2018-19 Chicago Wolves Game Notes COLORADO AT CHICAGO APRIL 6, 2019 7 p.m. CW50 2018-19 OK, LET’S CLINCH AT HOME The Chicago Wolves had a chance Friday night to clinch their third consecutive Central Division title. TALE OF THE TAPE While the San Jose Barracuda did their part by knocking off the Grand Rapids Griffins by a 3-1 count, the REGULAR-SEASON SERIES Wolves suffered a 4-3 loss at Milwaukee. 0-1-1-0 Colorado | 2-0-0-0 Chicago That means the Wolves’ magic number rests at two entering Saturday’s action. Any combination of two points --- whether earned by the Wolves or missed out on by Grand Rapids -- ensures Chicago gets the Central Division’s top seed in the upcoming Calder Cup Playoffs. The Griffins play Saturday afternoon at San Jose, so there’s a chance the race could be over before the Wolves hit the Allstate Arena ice tonight against the Colorado Eagles. 34-25-4-1 42-21-5-3 Colorado, which became the AHL’s 31st team this season, finds itself trying to scrap into the Pacific LEADING SCORERS IN SERIES Division’s fourth and final playoff spot. The Eagles enter tonight’s game with 73 points, one behind the Tucson Roadrunners for fourth. San Diego holds third with 77 points, but has played one more game. COLORADO CHICAGO Skater G A Pts Skater G A Pts The Central Division chase is even crazier. Iowa and Milwaukee share third with 81 points while Manitoba Greer 1 0 1 Hyka 0 3 3 Meloche 1 0 1 x Pirri 0 3 3 and Texas share fifth with 79 points, though the Moose have one more game remaining than the others. Shvyrev 1 0 1 x Brannstrom 2 0 2 Rockford (76 points with four games to play) seems to be on the outside looking in. SIX tied 0 1 1 Duke/Quinney 2 0 2 GLASS BLOWS UP SERIES GAME-BY-GAME In the Wolves’ season opener on Oct. 5 at Colorado, defenseman Erik Brännström scored two goals Date Location Result SF-SA PP PK in his North American professional debut to give the Wolves a 3-2 win. On Friday night, center Cody Oct. 5 Budweiser Events Center W (OT), 3-2 17-29 1-5 6-6 Glass became the second Wolves player to produce two goals in his professional debut. Oct. 6 Budweiser Events Center W, 5-1 31-26 0-9 7-7 April 6 Allstate Arena 7 p.m. - - - April 7 Allstate Arena 3 p.m. - - - Glass, who was drafted by the Vegas Golden Knights sixth overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft (nine spots before Brännström), scored twice in the third period. His first tally came 29 seconds into the THROWING IT BACK TO 1995 third period as center T.J. Tynan whistled a pass to Glass just outside the crease and he lifted a one-timer into the top right corner. Prior to tonight, the Wolves have hosted only one game against a team from Colorado. On Feb. 14, As pretty as Glass’ goal happened to be, it was even more beautiful how his teammates reacted to it. 1995, the Denver Grizzlies came to what was then known as the Rosemont Horizon and earned a Curtis McKenzie rushed to pull the puck out of the net, then he joined Tynan, Tomas Hyka and Dylan 4-3 shootout win over the Wolves in IHL play. The Coghlan along the boards behind the net to give Glass a friendly mauling for what figures to be the Grizzlies went on to win the Turner Cup in their only first of many professional points for the 20-year-old Winnipeg native. season before moving to Utah. Could anything else in the world have been happening on that Valen- Tynan, by the way, handed out three assists Friday night to take the AHL lead with 56 helpers. He owns tine’s Day? 14 assists in the last seven games. • Michael Jordan was two weeks away from announc- ing his retirement from baseball -- among other LAST TWO GAMES reasons, he refused to cross the picket line of the striking MLB players -- which was followed a few FRIDAY, APRIL 5 (at) MILWAUKEE 4, CHICAGO 3 weeks later by his return to the Chicago Bulls. • The Wolves pulled even 2-2 on Cody Glass’ first pro goal early in the third period, but the • The best-selling book on the New York Times’ Admirals scored the next two to run their winning streak to seven in a row. non-fiction list was “I Want To Tell You” by O.J. • Rookie center Cody Glass scored twice in his pro debut while Tomas Hyka also scored and T.J. Simpson. Tynan handed out three assists. • “Billy Madison,” the Adam Sandler vehicle, was • Goaltender Max Lagace notched 16 saves. released on Feb. 10 while “The Brady Bunch Movie” • hit theaters on Feb. 16. • TLC’s “Creep” led the Billboard Top 100 list that fea- SUNDAY, MARCH 31 CHICAGO 5, (at) ROCKFORD 2 tured artists such as Boyz II Men, Madonna, Brandy, • The Wolves brought home the Illinois Lottery Cup for the third year in a row, scoring three third- Des’ree, Bon Jovi, Blackstreet and Melissa Etheridge. period goals to defeat the IceHogs in the final contest of the 12-game series. ALL-TIME RECORD BREAKDOWN • Forward Tye McGinn scored two goals for Chicago while forwards Curtis McKenzie, Keegan Kolesar and Reid Petryk all added goals. Seasons Home Road Overall • Goaltender Oscar Dansk recorded 30 saves in the victory. 2018-19 0-0-0-0 2-0-0-0 2-0-0-0 2018-19 Chicago Wolves Game Notes 2018-19 HOME-ROAD CONTRASTS BY THE NUMBERS Regular Season Home Away Difference The Wolves are allowing the third-fewest goals per game in Goals For 3.24 3.46 0.22 the AHL, giving up an average of 2.59 goals each contest. That Goals Against 2.74 2.46 0.28 means this year’s squad is within striking distance of the fran- chise2.59 record of 2.51 GAA set by the 2013-14 Midwest Division champs. If the Wolves allow nine RECORD BY DIVISION goals or fewer over their final five regular-season games, then they’ll set the team record. Record Win % Central 34-19-4-3 .625 The Wolves’ prowess during even-strength play shows up in the league’s plus/minus rat- North 2-1-1-0 .625 ings as Chicago owns three of the top four spots. Center Gage Quinney holds the lead at Pacific 5-1-0-0 .833 3 +37 while veteran forward Daniel Carr and rookie defenseman Zach Whitecloud share second at +35 with Syracuse defenseman Dominik Masin. Arturs Kulda (+47) holds the franchise record while Brian Sipotz (2006-07) and Chris Chelios (2009-10) are next on the Wolves’ all-time RECORD BY MONTH single-season list. Record Win % October 6-2-0-1 .722 Left wing Curtis McKenzie has been one of the most productive and most consis- November 4-5-2-0 .455 tent Wolves since the All-Star Break. In the team’s last 25 games, McKenzie has December 10-3-1-0 .750 stacked up 13 goals -- including three two-goal efforts -- and 14 assists as the Wolves January 4-4-2-0 .500 27 February 8-3-0-0 .727 have fashioned a 17-6-0-2 record. McKenzie’s first goal last Friday against Grand Rapids was his 100th March 9-3-0-2 .714 career AHL goal and extended his point streak to six games. He also produced a career-high eight- April 0-1-0-0 .000 game point streak during his spree. IN OVERTIME (8-5) The Wolves lead the American Hockey League in first goals as they’ve scored the opening marker in 46 of their 71 games this season. When the Wolves have scored Goaltender Saves-Shots SV% first, they’ve gone on to produce a 31-11-3-1 record, which breaks out to a .717 points Oscar Dansk (4-2) 7-9 .778 46 Max Lagace (4-3) 7-10 .700 percentage. When Chicago doesn’t score first, its record stands at 11-10-2-2 (.520). The Wolves are outscoring their opponents by 54 goals this season (238-184), which IN THE SHOOTOUT (0-3) trails only Syracuse, Bakersfield and Charlotte for the best goal differential in the Shooter Goals-Chances SH% 54 AHL. Most of that advantage has been piled up during the first period, when Chicago T.J. Tynan 1-3 .333 has outscored its foes 80-47. Nobody in the AHL comes close to that +33 margin. Erik Brännström 0-1 .000 Daniel Carr 0-1 .000 Reid Duke 0-1 .000 Wolves center T.J. Tynan has vaulted to the top of the AHL’s assist charts thanks to Tomas Hyka 0-1 .000 a ridiculous stretch of pinpoint passing. Tynan earned the primary assist on all three Brooks Macek 0-1 .000 56 of Chicago’s goals on Friday night, which gave him 14 assists in the last seven games Stefan Matteau 0-1 .000 Brandon Pirri 0-1 .000 and 22 in the last 12. Tynan owns 56 assists in 67 games this season as he moved past Toronto’s Gage Quinney 0-2 .000 Jeremy Bracco (55 assists in 71 games) on Friday night. Goaltender Saves-Shots SV% If you’ve suited up for the Wolves, chances are better than 50/50 that you’ve Oscar Dansk (0-2) 7-10 .700 also played in the National Hockey League.