Chicaggo Wolves Game Notes
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2020-21 Chicago Wolves Game Notes CLEVELAND AT CHICAGO MARCH 6, 2021 3 P.M. AHLTV.COM EASY DOESN’T DO IT 2020-21 After six minutes of Friday night’s game between the Chicago Wolves and the Cleveland Monsters, the TALE OF THE TAPE Wolves had fired 11 shots on goal. The Monsters had none. REGULAR-SEASON SERIES 1-0-0-0 Cleveland | 0-0-0-1 Chicago After 6 minutes and 38 seconds, the Wolves still owned an 11-1 edge in shots — but the Monsters owned LAST MEETING a 1-0 lead in goals. Though the Wolves answered just 12 seconds later to tie the score, that might have March 5, 2021 been just as bad for them as dominating the opening six minutes. Cleveland kept battling, became the first team to score three goals in a period against the Wolves this season and didn’t quit until it owned a 4-3 shootout victory. The rest of the scoreboard — namely the 39-24 difference in shots — suggested the Wolves had the better of the action, but Wolves head coach 3-3-1-0 8-1-0-1 Ryan Warsofsky and defenseman Frederic Allard knew better. SERIES LEADERS “I think we thought after the first half of the first (period), it was going to be an easy game, so we kind of slowed down a bit in our (defensive) zone,” Allard said. “I think we took too many chances in CLEVELAND CHICAGO the offensive zone. We cheated a lot. And that cost us three goals that we wish we could have back.” Skater G A Pts Skater G A Pts Peeke 0 2 2 Allard 1 1 2 The Wolves scored one goal early in the second period and one goal early in the third period to force Angle 1 0 1 Lajoie 1 1 2 extra time and pick up a point, but Warsofsky wanted to make sure his guys didn’t come away thinking Helewka 1 0 1 Tomasino 0 2 2 it was a moral victory. Jordan 1 0 1 Suzuki 1 0 1 “We thought we could just play in the offensive zone all night and it was going to be easy,” Warsofsky SERIES GAME-BY-GAME said. “Unfortunately, we’re learning that if we don’t play hard without the puck, if we don’t play hard Date Location Result SF-SA PP PK in our puck battles and our races, and we don’t compete away from the puck, playing in the offensive March 5 Wolves Training Facility SOL, 3-4 39-24 0-5 2-3 zone is not going to happen. March 6 Wolves Training Facility April 23 Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse 6 p.m. “Another teaching moment where we need to realize if we want to play offense, we have to work away April 24 Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse 3 p.m. fom the puck. We have to be really good defensively. We have to be good in the neutral zone, so we can create turnovers, so we can break out pucks, so we can go play offense. We just thought it was ALL-TIME RECORD BREAKDOWN going to be easy.” Seasons Home Road Overall ALLARD ALL GOOD 2007-20 24-7-2-1 13-15-4-2 37-22-6-3 Defenseman Frederic Allard joined the Wolves more than a week late because he started this season playing 25 games in Austria with Villacher SV. The 23-year-old from St. Sauveur, Quebec, didn’t score WE ARE THE WOLVES in his Wolves debut on Feb. 16, but has been red-hot ever since. After posting his first Wolves goal and After the 1996-97 Chicago Wolves jumped out to a 6-0- an assist Friday, Allard owns a five-game point streak that features eight points and a +9 plus/minus 0 start at home, they were tripped up in their bid for rating. “I had so much time to train this summer and working on my weaknesses helped me,” Allard a seventh straight win with a 4-3 shootout loss to the said. “Playing on the bigger ice in Europe, I worked on my skating and getting more in shape. Maybe I San Antonio Dragons.. missed training camp in the NHL, missed some opportunities, but I’m right here, right now, and doing the best I can and showing what I got.” Sound familiar? The current Wolves jumped out to a 6-0-0-0 start at home — only to be tripped up in a 4-3 LAST TWO GAMES shootout loss to the Cleveland Monsters. FRIDAY, MARCH 5 CLEVELAND 4, (AT) CHICAGO 3 (SO) • Despite outshooting the visiting Monsters 39-24, the Wolves had to rally from a 3-1 deficit just to In 1996-97, Wendell Young was in goal for the 4-3 earn a point as Cleveland’s Justin Scott scored the lone goal in the shootout. shootout loss. The Wolves general manager was in the • Defensemen Max Lajoie and Frederic Allard scored their first goals for the Wolves while rookie middle of a rigorous stretch where he started 30 of Chicago’s first 35 games. center Ryan Suzuki tied the game in the third and rookie Phil Tomasino handed out two assists. • Goaltender Antoine Bibeau made 20 saves in regulation and overtime and 2 of 3 in the shootout. Forward Steve Maltais, whose No. 11 jersey is the only SUNDAY, FEB. 28 (AT) CHICAGO 8, GRAND RAPIDS 4 one aside from Young’s No. 1 jersey to be retired by • Rookie forward Phil Tomasino scored 48 seconds into the game and rookie forward Jamieson the Wolves, got off to a solid start in 1996-97. After the Rees added two first-period goals as the Wolves avenged Friday’s loss at Grand Rapids. first 24 games, Maltais owned 12 goals and 21 assists. • Defenseman Cavan Fitzgerald and forwards Seth Jarvis, Rem Pitlick, Sean Malone and David Cotton also scored for the Wolves, who never trailed to wrap up the franchise’s best February. But over his last 57 games, he piled up 48 goals and • Goaltender Beck Warm posted 29 saves to improve to 4-0-0. 33 assists to finish with a career-high and Internation- al Hockey League-leading 60 goals. 2020-21 Chicago Wolves Game Notes 2020-21 BY THE NUMBERS HOME-ROAD CONTRASTS Regular Season Home Away Difference Yes, this is a unique season. Yes, it’s early in this unique season. Yes, the Wolves’ season will Goals For 5.29 3.00 2.29 be roughly 43 percent as long as a normal year. But after providing all of those caveats, it’s Goals Against 2.29 3.33 1.04 1 still intriguing to note this year’s squad is well on its way to shattering the franchise record for most goals per game. These Wolves have scored 46 goals in 10 games — an average of 4.60 per RECORD BY OPPONENT outing. The only Wolves team that has averaged more than 4 per game is the 2006-07 crew that Record Win % paced the AHL with 4.14 per game. Cleveland 0-0-0-1 .500 Grand Rapids 3-1-0-0 .750 Weirdly, only two of the Wolves’ first 10 games have featured any lead changes. Chicago Iowa 2-0-0-0 1.000 recovered from a 1-0 deficit on Opening Night (Feb. 5) against Grand Rapids to earn a 4-1 Rockford 3-0-0-0 1.000 2 victory. Then, the next day at Rockford, the Wolves fell behind 2-0 and 3-2 before securing a 5-4 win. But in each of the Wolves’ last eight games, the team that scores first has gone ahead and RECORD BY MONTH earned the win without ever trailing. Record Win % February 8-1-0-0 .889 March 0-0-0-1 .500 Head coach Ryan Warsofsky wants his defensemen to be aggressive in the offensive zone April 0-0-0-0 .000 and jump into the play as often as possible. But prior to Friday night, Cavan Fitzgerald May 0-0-0-0 .000 5 was the Wolves’ only blue liner to score a goal. Fitzgerald’s three goals are no longer alone after Max Lajoie and Frederic Allard tallied Friday night. Lajoie raced toward the far post to take a backdoor pass from Phil Tomasino for a first-period goal, then Tomasino and Lajoie set up Allard to IN OVERTIME (0-0) spank a second-period blast past Cleveland’s Matiss Kivlenieks. Goaltender Saves-Shots (3-3) SV% Antoine Bibeau (0-0) 3-3 1.000 Because veteran goaltender Antoine Bibeau handled Friday’s game, look for one of the Jeremy Helvig (0-0) 0-0 .000 Wolves’ rookies — Beck Warm and Jeremy Helvig — to be in net today. They’ve combined Beck Warm (0-0) 0-0 .000 7 for a 7-0-0 record with a 2.43 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage this season. Helvig won two of the Wolves’ first three games (and allowed 8 goals in his three games overall) IN THE SHOOTOUT (0-1) while Warm has handled four of the last seven games (allowing 9 goals). Warm, who signed a Wolves contract in the fall, was rewarded Saturday morning by the Carolina Hurricanes as he signed a two- Shooter Goals-Chances (0-3) SH% year entry-level contract. The 21-year-old Warm receives a $50,000 signing bonus and will make Dominik Bokk 0-1 .000 $700,000 if he reaches the NHL this year and $750,000 if he gets there next year.