Fensore's overtime winner lifts Wolves over Stars, evens series 1-1

Domenick Fensore turned a game that looked destined to send Chicago into a deep hole into a full-on series reset, scoring in overtime as the Wolves beat the Texas Stars 5-4 in Game 2 of the Central Division Semifinals. The win evened the best-of-five series at 1-1 and turned the focus from Texas trying to close out its home stand to Chicago walking back into Allstate Arena with all the momentum.

The Wolves had to survive three separate deficits to do it. Texas struck first on its first shot, with Matthew Seminoff scoring 44 seconds after puck drop in Cedar Park, Texas, and the Stars kept forcing Chicago to chase the game. Michael Karow and Curtis McKenzie also scored for Texas, while Ellis Rickwood pushed the game to overtime with a late equalizer that nearly sent the Stars home with a 2-0 series lead.

Instead, Chicago answered with a night of offense that matched the stakes. Juuso Valimaki scored twice, Cal Foote added a goal and an assist, Noel Gunler scored once, and Fensore finished it when the Wolves needed the next goal most. It was the kind of comeback that changes more than the score line. It showed Chicago can survive a fast start from Texas, recover from being pushed back repeatedly, and still find enough scoring through the lineup to swing a playoff game on the road.

That matters because the first two games at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park had already set up a dangerous moment for the Wolves. Texas won Game 1, 2-0, behind a shutout from Remi Poirier, and a second straight win would have given the Stars a commanding grip on the series before it shifted north. Instead, Chicago flipped the script and took away Texas’ chance to protect home ice.

Rickwood put the night in perspective after the loss: “It’s unfortunate, but we’re one bounce away from being up 2-0.” Instead, the bounce went Chicago’s way, and Game 3 on Saturday night in Rosemont, Illinois, will now tell whether Fensore’s overtime winner was just a dramatic equalizer or the play that changed the series.