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1) Bridgeport Sound Tigers vs. 7) Chicago Wolves
Chicago wins series, 4-1
Game 1, Fri, 5/24 at Bridgeport : Chicago won 5-4 (OT)
Game 2, Sat, 5/25 at Bridgeport : Bridgeport won 2-1
Game 3, Thu, 5/30 at Chicago : Chicago won 4-0
Game 4, Fri, 5/31 at Chicago : Chicago won 4-2
Game 5, Mon, 6/03 at Chicago : Chicago won 4-3 (2 OT)
2002 Calder Cup Champions
Chicago Wolves
ROSEMONT, Illinois (Ticker) -- Yuri Butsayev scored early in
the second overtime to give the Chicago Wolves a 4-3 triumph
over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers to capture the 66th Calder Cup
championship, taking the best-of-seven series in five games.
Before 15,132 fans, the second-largest playoff crowd in league
history, Butsayev beat goaltender Rick DiPietro at the 2:05 mark
of the second extra session for his seventh postseason goal,
helping his team become the sixth club in league history to win
the Calder Cup in its inaugural season. Pasi Nurminen, who
surrendered three goals on 11 second-period shots, turned aside
12 shots in the final stanza, eight in the first overtime and
finished with 35 saves for the win. Nurminen was named the
playoff MVP after posting a 15-5 record with a 1.94
goals-against average and a .935 save percentage in 21 games.
The Finland native became the first goaltender to win the Jack
A. Butterfield Trophy since 1995. Steve Maltais netted the first
three markers of the contest to lead all scorers in the
playoffs with 12 goals for Chicago. Rob Brown chipped in three
assists, tying a league-record for the most helpers in a playoff
run, and finished with a postseason-high 33 points (7g, 26a)
for the Wolves. Trent Hunter, Jason Krog and Jason Podollan each
scored in the loss for Bridgeport, which dropped three straight
games for the first time since December 30. DiPietro was unable
to stop the second shot he faced in the second overtime,
recording 28 saves in defeat with a 3.02 GAA and a .868 save
percentage for the series.
