been able to get one past MacIntyre. #CHIvsTOR
— Chicago Wolves Live (@ChiWolvesLive) May 11, 2014
At the close of the second, with the Wolves still scoreless, MacIntyre continued to show strength with saves.
At close of the second period, MacIntyre goes 13-of-13 for the save, Allen 14-of-17
— Courtney Terlecki (@coco_terlecki) May 11, 2014
With the struggle on the power play coupled with the Marlies advantage at goaltender, the Wolves will continue to struggle if they can’t turn it around for Games 3, 4 and 5.
Game 2: Marlies vs Wolves
Game 1 of the Calder Cup Western Conference Semifinals is in the books, and it did not look good for the Chicago Wolves.
If they want to take Game 2 while they’re still at home, they’ll need to make some adjustments from Friday night.
After Game 2’s morning skate, @MikeGDavies breaks down the #ChicagoWolves perspective for @Leafs_TV and @HockeyAbbs. pic.twitter.com/AHgVFiKuyV
— Chicago Wolves (@Chicago_Wolves) May 10, 2014
Power plays all around were a struggle for the Wolves. The Toronto Marlies were able to capitalize on Wolves penalties, coming out 2-of-5 in the power play.
As for the Wolves, they were unable to score on any power plays. They were ranked last in the power play during the regular season. Throughout the Western Conference Quarterfinals, they did rank fifth place out of the 16 AHL playoff teams in the power play.
Black Ice: Road to the Stanley Cup 
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