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Tale of the Tape: Nov 21. 2017 vs. Texas

Tuesday, Nov. 21 | 7:00 p.m. | Allstate Arena

ONE DOWN, ONE TO GO

With Jake Walman netting his first goal of the season and newly minted captain Paul Thompson collecting a short-handed breakaway marker in the final seven minutes of regulation action on Sunday at Rockford, the Wolves ended their pointless skid at five games — two shy of the seven-game franchise record set almost two decades ago.

Tuesday, the Wolves are the hunt for a victory to end their six-game winless streak. The franchise record stands at nine consecutive games, which the club has recorded twice with the most recent string occurring from Dec. 15, 2015, to Jan. 12, 2016.

MEGAN, WONG RETURN TO PACK

Forwards Wade Megan and Tyler Wong returned to the Chicago Wolves roster on Sunday and Monday, respectively.

The 27-year-old Megan was recalled from loan by the St. Louis Blues on Nov. 18. While with his National Hockey League team, Megan did not see playing time and was immediately returned on loan following St. Louis’ league-leading (tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning) 15th victory.

Loaned to the Quad City Mallards on Nov. 8, the 21-year-old Wong skated in six ECHL games and collected two points (G, A). Prior to joining Quad City, Wong appeared in nine games with the Wolves and collected his first professional goal on Oct. 7 against the Texas Stars.

EXTRA-TIME PARADIGM

Sunday marked the first time the Chicago Wolves competed in a shootout during the 2017-18 campaign. After scoring twice in the final minutes of regulation to force overtime, the Wolves still fell to the Rockford IceHogs 4-3 as Vinnie Hinostroza and David Kampf scored the shootout.

Last season the Wolves racked up 44 victories, seven of which came in extra time. However, only two of those seven were shootout victories.

There wasn’t much love for Chicago in extra-inning games. The club was 2-5 in shootouts with a 0.346 shooting percentage. Conversely, opponents were .500 in shootout attempts against the Wolves, which caused Chicago to finish tied for 28th out of 30 American Hockey League teams in terms of opponent shootout scoring percentage.

The Wolves have thrice been to overtime this season and own a 1–1 record in the three-on-three session. During 2016-17, the team finished with a 5-8 record in the five-minute overtime frame.

By the Numbers:

  • 1: The Chicago Wolves earned their first short-handed goal of the season on Sunday against the Rockford IceHogs. With the IceHogs on their fourth power play of the game, Keegan Kolesar teed up Paul Thompson for a breakaway chance. Thompson delivered the short-handed equalizer with 3:07 left in regulation to force overtime. The tally was the second shortie of Thompson’s career.
  • 7: Forward Teemu Pulkkinen has been the most productive player for the Chicago Wolves as he averages 1.07 points per game. The 25-year-old owns six goals and 10 assists for 16 points through 15 contests. Though Pulkkinen is the Wolves’ leading scorer, he is looking to break a seven-game goal drought. Through the first eight games of the season, the Finn collected six goals and 13 points. But since Chicago’s first game of the month on Nov. 3, Pulkkinen has registered just three assists in seven contests.
  • 13:  On Sunday, the Chicago Wolves coaching staff named Paul Thompson the 13th captain in franchise history. The 28-year-old joins a list that includes Nolan Baumgartner (2011-12), Darren Haydar (2007-08; 2012-13), Jason Krog (2009-11), Derek MacKenzie (2005-06) and Steve Maltais (1994-96, 1997-2005). The New Hampshire native most recently showed his worth in Sunday’s 4-3 shootout loss when he netted the game-tying, overtime-forcing goal with just over three minutes to play in regulation — and he did it while his team was short-handed.
  • 20: While the Chicago Wolves have managed to get some life out of their power play — with three goals in their last four games — the unit continues to drop in the American Hockey League rankings and ranks No. 20. Since Nov. 3, the Wolves’ power play has a meager 8.5 percent success rate. In October, the Wolves were nine for 40 on the man advantage for a 22.5 percent success rate.
  • 86.8 The Chicago Wolves are one of just three teams in the American Hockey League to allow fewer than 10 power-play goals against. With a 86.8 percent success rate, the Wolves are third in the league in penalty killing. They once boasted the league’s No. 1 unit, but they have remained in the top three though they have been mired in a losing streak that has spanned six games dating back to Nov. 8 against the Milwaukee Admirals.

  • 20: Forward Brett Sterling’s next game will be his 370th in a Chicago Wolves sweater. The 33-year-old has skated parts of seven seasons with the Wolves and earned a bevy of accolades along the way. During his time with Chicago, Sterling has earned an American Hockey League scoring title (2006-07), Rookie of the Year honor (2006-07) and a Calder Cup (2008) and broke several Wolves franchise records. During the 2016-17 season, Sterling moved up several franchise lists including all-time games played. When he reaches 370 contests, he will take sole possession of the No. 5 spot, passing Rob Brown and Brian Sipotz.

Game Rewind

Sunday, Nov. 19 (at) RFD 4, CHI 3 (SO)

  • The Wolves rallied in the third period to force overtime, but fell to Rockford during the shootout in the first Illinois Lottery Cup contest.
  • Defenseman Jake Walman netted his first goal of the season and captain Paul Thompson scored on a short-handed breakaway in the final seven minutes of regulation.
  • Center Ivan Barbashev collected Chicago’s first goal in the first period.
  • Goaltender C.J. Motte made 36 saves in the loss.

Friday, Nov. 17 (at) Manitoba 6, Chicago 4

 

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HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORDS

LAST MEETING

Oct. 7, 2017

2017-18 Series

0-1-1-0

2016-17 Series

3-0-1-0

All-Time

13-22-4-1

SERIES GAME-BY-GAME

Date Location Result
10/06/2017 H-E-B Center L, 5-6
10/07/2017 H-E-B Center OTL, 5-6
11/21/2017 Allstate Arena
02/27/2018 Allstate Arena
03/03/2017 H-E-B Center
05/31/2018 Allstate Arena

SERIES NOTABLES

  • The 2016-17 campaign marked the first time the Wolves finished with a win percentage above .500 against the Stars since the 2012-13 season.
  • Last season, goaltender Maxime Lagace backstopped the Stars for one game against the Wolves. Through 59 minutes of action, he allowed four goals and stopped 20 of 24 shots in a 4-3 loss.
  • Stars defensemen Brent Regner served as the Wolves captain in 2014-15. He posted 29 points and a +21 plus/minus rating in 71 regular-season games.