Chicago Wolves Game Notes IOWA at CHICAGO MARCH 9, 2019 7 P.M
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
2018-19 Chicago Wolves Game Notes IOWA AT CHICAGO MARCH 9, 2019 7 p.m. CW50 2018-19 RALLYING TO SET UP A SHOWDOWN TALE OF THE TAPE Playing without AHL leading scorer Daniel Carr, who joined Tomas Hyka and Reid Duke on the list of injured forwards, the Chicago Wolves needed a little time Friday night to figure out their brave new REGULAR-SEASON SERIES world. The Wolves entered the third period trailing the Milwaukee Admirals 1-0, but rallied for four 3-1-2-0 Iowa | 3-2-1-0 Chicago goals on the road in the final 20 minutes to snap a two-game losing streak. Not only did the late flurry give the squad a confidence boost, it enabled the Wolves to grab sole possession of first place in the AHL’s Central Division. Chicago’s 75 points are one more than the Grand Rapids Griffins and Iowa Wild, who enjoyed their own character-building clash Friday night. The Wild fell behind 2-0 early in Michigan, but rallied for a 4-3 overtime win. That makes tonight’s stakes 31-17-7-5 34-18-5-2 even bigger. LEADING SCORERS IN SERIES For those who haven’t been paying attention, Chicago and Iowa might be the most evenly matched IOWA CHICAGO foes in the AHL. Both teams have won three times this year. Three of their first six games went to Skater G A Pts Skater G A Pts overtime. Four of the six have been one-goal affairs. The other two games were one-goal margins x Kloos 1 4 5 Carr 2 5 7 until Iowa scored empty-net goals in the final seconds. O’Reilly 0 4 4 x Pirri 2 5 7 Fitzgerald 3 0 3 x Brannstrom 1 4 5 SORTING OUT THE LINEUP Beck/McLain 2 1 3 Tynan 1 4 5 Injuries and roster moves are a fact of life in the American Hockey League. As Wolves director of hockey operations Gene Ubriaco likes to say, you’re always coaching three teams: One coming, one SERIES GAME-BY-GAME going and the one that’s here. Date Location Result SF-SA PP PK Nov. 17 Allstate Arena OTL, 3-4 32-27 3-8 4-6 Nonetheless, it’s worth noting what the Wolves have dealt with lately. Two weeks ago, for example, the Dec. 5 Wells Fargo Arena W (OT), 4-3 30-19 3-6 2-2 team ranked among the AHL’s Top 10 in power play percentage. Then rookie defenseman Erik Brann- Dec. 7 Wells Fargo Arena W, 5-4 26-26 1-2 1-1 strom, the power-play quarterback, was traded to Ottawa. On Tuesday, AHL leading scorer Daniel Dec. 31 Wells Fargo Arena L, 1-3 21-23 0-5 4-5 Carr was injured on an illegal hit by San Antonio’s Jordan Nolan. Carr, who ranked third in the league Jan. 2 Allstate Arena L, 1-3 29-26 0-4 4-4 with 27 points on the power play, did not suit up Friday and it’s uncertain when he might play again. Feb. 17 Allstate Arena W (OT), 2-1 13-32 0-4 2-2 March 9 Allstate Arena 7 p.m. The Wolves coaching staff must adjust its normal lines and d-man pairings too. On Friday, Stefan Mat- April 12 Wells Fargo Arena 7 p.m. teau assumed Carr’s left wing spot alongside center Gage Quinney and right wing Brooks Macek. THROWING IT BACK TO 2008 Eleven years ago today, the eventual 2008 Calder A PENALTY SHOT! Cup champion Wolves reached 30 games over .500 On Friday night, forward Brooks Macek received the franchise’s first penalty shot in 14 months and for the first time all season with a 2-1 win at Peoria. he didn’t waste the opportunity. Milwaukee goaltender Troy Grosenick got a piece of Macek’s attempt Jason Krog scored both goals while Ondrej Pavelec 7:05 into the third period, but his second effort wasn’t enough to prevent it from crossing the goal made 32 saves as Chicago improved to 44-14-2-2. line. It marked the Wolves’ first converted penalty shot since Brandon Pirri on Jan. 5, 2018, vs. Mani- What else was happening in the world around this toba. The Wolves are now 11 of 47 (23.4 percent) all-time on penalty shots. time? • On March 8, Wyoming held its caucuses and on ROAD TRIP WRAPUP March 11 Mississippi held its presidential primaries. After these votes, Barack Obama held a 1,562.5 to FRIDAY, MARCH 8 CHICAGO 4, (at) MILWAUKEE 1 1,421.5 delegate lead over Hillary Clinton for the • Forward Brooks Macek converted the Wolves’ first penalty shot of the season as one of the Democratic nomination while John McCain owned an team’s four third-period goals as the Wolves rallied for the win at Panther Arena. insurmountable lead over Mike Huckabee, Mitt Rom- • Forward Keegan Kolesar posted the first goal in the third to knot the score, then he assisted on ney and Ron Paul for the Republican nomination. Curtis McKenzie’s pair of empty-net goals in the final two minutes. • The NCAA tournament committee was one week • Goaltender Max Lagace posted 25 saves to earn the win. away from Selection Sunday and the reveal of the 68-team field. For the first time in tournament TUESDAY, MARCH 5 (at) SAN ANTONIO 2, CHICAGO 1 (SO) history, all four No. 1 seeds (Kansas, Memphis, North • Forward Tye McGinn scored his second goal in as many games, but the Wolves eventually fell to Carolina and UCLA) reached the Final Four. the Rampage after failing to capitalize in the shootout. • Forwards Tobias Lindberg and Matthew Weis added assists on the goal, both recording a point ALL-TIME RECORD BREAKDOWN for the second consecutive game as well. Seasons Home Road Overall • Goaltender Max Lagace stopped 15 of 16 shots. 2013-2018 18-6-2-1 19-5-2-1 37-11-4-2 2018-19 Chicago Wolves Game Notes 2018-19 HOME-ROAD CONTRASTS BY THE NUMBERS Regular Season Home Away Difference San Antonio’s Jordan Nolan was assessed a two-game suspension by the AHL Thursday for Goals For 3.24 3.40 0.16 Goals Against 2.82 2.60 0.22 his illegal high hit against Wolves forward Daniel Carr on Tuesday. Carr leads the AHL in 2 goals (30), points (71) and plus-minus rating (+35). While there’s no specific timetable for his return, it’s all but certain he’ll miss more time than Nolan. Friday’s win over Milwaukee marked just RECORD BY DIVISION the second time in seven games that the Wolves emerged victorious without Carr in the lineup. Record Win % Central 27-17-4-2 .600 When he allowed just one goal yet again on Friday night, goaltender Max Lagace jumped North 2-0-1-0 .833 into third place in the AHL with his 2.30 goals-against average. Bakersfield’s Shane Starrett Pacific 5-1-0-0 .833 3 (2.25 GAA) is the league’s only active goalie who ranks ahead of him. Lagace owns a 16-7-4 record in his 28 appearances for the Wolves this season and, along with Oscar Dansk, plays a huge part in the Wolves allowing the third-lowest goals against per game in the league at 2.71. RECORD BY MONTH Record Win % October 6-2-0-1 .722 The Wolves’ prowess during even-strength play shows up in the league’s plus/minus rat- November 4-5-2-0 .455 ings as Chicago owns four of the top five spots.Gage Quinney was a +1 Friday night to pull December 10-3-1-0 .750 4 into a first-place tie with linemate Daniel Carr at +35. Rookie defensemen Zach White- January 4-4-2-0 .500 cloud ranks third at +34 while Nic Hague shares fourth at +26. February 8-3-0-0 .727 March 2-1-0-1 .625 The last time the Wolves and the Wild met (on Feb. 17 at Allstate Arena), the Wolves tied April 0-0-0-0 .000 a franchise record for fewest shots in a game with 13. Actually, Chicago managed just 11 13 shots during regulation -- but came through with a pair of shots in overtime capped by IN OVERTIME (7-5) Erik Brannstrom’s game-winning goal set up by Daniel Carr. Neither will be suited up for the Wolves tonight. Goaltender Saves-Shots SV% Oscar Dansk (3-2) 7-9 .778 Max Lagace (4-3) 7-10 .700 The Wolves are outscoring their opponents by 36 goals this season (196-160), which trails only Syracuse and Bakersfield for the best goal differential in the AHL. Most of IN THE SHOOTOUT (0-2) 36 that advantage has been piled up during the first period, when Chicago has out- scored its foes 67-42. Nobody in the AHL is close to that +25 margin. The Wolves also outscore oppo- Shooter Goals-Chances SH% nents by 20 (64-44) in the third. Only Syracuse (+31) boasts a better differential. T.J. Tynan 1-2 .500 Erik Brännström 0-1 .000 The Wolves lead the American Hockey League in scoring a game’s first goal. Though Daniel Carr 0-1 .000 Chicago didn’t open the scoring Friday night at Milwaukee, it still leads the way with Reid Duke 0-1 .000 38 first goals. The Wolves own a 25-9-3-1 record when scoring first.