Chicaggo Wolves Game Notes
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2020-21 Chicago Wolves Game Notes IOWA AT CHICAGO FEB. 20, 2021 7 P.M. AHLTV.COM UNDEFEATED, BUT UNSATISFIED 2020-21 After spending the first two weeks of the season facing the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Rockford TALE OF THE TAPE IceHogs exclusively, the Chicago Wolves get their first look at the Iowa Wild tonight. Head coach Tim REGULAR-SEASON SERIES Army’s squad hits the road for the first time after going 1-1-1 against the Texas Stars and earning a 3-2 0-0-0-0 Iowa | 0-0-0-0 Chicago win over Rockford in Des Moines. LAST MEETING While excited for his players to face new competition, Wolves head coach Ryan Warsofsky is much Feb. 25, 2020 more interested in seeing his team strive for a new level of excellence. He didn’t walk away from Tuesday’s 3-2 win at Rockford particularly giddy. “To be honest, we’re really focused on ourselves and how we need to play for 60 minutes from shift- 2-1-1-0 5-0-0-0 to-shift,” Warsofsky said. “I didn’t like our game against Rockford a few nights ago. I thought we had a good 10 minutes and then we just stopping playing. And then we let them back into the game. We fed LAST YEAR’S SERIES LEADERS them with some turnovers and we just weren’t all on the same page.” IOWA CHICAGO In that win over Rockford, the Wolves built a 2-0 lead in the opening 13 minutes and owned a 15-7 lead Skater G A Pts Skater G A Pts in shots after one period. The IceHogs outshot the Wolves 32-21 over the final two periods as Chicago Anas 1 6 7 McKenzie 3 2 5 surrendered a season-high 39 shots on goal — the second game in a row Warsofsky’s team did not Johnson 5 0 5 McGinn 3 1 4 own the shot advantage. Mayhew 3 2 5 Schuldt 2 2 4 Dewar 2 2 4 Elvenes/Quinney 1 3 4 While the Wolves remain on track to fulfill Warsofsky’s preseason goal to win every game this season, he knows his squad isn’t close to being perfect. SERIES GAME-BY-GAME Date Location Result SF-SA PP PK “Our systems, we need to clean up a lot,” Warsofsky said. “We need to get on the same page. And our Feb. 20 Wolves Training Facility effort level, I think there’s another gear. We can be harder to play against. There’s a lot of things. We Feb. 21 Wolves Training Facility 3 p.m. had a really tough practice (Thursday). I’m sure the guys aren’t particularly happy with me. I know March 13 Wells Fargo Arena 6 p.m. we’re 5-0. I get it. I see the record just as everyone else does. But I also see some things in our game March 14 Wells Fargo Arena 3 p.m. that if we don’t correct them, an Iowa team that’s very good is going to make us pay.” April 9 Wells Fargo Arena 7 p.m. April 10 Wells Fargo Arena 6 p.m. WOLVES GET BOOST UP FRONT April 30 Wolves Training Facility 7 p.m. The Wolves already average 4.0 goals per game, but their offense received another boost Thursday May 1 Wolves Training Facility 7 p.m. when the Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) loaned center Morgan Geekie to the team. The 22-year-old Geekie stacked up 41 goals in 128 games over the last two seasons for the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, ALL-TIME RECORD BREAKDOWN then joined the Hurricanes shortly before the pandemic brought hockey to a halt. Seasons Home Road Overall 2013-21 19-8-2-1 22-6-3-1 41-14-5-2 Geekie scored three goals in his first two NHL games last March, then stayed with the Hurricanes throughout the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs and played in all eight postseason games. Geekie appeared WE ARE THE WOLVES in nine games this season, but made the move to Chicago after the Hurricanes acquired physical veteran Cedric Paquette to fulfill the fourth-line center role. It’s a shame Illinois Department of Public Health guidelines prohibit fans from attending professional LAST TWO GAMES sporting events because the Wolves have traditionally hosted big crowds on Feb. 20. One year ago today, for TUESDAY, FEB. 16 CHICAGO 3, (AT) ROCKFORD 2 example, the Wolves welcomed 14,664 fans to Allstate • Forward Anthony Richard scored 81 seconds into the game to give the Wolves a lead they would Arena for a School-Day Game. not relinquish in a road win Tuesday night. • Nineteen-year-old forwards Ryan Suzuki and Phil Tomasino also scored goals — Suzuki’s being On Feb. 20, 2010, the Wolves hosted 14,104 fans for a his first as a pro — as the Wolves opened a 3-0 lead through two periods. 7-1 victory over the Houston Aeros (the forerunners • Goaltender Beck Warm rejected 37 shots to set a team season-high for saves. for the Iowa Wild). EVERY PLAYER in the Wolves lineup posted a positive plus/minus rating as forward Spen- THURSDAY, FEB. 11 (AT) CHICAGO 4, GRAND RAPIDS 2 cer Machacek and defenseman Jamie Hunt posted two goals apiece. • Forward David Cotton scored two goals and handed out one assist as the Wolves turned a 2-2 third-period tie into their fourth consecutive win. On Feb. 20, 2016, more than 11,000 fans fit into Allstate • Center delivered the team’s first goal for the third time in four games while Seth Jarvis Tanner to watch Michael Leighton and Pheonix Copley serve Jeannot provided insurance with a short-handed empty-net tally with 1:55 to go. as the goaltender matchup and to see the Wolves in • Goaltender Beck Warm stopped 26 shots to earn the win in his professional debut. their Military Appreciation Jerseys. 2020-21 Chicago Wolves Game Notes 2020-21 BY THE NUMBERS HOME-ROAD CONTRASTS Regular Season Home Away Difference Rookie goaltender Beck Warm has started and earned the win in each of the last two games Goals For 4.00 4.00 0.00 — which have doubled as the first two games of his professional career. The 21-year-old from Goals Against 1.67 3.00 1.33 2 Whistler, British Columbia, has stopped 73 of 77 shots (a .948 save percentage) in earning those wins. Not too shabby for a young man who was signed by the Wolves as an undrafted free RECORD BY OPPONENT agent in November and stood fourth on the depth chart as camp began. But then Nashville (NHL) Record Win % recalled Kasimir Kaskisuo and Charlotte (NHL) recalled Antoine Bibeau. “Beck Warm has been Cleveland 0-0-0-0 .000 outstanding,” said Wolves head coach Ryan Warsofsky. “He has been a great surprise — and it’s not Grand Rapids 2-0-0-0 1.000 just us noticing. It’s the whole league, from talking to other coaches. Even Carolina, even us. We’re, Iowa 0-0-0-0 .000 like, ‘Whoa, we might have something here.’ ” Rockford 3-0-0-0 1.000 During the first 26 seasons of Chicago Wolves hockey, players wore 49 different jersey RECORD BY MONTH numbers: 1 through 42, 44, 45, 49, 55, 77, 84 and 92. Only five games into this season, Record Win % 4 equipment manager Ryan Shoufer has created four jerseys with new numbers that already February 5-0-0-0 1.000 March 0-0-0-0 .000 have been worn: rookie forward Patrick Harper wears No. 43, fourth-year defenseman Frederic April 0-0-0-0 .000 Allard debuted No. 46 Tuesday, veteran defenseman Alex Carrier donned No. 47 before joining the May 0-0-0-0 .000 Nashville Predators taxi squad and rookie forward Phil Tomasino wears No. 50. The Wolves are enjoying just the second 5-0 start in the franchise’s 27-season history. With IN OVERTIME (0-0) a win tonight, this year’s crew will equal the team record set by the 2007-08 squad. Head 5 coach John Anderson’s squad — led by eventual AHL MVP Jason Krog — broke out to starts Goaltender Saves-Shots (0-0) SV% Antoine Bibeau (0-0) 0-0 .000 of 6-0-0-0 and 13-0-1-0 on its way to the 2008 Calder Cup title. Jeremy Helvig (0-0) 0-0 .000 Beck Warm (0-0) 0-0 .000 Rookie center Seth Jarvis turned 19 on Feb. 1, four days before the Wolves’ opener. Despite his youth, the Winnipeg native owns 7 points in his first five games — 1 behind Ontario’s IN THE SHOOTOUT (0-0) 7 Rasmus Kupari, who has played seven games — and shares the AHL lead in goals (4). He scored one goal in each of the first four Wolves games and notched an assist Tuesday at Rockford to Shooter Goals-Chances (0-0) SH% push his point streak to five games, which shares the AHL lead with Texas’ Thomas Harley. N/A 0-0 .000 Goaltender Saves-Shots (0-0) SV% The Wolves have scored 20 goals through five games this year — and a league-high 11 N/A (0-0) 0-0 .000 have been delivered by rookies. Center Seth Jarvis leads the way with four tallies while 11 fellow 19-year-old forward Phil Tomasino owns three — all against Rockford. Forward David Cotton contributed two Feb. 11 against Rockford while 19-year-old Jamieson Rees notched RECORD BREAKDOWN his first pro goal Feb.