Fighting for their Turner Cup playoff lives, the Wolves went into overtime Wednesday night tied 2-2 with the San Antonio Dragons in Game 4 of the best-of-five opening round playoff series.
Grigori Panteleyev ended the Wolves’ season when he scored in the overtime session, giving San Antonio a 3-2 victory.
San Antonio took the Horizon ice leading the series two games to one. The teams traded single goals in each of the first two periods.
The Wolves scored first at 4:45 on a rebound shot by Rob Brown after defenseman Paul Koch was thwarted by goaltender Bruce Racine on a rush to the net.
Chicago’s lead was short-lived. San Antonio tied the score when Rene Chapdelaine beat goalie Wendell Young on a backhand rebound.
Early in the second period, slashing infractions charged to Gord Donnelly and Tim Breslin left the Wolves with a two-skater deficit but the penalty-killers and Young kept San Antonio from capitalizing.
Midway through the middle period the Dragons’ Marc Laforge was sent to the penalty box for elbowing Tim Bergland.
With five seconds remaining on Laforge’s sentence, the Wolves struck for their second goal. Brown set up Steve Maltais for a shot from the near right that Racine rejected but couldn’t control. Maltais pounced on the rebound and scored.
The lead lasted for 3 minutes 20 seconds. Brian Glynn connected on a shot from the slot that sent the teams into the third period deadlocked 2-2.
Neither team scored in the third period.
During regulation time the Wolves, who finished third in the International Hockey League’s Midwest Division, outshot first place San Antonio 31-29. The Dragons were 0 for 5 on the power play, while the Wolves were 1 for 5.
