Wolves Strike First, Beat Gulls in Game 1 of Conference Final

Cody Glass scored a breakaway goal to give his team a series lead

Chicago Wolves forward Cody Glass had his stick slashed out of his hands during overtime of Game 1 of the Western Conference Final, but it ended up playing to his advantage as he scored the game-winning goal against the San Diego Gulls at the Allstate Arena.

Glass, who went to the bench to retrieve a new stick in the neutral zone during the play, caught a pass from Tomas Hyka and scored on a breakaway to give the Wolves a 5-4 victory and a 1-0 series lead.

Tye McGinn scored a goal and added an assist, and T.J. Tynan had a pair of helpers as the Wolves took another step toward the Calder Cup Final. AHL MVP Daniel Carr also scored a goal, and Oscar Dansk stopped 40 shots in the victory.

The Wolves got the scoring early in the game thanks to Tobias Lindberg, who scored his second goal of the postseason to give Chicago a 1-0 lead about six minutes into the contest. Off a face-off, Lindberg skated through the offensive zone, and as he hit the face-off dot, he deflected a Zach Whitecloud shot past Jeff Glass to put his team ahead.

Corey Tropp tied the game for the Gulls late in the first period, but around the midway mark of the second period Carr gave his team the lead back. On a power play, the Wolves cycled the puck around the zone and Tynan found Carr in front. His teammate then lifted a shot over Glass in front, edging the Wolves back in front.

After San Diego tied the game with a late second period goal, the clubs both got into an offensive groove, with each side registering two more tallies in the third period. San Diego took the lead with nine minutes remaining thanks to a Maxime Comtois goal, but Nic Hague scored with three minutes remaining to knot things up at 4-4.

Through the overtime, both teams were able to stay disciplined and stay out of the penalty box, but it was Chicago that finally broke through. Cody Glass ended up beating Jeff Glass with six minutes to go in the frame, giving the Wolves a 1-0 series lead.

The teams will be back on the ice Saturday night for Game 2 of the series at the Allstate Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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