2018-19 Chicago Wolves Game Notes SAN ANTONIO AT CHICAGO DECEMBER 1, 2018 7 p.m. CW50 USED TO BE THEIR TOWN TOO 2018-19 If several of the players in the visiting uniforms look particularly familiar tonight, that’s because they TALE OF THE TAPE wore the Chicago Wolves jersey within the last two years while the Wolves transitioned from being 1 partners with the St. Louis Blues to being partners with the Vegas Golden Knights. REGULAR-SEASON SERIES 1-0-0-0 San Antonio | 0-1-0-0 Chicago The San Antonio Rampage switched from being the Colorado Avalanche affiliate to the Blues’ NHL affiliate during the offseason, which means their roster features seven former Wolves who helped Chicago win the last two Central Division crowns. San Antonio’s cast of ex-Wolves consists of goaltenders Jordan Binnington and Ville Husso, forwards Conner Bleackley, Mackenzie MacEachern and Adam Musil and defensemen Chris Butler and Jake 8-14-0-0 10-7-2-1 Walman. In addition, Rampage rookies Jordan Kyrou and Tanner Kaspick spent time with the Wolves as “black aces” during recent postseasons. LEADING SCORERS GRAND RAPIDS CHICAGO Butler served as the captain of the 2016-17 Wolves squad that reached the Central Division Finals and Skater G A Pts Skater G A Pts featured a late-season cameo from Musil. Binnington and Husso shared the crease that year with Nolan 4 8 12 Pirri 9 14 23 Pheonix Copley, who’s now with the Washington Capitals and has posted a 5-2-1 record in nine games Reinke 1 11 12 Macek 15 7 22 this season. MacEachern, Walman and Bleackley played roles on the 2016-17 and 2017-18 teams. LaLeggia 2 9 11 Carr 9 13 22 Butler 2 8 10 Tynan 4 14 18 When the Wolves and Rampage met on Oct. 28 in San Antonio, Binnington earned the win in the 3-2 verdict while MacEachern notched the opening goal and Butler handed out two assists. SERIES GAME-BY-GAME Date Location Result SF-SA PP PK Oct. 28 AT&T Center L, 2-3 27-20 1-4 4-7 MACEK ADDS TO HIS LEAD Dec. 1 Allstate Arena 7 p.m. You might notice that Wolves right wing Brooks Macek now has 15 goals to his credit -- even though Jan. 4 Allstate Arena 7 p.m. he has not been credited with a goal at the end of a game since Nov. 10. How did Macek acquire his Jan. 5 Allstate Arena 7 p.m. league-leading 15th tally? Thanks to the magic of the reverse angle on the Wolves’ coaches camera, March 5 AT&T Center 10:30 a.m. the AHL was able to review the goal credited to Tomas Hyka on Friday, Nov. 23, at Rockford. March 16 Allstate Arena 7 p.m. March 23 AT&T Center 7 p.m. In real time, it was too hard to tell whether Hyka’s blast from the left circle went into the net or March 26 AT&T Center 7 p.m. bounced off the right post directly to Macek waiting outside the crease. The official’s call gave the THROWING IT BACK TO 2006 goal to Hyka and the AHLTV feed did not contradict the call. But the Wolves camera located on the other side of the ice distinctly showed Hyka’s shot banged off the post to Macek, who deserved credit On Dec. 2, 2006, the Wolves earned a 5-4 win over for the tally. the Rampage at Allstate Arena as Chicago fired 20 shots in each of the three periods to set the The change was made official on Thursday, which means Macek holds a two-goal lead over Cleveland’s franchise record for shots in a game. What else was happening in those days? Zac Dalpe and Rochester’s Zach Redmond entering today’s games. • “Happy Feet” earned $17.5 million that week to reign supreme at the box office. • The National World War I museum opened in Kansas TWO IN A ROW WITH 2 City. WEDNESDAY, NOV. 28 (at) GRAND RAPIDS 5, CHICAGO 2 • Nearly 30 doctors working in shifts in a Saudi Arabia • The Wolves scored first, but the Griffins answered with three goals; when the Wolves scored hospital needed 18 hours to separate conjoined 11-month-old Iraqi girls. again, the Griffins produced two late insurance goals to pick up the win in Van Andel Arena • Stephen Hawking, the genius physicist, tells the BBC • Forward Brandon Pirri posted his ninth goal of the year while defenseman Jake Bischoff he believes the survival of the human race depends notched his first of the season on the ability to colonize other planets. • Goaltender Max Lagace stopped 27 of 31 shots • “The Office” was regarded as the nation’s No. 1 tele- SUNDAY, NOV. 25 ROCKFORD 3, (at) CHICAGO 2 vision show as the popular comedy was in the midst • The Wolves removed the goalie and forward Reid Duke scored a late goal to pull the team within of its third season. 1, but Rockford held on for the Illinois Lottery Cup victory at Allstate Arena ALL-TIME RECORD BREAKDOWN • Forward Tomas Hyka joined Duke in the scoring column while center T.J. Tynan earned an assist for the sixth game in a row Seasons Home Road Overall • Goaltender Max Lagace notched 19 saves 2002-2018 33-14-1-1-1 27-19-3-0-2 60-33-4-1-3 2018-19 Chicago Wolves Game Notes 2018-19 BY THE NUMBERS HOME-ROAD CONTRASTS Several Wolves players are averaging at least 1 point per game over the last handful of games. Regular Season Home Away Difference Brandon Pirri, who leads the team and shares fourth in the AHL with 23 points, has produced Goals For 3.70 3.90 0.20 1 10 points over the last eight games and 6 over the last six. Rookie center Reid Duke has Goals Against 3.60 3.00 0.60 notched six of his 11 points over the last six games. Second-year forward Keegan Kolesar owns five points in the last five, rookie defenseman Zach Whitecloud has scored five of his six points within the last four games and Tomas Hyka has contributed four points since returning to the Wolves from RECORD BY DIVISION Vegas four games ago. Record Win % Central 7-7-2-1 .500 Wolves forward Alex Gallant leads the AHL in major penalties with six. The 25-year-old North 1-0-0-0 1.000 Pacific 2-0-0-0 1.000 from Summerside, Prince Edward Island, incurred his sixth major on Wednesday at Grand 6 Rapids with a fight against the Griffins’ Givani Smith. Gallant has accounted for 48 of the Wolves’ 287 penalty minutes this season -- Chicago leads the Central Division with 14.35 PIMS per RECORD BY MONTH game -- but only one of his majors has resulted in the other team receiving a power play. Record Win % October 6-2-0-1 .722 Eight Wolves have appeared in all 20 games this season: Forwards Reid Duke, Keegan November 4-5-2-0 .455 , , , , and December 0-0-0-0 .000 Kolesar Brooks Macek Curtis McKenzie Brandon Pirri Gage Quinney T.J. Tynan January 0-0-0-0 .000 8 and rookie defenseman Nic Hague. At this point last season, only five Wolves had appeared February 0-0-0-0 .000 in the first 20 games. Tynan is the only repeater on the list. Since the AHL switched to a 76-game March 0-0-0-0 .000 schedule prior to the 2011-12 season, only three Wolves have played in all 76 games: captain Paul April 0-0-0-0 .000 Thompson (2017-18), Alex Friesen (2016-17) and Jordan Schroeder (2011-12). Brooks Macek continues to lead the AHL with 15 goals, but the 26-year-old from IN OVERTIME (2-2) Winnipeg does not own the franchise record for most goals after 20 games: Steve Goaltender Saves-Shots SV% 15 Maltais produced 23 goals in the Wolves’ first 20 games of 1995-96, Brett Sterling posted Oscar Dansk (2-1) 7-8 .875 18 in 2006-07, Rob Brown notched 17 in 1996-97 and Jason Krog delivered 15 goals in 2006-07. Max Lagace (0-1) 1-2 .500 Brandon Pirri ranks among the leading scorers and most dangerous players in the American Hockey League, so it makes sense that he leads the league in shots with IN THE SHOOTOUT (0-1) 85. He’s firing a little more frequently than in years past. This is his sixth full or 82 Shooter Goals-Chances SH% partial season in the AHL and this marks the first time he has averaged more than 3.65 shots per T.J. Tynan 1-1 1.000 game. On the flip side, he’s converting just 10.6 percent of his shots, which is off his 11.6 percent Erik Brännström 0-1 .000 career rate. This suggests there could be a bushel of goals in his future as he regresses to the mean. Daniel Carr 0-1 .000 Reid Duke 0-1 .000 If you’ve suited up for the Wolves, chances are better than 50/50 that you’ve Brooks Macek 0-1 .000 also played in the National Hockey League. When Daniel Carr, Curtis Stefan Matteau 0-1 .000 Brandon Pirri 0-1 .000 353 McKenzie and Zach Whitecloud made their Wolves debuts on Oct. 5, they became the 351st, 352nd and 353rd players (out of 615 Wolves all-time) who have competed for the Goaltender Saves-Shots SV% Wolves and in the NHL.