"We were really happy on Thursday night when we saw that Columbus lost and we could have the opportunity to host the final," Chicago coach Denis Hamlett said. "We knew we had to take care of business tonight and that gave the guys a lot of energy knowing that we could host the Eastern Conference final. The crowd had a huge effect on us. I think the guys fed off their energy for the whole 90 minutes. I hopefully we pack the house next week like we did tonight."
Chicago got a 35th-minute goal from John Thorrington to even the series. Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored the winner in the 83rd-minute. Jon Busch picked up the shutout with four saves. Revs keeper Matt Reis needed ten as Chicago unleashed a barrage of shots, finishing with 12 on goal from 21 taken.
"It was a microcosm of our whole season," Reis said. "More times than not if we look back on our losses, we've beaten ourselves more than the other team has beaten us. We made a mistake and it cost us. We fought, we fought hard but we didn't have it. Once again it's a mistake of our own doing."
