SAN ANTONIO, Texas—The Chicago Wolves opened their 20th season with a 2-1 triumph over San Antonio on Friday night at AT&T Center.
Corey Locke and left wing Dmitrij Jaskin recorded goals in their Wolves debuts while goaltender Jake Allen rejected 41 shots to earn the win for John Anderson, who coached his first game with the Wolves since the 2008 Calder Cup championship.
Chicago never trailed as it improved its record in regular-season openers to 10-5-2-3.
The Wolves (1-0-0-0) needed just three minutes and 19 seconds to register their first goal of the season. During an extended possession in the San Antonio zone, right wing Michael Davies caught a rebound with his right hand, set the puck on the ice and fed it to center Corey Locke in the slot. Locke, the 2010-11 American Hockey League Most Valuable Player, flipped the puck past Rampage goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris for a 1-0 lead.
Jaskin, a 20-year-old rookie from Omsk, Russia, recorded his first goal in North America 45 seconds into the second period. A San Antonio player sent a blind backhanded pass from the corner straight to Jaskin in the slot. Jaskin took a moment to control the turnover before wristing a low left-handed shot into the net.
San Antonio (0-1-0-0) cut the margin to 2-1 on defenseman Colby Robak’s power-play goal at 10:04 of the third. Robak rifled a shot from just inside the blue line that the screened Allen couldn’t glove.
Allen (1-0-0) won his first game in a Wolves uniform while Grumet-Morris (0-1-0) recorded 21 saves for the Rampage.
The Wolves wrap up their season-opening trip to the Lone Star State with a 7 p.m. game Saturday against the Texas Stars. The Wolves host their 20th home opener at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12, at Allstate Arena. For tickets, call 1-800-THE-WOLVES or visit ChicagoWolves.com.
Chicago 1 1 0 — 2
San Antonio 0 0 0 — 1
First Period—1, Chicago, Locke 1 (Davies, Regner), 3:19. Penalties: Mancari, Chicago (high-sticking), 0:20; Hakanpaa, Chicago (holding), 4:39; Ortmeyer, San Antonio (holding), 8:04; Odegaard, Chicago (interference), 10:35; Bench (served by Combs), San Antonio (too many men on ice), 15:37.
Second Period—2, Chicago, Jaskin 1 (unassisted), 0:45. Penalties: Howden, San Antonio (interference), 6:47; Mancari, Chicago (holding), 9:37; Zanon, San Antonio (closing hand on puck), 12:43; Porter, Chicago (tripping), 16:07.
Third Period—3, San Antonio, Robak 1 (Trocheck, Rallo), 10:04 pp; Penalties: Edmundson, Chicago (hooking), 9:55; Hakanpaa, Chicago (tripping), 16:00;
Shots on goal—Chicago: 12-9-2—23; San Antonio: 13-14-15—42. Power plays—Chicago 0-4; San Antonio 1-7. Goalies—Chicago, Allen (41-42); San Antonio, Grumet-Morris (21-23). A—5,651. Referees—Trevor Hanson and Brett Montsion. Linesmen—Fred Hudy and Carl Sasyn.
