ROSEMONT, Ill.—The Wolves advanced to the Western Conference Finals of the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs when they defeated the Grand Rapids Griffins 3-2 in Game 4 of the Central Division Finals on Thursday night at Allstate Arena.
Noah Philp scored twice and Justin Robidas also tallied to provide the offense and goaltender Cayden Primeau made 33 saves to record the win and propel the Wolves to a showdown with the Colorado Eagles in the best-of-seven conference finals beginning next week.
“We knew that they were going to come out with their backs against the wall and after reviewing it, we felt that Game 3 was their best so we wanted to come out and make sure we played better and everyone did that,” Primeau said. “To advance in four games is not something we’re taking lightly. It’s a huge confidence-booster, for sure.”
Cal Foote chipped in two assists as the Wolves knocked off the top-seeded Griffins to advance past the third round for the first time since Chicago captured the 2022 Calder Cup championship.
The game was scoreless until two minutes remained in the second period and that’s when Philp struck for his first goal of the game. The forward positioned himself in front of the Griffins net and redirected a long shot from Joel Nystrom past Grand Rapids netminder Michal Postava to the glove side. Nystrom and Foote assisted on the play.
Philp made it 2-0 just 4:02 into the third on a similar play. The veteran again stationed himself in the slot and got a stick on a shot from the point by Foote that eluded Postava to the stick side. Foote and Felix Unger Sorum assisted on Philp’s fourth goal of the postseason.
With 3:56 remaining, Robidas put the game away with his third goal of the playoffs. The forward broke into the offensive zone on an odd-man rush with Ryan Suzuki and Robidas finished off a pass by tucking the puck by Postava. Suzuki and Bradly Nadeau assisted.
Late-game markers by Eduards Tralmaks and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard brought the Griffins to within 3-2 but that’s how it ended.
Postava (18 saves) took the loss for the Griffins.
Next up for the Wolves is a meeting with the Eagles with a berth into the Calder Cup Finals on the line. The Wolves and Colorado met four times during the regular season with the Wolves coming out on top in three of the contests.
For information on Wolves tickets for the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs, visit chicagowolves.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.
