Rosemont, Ill.---The Chicago Wolves concluded their 19th season with a 3-1 loss to the Grand Rapids Griffins on Sunday afternoon at Allstate Arena.

The Wolves finished with a 37-30-5-4 mark, which maintained their uninterrupted tradition of winning records since the franchise was founded in 1994. Chicago drew 312,732 fans to Allstate Arena, which was good second in the 30-team American Hockey League.

“You like to finish the year by winning the last one, but we fell short tonight,” said Wolves head coach Scott Arniel. “Looking back, this was such a wacky year with the lockout, injuries, and callups and we couldn’t fight through it all to reach our goal.”

Midwest Division champion Grand Rapids (42-26-4-4) broke to a 2-0 lead in the first period as left wing Jeff Hoggan scored both goals --- the second coming shorthanded on an odd-man rush. The Griffins improved the lead to 3-0 at 1:23 of the second on Landon Ferraro’s power-play goal.

Wolves forward Anton Rodin cut into the margin at the 12:19 mark of the third period with his fourth goal of the year. Michael Davies and Mark Matheson set him up.

Grand Rapids goaltender Tom McCollum (18-11-2) posted 23 saves to pick up the win. Wolves goaltender Joe Cannata (6-6-0) stopped 34 of 37 shots.

Captain Darren Haydar led the Wolves in scoring for the year with 57 points (20 goals, 37 assists). Brett Sterling paced Chicago with 24 goals, the third time in his five seasons with the Wolves he has done so.

Matt Climie, who did not play Sunday after making 13 consecutive starts down the stretch, tied Wendell Young’s single-season Wolves record with six shutouts. Five of those came on the road, which set a franchise mark.

Grand Rapids 2 1 0 -- 3

Chicago 0 0 1 -- 1

First Period---1, Grand Rapids, Hoggan 19 (Glendening, Mursak), 15:20; 2, Grand Rapids, Hoggan 20 (Ferraro), 19:02 sh. Penalties---Sproul, Grand Rapids (high-sticking), 9:35; Evans, Grand Rapids (slashing), 18:13.

Second Period---3, Grand Rapids, Ferraro 24 (Pulkkinen, Almquist), 1:23 pp.

Third Period---4, Chicago, Rodin 4 (Davies, Matheson), 12:19. Penalties---Glendening, Grand Rapids (high-sticking), 3:49; Haydar, Chicago (high-sticking), 14:39.

Penalties---Matheson, Chicago (slashing), 0:36; Glendening, Grand Rapids (high-sticking), 13:50; Blain, Chicago (tripping), 18:18.

Shots on goal---Grand Rapids 15-9-13—37; Chicago 12-5-7—24. Power plays---Grand Rapids 1-3; Chicago 0-4. Goalies—Grand Rapids, McCollum (23-24), Chicago, Cannata (34-37). A---9,155. Referees---T.J. Luxmore and Graham Skilliter. Linesmen---John Grandt and Alex Stagnone.

ROSEMONT, Ill.---The Chicago Wolves saw their Calder Cup playoff hopes dashed as they fell to the Milwaukee Admirals 2-0 in an Amtrak Rivalry contest Saturday night at the Allstate Arena.

Chicago (37-29-5-4) was unable to solve Milwaukee netminder Magnus Hellberg (21-13-0) as he posted a 27-save shutout performance, which marked the Admirals 10th victory in 12 games against the Wolves this season.

“Tough night,” said Wolves head coach Scott Arniel. “We have to score to win hockey games and we threw all we had on net, but their goaltender made some big saves.”

Milwaukee (40-28-4-3) picked up its first tally at the 17:00 mark of the first period. Left wing Kevin Henderson worked the puck up the near boards and found center Mark Van Guilder alone in the high slot. His one-timer beat Wolves netminder Matt Climie top-shelf on the stick side.

Climie (24-25-3) kicked out 22 of 23 shots.

Henderson added an empty-net tally at 19:51 of the third period to seal the win for the Admirals.

The Wolves close out their 19th regular season by hosting the Grand Rapids Griffins at 4 p.m. on Sunday at the Allstate Arena. For tickets, call 1-800-THE-WOLVES or visit ChicagoWolves.com.

Milwaukee 1 0 1 -- 2
Chicago 0 0 0 -- 0

First Period---1, Milwaukee, Van Guilder 14 (Henderson, Ekholm), 17:00. Penalties---None.

Second Period---None. Penalties---Jarvinen, Milwaukee (holding the stick), 4:47; Vandermeer, Chicago (interference), 9:40; Ellis, Milwaukee (tripping), 16:29.

Third Period---2, Milwaukee, Henderson 17 (Ekholm), 19:51 en. Penalties---Henderson, Milwaukee (high-sticking), 5:05; Ekholm, Milwaukee (hooking), 11:30; Regner, Chicago (holding), 16:57.

Shots on goal---Milwaukee: 9-7-9--24. Chicago: 5-13-9--27. Power plays---Milwaukee: 0-2. Chicago: 0-4. Goalies---Milwaukee, Hellberg (27-27). Chicago, Climie (22-23). A---11,225. Referee---Graham Skilliter. Linesmen---Aaron Mills and Alex Stagnone.

CLEVELAND, Ohio---The Chicago Wolves kept their playoff hopes alive Friday night with a thorough 5-2 victory over the Lake Erie Monsters and Quicken Loans Arena.

Defenseman Jim Vandermeer, Danny Groulx and Brad Hunt and forwards Darren Archibald and Andrew Gordon scored for the Wolves (37-28-5-4) as they produced a season-high 3 power-play goals. Goaltender Matt Climie (24-24-3) stopped 40 shots to keep Chicago in the chase for a Western Conference playoff berth.

With two games to play, the Wolves sit in 10th place with 83 points. They’re among five teams chasing three available playoff spots, but they don’t control their destiny because Milwaukee (85 points, two games left) defeated Charlotte 6-4 at home while Rockford (85 points, one game left) won 9-4 at San Antonio.

Rochester, which has 86 points with two games left, also is within the Wolves reach. If the Wolves win their home games Saturday and Sunday, then they’ll finish with 87 points. They’ll reach the playoffs as long as two teams in the Milwaukee-Rockford-Rochester troika don’t reach the 87-point mark. Oklahoma City (87 points) is beyond Chicago’s grasp.

Chicago took control of Friday’s game 12:27 into the first period. With Monsters netminder Sami Aittokallio well-screened, Vandermeer blasted a point shot through traffic and into the goaltender’s mesh to give the Wolves a 1-0 lead.

Moments later on the power play, defenseman Danny Groulx found a loose puck in the slot and slammed his shot off Davies in front of the net to make it 2-0 at 14:11.

The Wolves failed to carry a two-goal lead into the first intermission, though, as Monsters right wing Tomas Vincour scored on a redirect at 19:16.

The Wolves regained control when Archibald whacked a puck out of midair past Aittokallio at the 2:50 mark in the second period. Hunt followed by firing a slap shot so forcefully that it bounced in and out of the Monsters net before some players realized it was a goal at 6:18. Aittokallio departed at that point with the Wolves leading 4-1.

After Lake Erie’s Paul Carey dumped a goal into an empty net following a scramble, Gordon accepted a Darren Haydar pass in the slot and rifled it past backup goaltender Calvin Pickard for a 5-2 lead at 17:11 of the second.

The Wolves return to the Allstate Arena at 7 p.m. Saturday for the final Amtrak Rivalry game of the season against Milwaukee. For tickets, call 1-800-THE-WOLVES or visit ChicagoWolves.com.

Chicago 2 3 0 -- 5

Lake Erie 1 1 0 -- 2

First Period---1, Chicago, Vandermeer 5 (Schroeder, Hunt), 12:27; 2, Chicago, Davies 15 (Groulx, Kattelus), 14:11 pp; 3, Lake Erie, Vincour (Carey, Stollery), 19:16. Penalties---Vincour, Lake Erie (elbowing), 13:02; Maggio, Lake Erie (hooking, unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:40.

Second Period---4, Chicago, Archibald 12 (Sweatt, Corrado), 2:50 pp; 5, Chicago, Hunt 4 (Haydar, Gordon), 6:18; 6, Lake Erie, Carey 19 (Vincour, Agozzino), 12:21 pp; 7, Chicago, Gordon 19 (Schroeder, Haydar), 17:11 pp. Penalties---Jensen, Chicago (slashing), 2:55; Kattelus, Chicago (holding), 7:15; Connolly, Lake Erie (slashing), 8:16; Regner, Chicago (fighting), 10:05; Walker, Lake Erie (goaltender interference, fighting), 10:05; Schroeder, Chicago (tripping), 10:28; Gordon, Chicago (tripping), 14:09; Lain, Chicago (roughing), 16:18; Maggio, Lake Erie (roughing, double minor), 16:18; Perlini, Lake Erie (kneeing), 17:58.

Third Period---None. Penalties---Rodin, Chicago (tripping), 5:41; Lake Erie (bench minor--unsportsmanlike conduct, served by Perlini), 12:28; Sterling, Chicago (hooking), 14:47; Walker, Lake Erie (misconduct—unsportsmanlike conduct), 14:47.

Shots on goal---Chicago: 9-9-5--23; Lake Erie: 14-12-16--42. Power plays---Chicago 3-8; Lake Erie 1-6. Goalies—Chicago, Climie (40-42); Lake Erie, Aittokallio (9-13), replaced at 26:18 by Pickard (9-10). A---11,926. Referees---Mark Lemelin and Jean-Phillippe Sylvain. Linesmen---Shaun Morgan and Francis Trempe.    

 

MILWAUKEE---Despite scoring two third-period goals, the Chicago Wolves comeback attempt fell short as they dropped a 3-2 Amtrak Rivalry decision to the Milwaukee Admirals Tuesday night at the Bradley Center. 

Forwards Brett Sterling and Bill Sweatt scored six minutes apart in the third period for Chicago, which lost to the Admirals for the ninth time in 11 tries this season. 

With the loss, the Wolves dropped out of a tie with Milwaukee for ninth in the Western Conference playoff standings and now sit in 10th place with three regular-season games remaining. 

After left wing Kevin Henderson scored at 3:18 of the third period to put Milwaukee (38-28-4-3) up 3-0, Chicago (36-28-5-4) cut its deficit to 3-1 four minutes later when Sterling’s wrister from the near circle sailed over the glove of Admirals netminder Magnus Hellberg at 7:33. 

Sweatt drew the Wolves within one goal when his shot from the slot evaded Hellberg at 13:17. However, that puck would be the last to get by Hellberg as he closed the door on Chicago the rest of the way. 

The Admirals opened scoring with a power-play score from center Zach Hamill, when his pass from behind the Wolves net bounced off a Chicago defender and into the mesh behind netminder Matt Climie at 9:13 of the first period. 

Left wing Joshua Shalla added to Milwaukee’s goal total 8:29 into the middle frame when he capitalized on a Wolves error at center ice and took the puck back down the ice and deposited a shot throught the legs of Climie. 

Climie (23-24-3) stopped 29 of 32 shots, while Hellberg (19-13-0) posted 15 saves. 

Chicago travels to Cleveland for its final road game of the regular season against Lake Erie at 6:30 p.m. at Quicken Loans Arena.

Chicago 0 0 2 -- 2 
Milwaukee 1 1 1 -- 3 

First Period---1, Milwaukee, Hamill 18 (Cehlin, Ellis), 9:13 pp. Penalties---Ekholm, Milwaukee (roughing), 5:27; Matheson, Chicago (interference), 7:48. 

Second Period---2, Milwaukee, Shalla 2 (unassisted), 8:29. Penalties---Archibald, Chicago (fighting), 8:37; Ford, Milwaukee (fighting), 8:37; Blain, Chicago (tripping), 13:27; Jarvinen, Milwaukee (interference), 17:45. 

Third Period---3, Milwaukee, Henderson 16 (Ford, Ellis), 3:18; 4, Chicago, Sterling 24 (Haydar, Schroeder), 7:43 pp; 5, Chicago, Sweatt 15 (Matheson, Corrado), 13:17. Penalties---Sterling, Chicago (slashing), 4:53; Cehlin, Milwaukee (tripping), 6:29; Bench, Milwaukee (too many men), 10:57. 

Shots on goal---Chicago: 3-8-6--17; Milwaukee 12-14-6--32. Power plays---Chicago 1-4; Milwaukee 1-3. Goalies—Chicago, Climie (29-32), Milwaukee, Smith (15-17). A---3,457. Referees---Pierre Lambert and Jean Hebert. Linesmen---Aaron Mills and Jesse Pietsch.

ROSEMONT, Ill.---The Chicago Wolves earned a much-needed come-from-behind win over the Charlotte Checkers 2-1 in a shootout Saturday night at the Allstate Arena.

Center Jordan Schroeder knotted the game at one 5:31 into the third period and forwards Darren Haydar, Brett Sterling, and Jon Matsumoto lit the lamp in the shootout to give Chicago (36-27-5-4) its first win this year when trailing after two periods of play.

With the win, the Wolves stayed within two points of eighth place in the Western Conference playoff race with four games remaining in the regular season.

“We played hard all night,” said Wolves head coach Scott Arniel. “We were finally able to win while coming back in the third and at this point of the year all that matters is finding a way to win.”

After a scoreless first period, Charlotte (40-25-4-4) opened scoring when center Brett Sutter’s shot from the slot was knocked into the air by Wolves goaltender Matt Climie and right wing Matt Beca dove into the crease to poke the puck over the goal line at 17:05 of the second frame.

Climie (23-23-3) kicked out 35 of 36 shots in regulation and overtime and four of Charlotte’s six shootout attempts.

The Wolves tied the game 1-1 when defenseman Yann Sauve walked into the near circle and found the tape of Schroeder in front of the crease. He redirected the pass through the legs of Charlotte netminder Jon Muse 5:31 into the third period.

Muse (6-7-1) stopped 38 of 39 shots in regulation and overtime and three of six shootout attempts.

The Wolves open the final week of the regular season with an Amtrak Rivalry contest against the Milwaukee Admirals at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16, at the Bradley Center.

Charlotte 0 1 0 0 (0) -- 1
Chicago 0 0 1 0 (1) -- 2 Shootout

First Period---None. Penalties---Bro. Sutter, Charlotte (goaltender interference), 7:04; Rissanen, Charlotte (high-sticking), 7:43; Sweatt, Chicago (hooking, unsportsmanlike conduct), 11:16.

Second Period---1, Charlotte, Beca 5 (Bre. Sutter, Terry), 17:05. Penalties---Grenier, Chicago (roughing), 3:49; Marshall, Charlotte (tripping), 9:45; Schmitz, Charlotte (interference), 13:19; Sterling, Chicago (goaltender interference), 19:35.

Third Period---2, Chicago, Schroeder 12 (Sauve, Sterling), 5:31. Penalties---Rissanen, Charlotte (hooking), 2:55.

Overtime---None. Penalties---Samson, Charlotte (tripping), 1:42.

Shootout---Charlotte 2 (Dalpe NG, Marshall NG, Terry NG, Samson G, Shugg G, Krueger NG), Chicago 3 (Haydar G, Sterling G, Davies NG, Jensen NG, Schroeder NG, Matsumoto G).

Shots on goal---Charlotte: 13-11-10-2-0--36. Chicago: 9-15-11-4-1-40. Power plays---Charlotte: 0-4. Chicago: 0-6. Goalies---Charlotte, Muse (38-39). Chicago, Climie (35-36). A---13,119. Referee---Keith Kaval. Linesmen---Peter Cichy and Pat Richardson.

 

ROCKFORD, IL---In a game for the record books, the Rockford IceHogs handled the Chicago Wolves Friday night with a 7-3 Illinois Lottery Cup victory at the MetroCentre.

Forwards Brett Sterling and Eric Kattelus and defenseman Jim Vandermeer scored for Chicago (35-27-5-4), which surrendered a franchise-record 58 shots to the IceHogs. Milwaukee set the previous mark of 56 on Feb. 10, 1995.

With the loss, the Wolves (79 points) dropped into 10th place in the Western Conference playoff chase with five games to play. Milwaukee and Rockford (81 points) are tied for the eighth and final playoff spot.

With playoff implications weighing heavy on both teams, scoring started early and happened often. Sterling lit the lamp first with an unassisted strike that trickled past Rockford goalie Carter Hutton at 8:30 of the first period.

The lead held until IceHogs right wing Ben Smith rocketed a cross-crease feed over the top of Wolves goaltender Matt Climie. Smith’s power-play score at 17:43 would be his first of three on the night.

Rockford (38-31-2-1) scored three times in the second period to take a 4-2 lead after 40 minutes. Kattelus’ deflection of a Brad Hunt shot on the power play had cut the IceHogs margin to 3-2, but Smith scored with 45 seconds left in the second to regain the two-goal lead.

The IceHogs scored three more times in the third period before Vandermeer’s slap shot on the power play closed the scoring with 29 seconds to play.

Climie (22-23-3) stopped 40 of 44 shots before being replaced by Joe Cannata (11 saves in 14 shots) at the start of the third period.

The Wolves return to Allstate Arena at 7 p.m. Saturday as they welcome the Charlotte Checkers. For tickets, call 1-800-THE-WOLVES or visit ChicagoWolves.com.


Chicago 1 1 1-- 3

Rockford 1 3 3-- 7


First Period---1, Chicago, Sterling 23 (unassisted), 8:30; 2, Rockford, Smith 20 (Lalonde, Pirri), 17:43 pp. Penalties--- Sweatt, Chicago (goaltender interference), 2:34; Blain, Chicago (cross-checking), 6:41; Mills, Rockford (interference), 6:41; St. Pierre, Rockford (tripping), 10:51; Blain, Chicago (cross-checking), 17:11; Vandermeer, Chicago (slashing, fighting), 19:44; Mills, Rockford (cross-checking, unsportsmanlike conduct, fighting), 19:44.


Second Period---3, Rockford, Pirri 21 (unassisted), 1:42; 4, Rockford, Olesz 7 (Beach, Pirri), 2:29; 5, Chicago, Kattelus 3 (Hunt, Vandermeer), 15:58 pp; 6, Rockford, Smith 21 (Pirri, Morin), 19:15. Penalties---Climie, Chicago (roughing), 5:06; Desbiens, Chicago (fighting), 7:06; Brookbank, Rockford (fighting), 7:06; Stanton, Rockford (delay of game), 14:58; Lavin, Rockford (tripping), 16:25; Sterling, Chicago (tripping), 17:05.


Third Period---7, Rockford, Beach 16 (Nordstrom, Olesz), 2:37; 8, Rockford, Smith 22 (Morin, Pirri), 7:57; 9, Rockford, Morin 29 (Smith, Pirri), 16:00; 10, Chicago, Vandermeer 4 (Sweatt, Polasek), 19:31 pp. Penalties---Jensen, Chicago (high-sticking), 2:44; Stanton, Rockford (goaltender interference), 3:17; Haydar, Chicago (interference), 5:57; Blain, Chicago (elbowing, unsportsmanlike conduct, misconduct-unsportsmanlike conduct), 11:48; Davies, Chicago (slashing, misconduct-unsportsmanlike conduct), 11:48; Beach, Rockford (roughing, misconduct-unsportsmanlike conduct), 11:48; Brookbank, Rockford (roughing, misconduct-unsportsmanlike conduct), 11:48; Clendening, Rockford (misconduct-unsportsmanlike conduct), 11:48; Nordstrom, Rockford (misconduct-unsportsmanlike conduct), 11:48; Sauve, Rockford (tripping), 17:06; Mills, Rockford (elbowing, misconduct-unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:01.


Shots on goal---Chicago: 12-14-11--37; Rockford: 19-25-14--58. Power plays---Chicago 2-7; Rockford 1-7. Goalies—Chicago, Climie (40-44), replaced at 40:00 by Cannata (11-14); Rockford, Hutton (34-37). A---7,596. Referee---Keith Kaval. Linesmen---Aaron Mills and Alex Stagnone.      

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.---In the thick of the playoff hunt, the Chicago Wolves earned a big 3-2 road victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins Wednesday night at Van Andel Arena. 

Forwards Jordan Schroeder, Bill Sweatt, and Michael Davies posted tallies for the Wolves, who notched their first win in seven tries against the Griffins. With its victory, Chicago (35-26-5-4) moved into a tie for eighth place in the Western Conference playoff standings with six games remaining in the regular season. 

The Wolves opened the game strong, scoring the contest’s first goal at 4:01 off a redirect by Schroeder on the doorstep of Griffins netminder Petr Mrazek. 

Grand Rapids (40-24-3-4) responded 11 seconds later with a tap-in power-play marker by Tomas Jurco who was left alone in front of Wolves goaltender Matt Climie. 

Chicago rattled off two consecutive markers to break the one all tie. First, Schroeder chased down a puck through the neutral zone and backhanded it to Sweatt, standing on Mrazek’s crease, and he sent the puck five-hole to put the Wolves on top 2-1 at 12:04. 

Center Jon Matsumoto set up the team’s next goal, firing a puck into the scrum around Mrazek, where Davis hit it into the mesh at 13:33 and made it 3-1 Chicago. 

The period would close with one final tally from the Griffins, this time by defenseman Adam Almquist with a slap shot high over Climie at 17:02. 

Climie (22-22-3) stopped 28 of 30 saves, including 21 shots in the second and third periods. Mrazek (22-14-2) posted 25 saves in defeat. 

The Wolves close out their season-high six-game road trip in Rockford with the season’s final Illinois Lottery Cup tilt against the IceHogs at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 12. 

Chicago 3 0 0--3 

Grand Rapids 2 0 0--2 

First Period---1, Chicago, Schroeder 11 (Sweatt, Regner), 4:01; 2, Grand Rapids, Jurco 13 (Jamkrok), 4:12 pp; 3, Chicago, Sweatt 14 (Schroeder), 12:04; 4, Chicago, Davies 15 (Matsumoto, Blomstrand), 13:33; 5, Grand Rapids, Almquist 10 (Mursak, Hoggan), 17:02. Penalties--- Jensen, Chicago (tripping), 4:08; Vandermeer, Chicago (fighting), 16:10; Grant, Chicago (fighting), 16:10; Rodin, Chicago (tripping), 18:47. 

Second Period---None. Penalties---Hunt, Chicago (tripping), 6:18; Schroeder, Chicago (slashing), 19:11. 

Third Period---None. Penalties---Bench, Grand Rapids (too many men), 2:41. 

Shots on goal---Chicago: 16-8-4--28; Grand Rapids: 9-15-6--30. Power plays---Chicago 0-1; Grand Rapids 1-4. Goalies—Chicago, Climie (28-30), Grand Rapids, Mrazek (25-28). A---8,348. Referees---Tom Chmielewski and Trevor Hanson. Linsmen---Kevin Hall and Jim Scarpace.

OKLAHOMA CITY---A four-goal third period by the Oklahoma City Barons helped sink the Chicago Wolves 5-2 on Sunday at Cox Convention Center. 

Forwards Brett Sterling and Andrew Gordon staked Chicago (35-26-5-4) to a 2-0 advantage by scoring 66 seconds apart in the second period but Oklahoma City (35-24-2-8) rattled off five consecutive markers to earn the victory in a contest that had major ramifications on the Western Conference playoff race. 

The Wolves loss dropped them out of the top eight seeds in the Western Conference standings with seven games remaining in the regular season. 

After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, Sterling broke the stalemate for Chicago by rifling a power-play score top shelf on Barons goalie Yann Danis at 3:16 of the second period. 

Gordon would bag the Wolves second tally of the night when he settled down a bouncing puck in the slot and fired it back through Danis’ legs at 4:22. 

The Barons got on the scoreboard when left wing Teemu Hartikainen beat Wolves netminder Matt Climie at 9:27 and make it 2-1 Chicago heading into the third period. 

Climie (21-22-3) stopped 42 of 46 shots, while Danis (22-14-5) posted 26 saves. 

The Barons found the equalizer 9:26 into the final frame, when a giveaway by the Wolves at center ice set up center Ryan Martindale to beat Climie to knot the game at two. 

In rapid succession, forward Toni Rajala beat Climie short side to give Oklahoma City their first lead of the game at 10:19. 

Trailing 3-2, the Wolves faced a Barons power play and saw them capitalize in the extra man quickly with another strike from Rajala finding mesh at the 14:50 mark. 

Facing a two-goal deficit, Chicago pulled Climie with less than a minute to play in the game, allowing Philippe Cornet to pocket the empty net score at 19:37 to seal the victory for the Barons. 

Chicago continues its road trip back in the Midwest with a tilt against the Grand Rapids Griffins at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10 at Van Andel Arena. 

Chicago 0 2 0 -- 2 

Oklahoma City 0 1 4 -- 5 

First Period---None. Penalties---Fedun, Oklahoma City (holding), 3:15; Sauve, Chicago (boarding), 7:45; Groulx, Chicago (holding), 10:27; Tyrvainen, Oklahoma City (roughing), 10:27; Kattelus, Chicago (hooking), 12:53; Martindale, Oklahoma City (goaltender interference), 18:00. 

Second Period---1, Chicago, Sterling 22 (Groulx, Schroeder), 3:16 pp; 2, Chicago, Gordon 18 (Sterling, Haydar), 4:22; 3, Oklahoma City, Hartikainen 14 (Arcobello, Fedun), 9:27. Penalties---Desbiens, Chicago (fighting), 1:32; Plante, Oklahoma City (fighting), 1:32; Rajala, Oklahoma City (tripping), 3:06; Bench, Chicago (too many men), 14:16. 

Third Period---4, Oklahoma City, Martindale 6 (Pitllick, Hotham), 9:26; 5, Oklahoma City, Rajala 12 (Hartikainen, Stafford), 10:19; 6, Oklahoma City, Rajala 13 (Arcobello, Hartikainen), 14:50 pp; 7, Oklahoma City, Cornet (Arcobello, Cheechoo), 19:37 en. Penalties---Sauve, Chicago (cross-checking), 14:30. 

Shots on goal---Chicago: 9-10-9--28; Oklahoma City: 14-15-18--47. Power plays---Chicago 1-3; Oklahoma City 1-4. Goalies—Chicago, Climie (42-46), Oklahoma City, Danis (26-28). A---. Referee---Jean Hebert. Linesmen---Jon Grandt and Pat Turcotte.

OKLAHOMA CITY---A 31-save shutout from goaltender Matt Climie lifted the Chicago Wolves to a 3-0 victory over the Oklahoma City Barons Saturday night at Cox Convention Center. 

Defensemen Danny Groulx and Jim Vandermeer and forward Guillaume Desbiens were the goal scorers for the Chicago (34-25-5-4), which remains tied for the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot. 

Groulx got Chicago on the board early, blasting a shot from the top of the circle and over netminder Niko Hovinen’s glove at 1:21 of the first period. 

Leading 1-0, Vandermeer potted another marker with an assist from forwards Jordan Schroeder and Bill Sweatt at 11:31. 

Following the initial flurry of scores in the first period, the action was decidedly more subdued until the game’s final stretch. The Barons pulled Hovinen late in the third period and that’s when Desbiens capitalized with a short-handed, empty net score at 18:05. 

The Wolves and Barons play for the final time this season at 4 p.m. on Sunday. 

Chicago 2 0 0 -- 2 
Oklahoma City 0 0 0 -- 0 

First Period---1, Chicago, Kassian 8 (Archibald, Vandermeer), 1:21; 2, Chicago, Vandermeer 3 (Schroeder, Sweatt), 11:31. Penalties---Fedun, Oklahoma City (hooking), 18:54.

Second Period---None. Penalties---Desbiens, Chicago (high-sticking), 8:28; Desbiens, Chicago (cross-checking), 14:33. 

Third Period---3, Chicago, Desbiens 4 (Schneider), 18:05 sh/en. Penalties---Matheson, Chicago (delay of game), 17:59. 

Shots on goal---Chicago: 13-5-7--25; Oklahoma City: 11-12-8--31. Power plays---Chicago 0-1; Oklahoma City 0-3. Goalies—Chicago, Climie (25-25), Oklahoma City, Hovinen (22-24). A---3,985. Referees---Tim Mayer, Zac Wiebe. Linesmen---Jon Grandt, Pat Turcotte.

 

HOUSTON, TX---In the heat of the playoff race, the Chicago Wolves were frozen out by the Houston Aeros with a 5-2 loss Friday night at Toyota Center. 

Darren Archibald and Bill Sweatt tallied scores for Chicago (33-25-5-4), which is tied with Midwest Division rivals Milwaukee and Rockford in the chase for the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference playoffs. 

Goaltender Matt Climie stopped 9 of 13 shots for the Wolves before being replaced by Joe Cannata as Houston (35-24-5-5) scored four times in the second period. 

The Aeros jumped out to the early lead when center Zack Phillips batted a puck out of the air and into Climie’s net on an Aeros power play at 5:35 of the first period. 

In rapid succession, the Wolves fired back with a score of their own off Archibald’s stick. He rifled a shot past Aeros goaltender Cody Reichard’s short side at 6:07 to tie the game. 

Both sides enjoyed plenty of go-ahead opportunities, but it wasn’t until the second frame that scoring started again -- in a big way. 

The Aeros notched three straight scores from Steven Kampfer, Jason Zucker, and Dan DaSilva in the span of eight minutes. Following DaSilva’s wraparound goal, produced on a net left empty by Climie as he tried unsuccessfully to poke away the puck, Wolves coaches replaced Climie with Cannata at the 13:09 mark of the period. 

The change sparked a brief charge from the Wolves as left wing Sweatt pounced on a huge rebound 20 seconds later and fired it through Reichard at 13:29 to make it 4-2 Houston. 

The momentum wouldn’t stay in the Wolves favor, though. As the clock wound down on the second frame, Zucker came calling again on the power play. He went on a breakaway and scored through the five-hole to put the Aeros up 5-2 heading into the third. 

The Wolves continue their season-high six-game road trip with a 7 p.m. Saturday at Oklahoma City. The team returns to Allstate Arena on Saturday, April 13, to welcome the Charlotte Checkers. For tickets, call 1-800-THE-WOLVES or visit ChicagoWolves.com. 

Chicago 1 1 0 -- 2
Houston 1 4 0 -- 5 

First Period---1, Houston, Phillips 7 (Scandella, Petersen), 5:35 pp; 2, Chicago, Archibald 11 (Schroeder, Hunt), 6:07. Penalties---Groulx, Chicago (interference), 4:35; Medvec, Houston (roughing), 7:53; Kampfer, Houston (interference), 11:04. 

Second Period---3, Houston, Kampfer 3 (Fontaine, Zucker), 5:25; 4, Houston, Zucker 23 (Fontaine, Connelly), 11:29 pp; 5, Houston, DaSilva 4 (Phillips, Connelly), 13:09; 6, Chicago, Sweatt 13 (Vandermeer, Schroeder), 13:29; 7, Houston, Zucker 24 (unassisted), 19:24. Penalties---Longpre, Chicago (tripping), 10:55; Blain, Chicago (cross-checking), 15:33. 

Third Period---None. Penalties---Vandermeer, Chicago (fighting), 4:55; Broda, Houston (fighting), 4:55. 

Shots on goal---Chicago: 8-11-13--32; Houston: 7-9-5--21. Power plays---Chicago 0-2; Houston 2-3. Goalies—Chicago, Climie (9-13) replaced at 33:09, Cannata (7-8); Houston, Reichard (22-24) replaced at 49:19; Deslauriers (8-8). A---7,225. Referee---David Banfield. Linesmen---Brandon Gawryletz and Carl Sasyn.