Chicago Wolves goalie Cayden Primeau was awarded the Player of the Game Award for his 23 saves off 24 shots. (Source: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images)The Chicago Wolves beat the Grand Rapids Griffins 2-1 in Game One of the Central Division Finals.
In a first period where two power plays were awarded to each team, Chicago outshot Grand Rapids 13-6. The Wolves put up four of their shots in their man-advantage situations while the Griffins registered zero in theirs. Yet, no team broke the ice in the opening frame.
Chicago would start the second period on an 8-2 shooting run for the first 11:37 minutes. But then in the next 6:24 minutes, Grand Rapids would go an 8-1 run of their own, this time cashing in with a goal from forward Eduards Tralmaks at the 14:41 mark. The Griffins would slip up at end however and put the Wolves on their fifth power play with the less than three minutes left in the frame. Chicago forward and AHL All-Star Justin Robidas would capitalize this time and level the scores at one apiece going into the third period.
The Wolves would again come dominating for the first 10:39 minutes of final frame, going on an 8-2 run and this time they would be the ones to capitalize on the shot volume with captain Josiah Slavin coming away with the game-winner. For the rest of game, the Griffins put up just five unanswered shots, effectively limiting their chances of finding the equalizer.
Chicago goalie Cayden Primeau made 23 saves off 24 shots for a save percentage of 0.958.
Grand Rapids goalie Michal Postava made 30 saves off 32 shots for a save percentage of 0.938.