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Windy City walkover Chicago wins 4-3 in double OT to capture Calder CupPosted: Tuesday June 04, 2002 12:34 AMUpdated: Tuesday June 04, 2002 3:04 AM ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) -- Yuri Butsayev scored 2:05 into the second overtime, and Steve Maltais had three goals as the Chicago Wolves won the AHL's Calder Cup championship Monday night with a 4-3 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Wolves, the top development team of the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers, won the best-of-seven series in five games in front of 15,132 fans, the second-largest playoff crowd in AHL history. Chicago was an impressive 12-2 on home ice during the Calder Cup 2002 Playoffs, winning their last nine contests at Allstate Arena by a combined margin of 35-11. Chicago, formerly of the now defunct International Hockey League, became the first team to beat three division winners en route to the AHL title. The Wolves are the sixth AHL team to capture the Calder Cup in their first year in the league. They closed the season by winning their last nine home games. Pasi Nurminen tied an AHL record with 15 playoff victories and won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the Calder Cup MVP. He is the first goalie to win the award since Albany's Mike Dunham and Corey Schwab shared it in 1995. Nurminen, who played for Finland at the Salt Lake City Olympics, was 15-5 with a 1.94 goals-against average and two shutouts in the postseason. Maltais, the Chicago captain, scored twice in the first period and completed his hat trick with a power-play goal in the second that gave the Wolves a 3-0 lead. Bridgeport rallied to tie it with second-period goals by Trent Hunter, Jason Krog and Jason Podollan. The Wolves' top line of Andreas Karlsson centering Maltais and Rob Brown paced Chicago's offense, combining for 26 goals and 76 points during the playoffs. Maltais led the league with 12 goals this postseason.
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