Chicago won a special teams battle in Game 1, giving them a 1-0 series lead heading into tonight’s Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals in Colorado (8:05 ET, 
).
All five goals in the Wolves’ 3-2 win Thursday came on the power play, but Chicago converted two penalty kills in the third period to secure the win and hand the Hawks their first home loss of the playoffs (6-1).
Chicago went 3-for-5 on the power play against Colorado, which eliminated 20 of 21 chances in series against San Diego, Henderson and Coachella Valley. Justin Robidas (4-4-8), Bradley Nadeau (2-7-9) and Noel Gunler (2-1-3) Goal for Wolves Ryan Suzuki (4-6-10) had two assists in Chicago’s one-goal victory in Game 6 of the playoffs.
“We know our strengths against this team,” Gunler said. “We’re going to stick to our game and hope it goes our way.”
Kayden Primo (7-3, 2.28, .927) made 35 saves for the Wolves. Primeau reaches the Calder Cup Sectional Finals for the third time in five seasons after helping Laval reach the Calder Cup Sectional Finals in 2022 and 2025.
“It was a tight five-on-five game,” Primo said after the first game. “We have to clean up some special teams next game, be disciplined and not give them too many chances.”
Alex Barre-Bright (4-5-9) and Tristan Nelson (7-3-10) The Eagles went 2-for-7 with the man advantage. After the Eagles were shut out in Game 1 of each of their first three postseason games, Trent Miner (8-3, 1.42, .940) stopped 15 shots Thursday.
“I like our start, I like our energy,” Eagles head coach Mark Lightstu told Brennan Vogt of Hockey Hill High School. “We weren’t as sharp in our execution; after a little bit of a break, it probably didn’t feel that crisp anymore. They’ve sensed the dangerous power play, and they’ve had one more power play than we did.”
AHL All-Star first team defenseman Jack Akan After three Stanley Cup playoff games with his parent team, the Avalanche, he returned to Colorado’s lineup and assisted on two of the Hawks’ goals in his first game.
“I think he’s a little rusty. He hasn’t played in a while,” Letestu admitted. “When he plays there (in the NHL), he’s not going to play like he does here. The time we put him on the ice, there’s an adjustment period.
“Like a lot of guys on our team — I feel like we’re going to be OK in Game 2.”
Colorado needs a win tonight to avoid falling to 0-2 before the series heads to Chicago. Only eight teams in AHL history have won a best-of-seven series after losing the first two games at home.
