ROSEMONT, Ill. — The Chicago Wolves extended their winning streak to five games Saturday night with a 4-3 victory over Midwest Division-leading Grand Rapids at Allstate Arena.
ROSEMONT, Ill. — The Chicago Wolves extended their winning streak to five games Saturday night with a 4-3 victory over Midwest Division-leading Grand Rapids at Allstate Arena.
Forward Nathan Longpre (G, 2A) and defenseman Cade Fairchild (2A) paced the offense for the Wolves (9-6-0-1). Chicago also received goals from left wings Sergey Andronov and Dmitrij Jaskin and defenseman Taylor Chorney. Goaltender Matt Climie (1-3-0) stopped 23 shots.
“I was real happy with our performance tonight,” said Wolves head coach John Anderson. “Grand Rapids is a great team and we limited them to 26 shots. We were rewarded for our hard work.”
Grand Rapids (10-4-1-1) opened scoring 7:13 into the game with a goal from defenseman Ryan Sproul. He streaked up the right wall and released a shot that beat Climie top corner.
A short-handed goal minutes later brought Chicago even. Griffins goaltender Tom McCollum went behind the net to play the puck, but Longpre stole it. Longpre wrapped around the side of the net and scored before McCollum could return to his crease.
The Wolves took the lead four minutes into the middle frame on Andronov’s first goal of the season. A passing play between Fairchild, Longpre, and Andronov ended with an angled one-timer that beat McCollum short-side.
Jaskin added insurance for Chicago on a power-play tally at 9:47, stepping up from behind the net to deflect a Fairchild pass past McCollum.
Grand Rapids cut its deficit in half with a tally from center David McIntyre at 11:21 of the second. McIntyre tipped a high shot from the point that bobbled past Climie to make it 3-2 in favor of the Wolves.
Right wing Tomas Jurco scored the equalizer for Grand Rapids 35 seconds into the final frame when he backhanded the puck over Climie’s outstretched leg.
A second short-handed goal put the Wolves ahead for good. Chorney’s shot from above the faceoff dot beat a screened McCollum (6-2-0), who made 20 saves in the loss. The Wolves tied their franchise record with two short-handed goals.
The Wolves travel to Milwaukee at 7 p.m. Friday for an Amtrak Rivalry contest. The team returns to Allstate Arena next Saturday, Nov. 23, for a 7 p.m. rematch against Grand Rapids. For tickets, call 1-800-THE-WOLVES or visit ChicagoWolves.com.
WOLVES 4, GRIFFINS 3
Charlotte 1 1 1 — 3
Chicago 1 2 1 — 4
First Period—1, Grand Rapids, Sproul 5 (Jurco, Evans), 7:13; 2, Chicago, Longpre 2 (unassisted), 9:44 sh. Penalties—Shattock, Chicago (tripping), 2:31; Edmundson, Chicago (interference), 8:03; Evans, Grand Rapids (high-sticking), 11:16; Jaskin, Chicago (holding), 15:57; Emmerton, Grand Rapids (high-sticking), 18:28; Almquist, Grand Rapids (boarding), 19:55.
Second Period—3, Chicago, Andronov 1 (Fairchild, Longpre), 3:57; 4, Chicago, Jaskin 3 (Fairchild, Locke), 9:47 pp; 5, Grand Rapids, McIntyre 1 (Paetsch, Tootoo), 11:21. Penalties—Tootoo, Grand Rapids (tripping), 4:53; Paetsch, Grand Rapids (boarding), 8:14.
Third Period—6, Grand Rapids, Jurco 9 (Nyquist, Marchenko), 0:35; 7, Chicago, Chorney 1 (Longpre, Porter), 5:31 sh. Penalties—Rattie, Chicago (hooking), 3:37; Hakanpaa, Chicago (delay of game), 9:55; Emmerton, Grand Rapids (check to the head), 16:59.
Shots on goal—Grand Rapids: 6-6-14—26; Chicago: 8-13-3—24. Power plays—Grand Rapids 0-5; Chicago 1-6. Goalies—Grand Rapids, McCollum (20-24); Chicago, Climie (23-26). A—9,226. Referees—Joe Sullivan and Brett Iverson. Linesmen—Charlie O’Connor and Alex Stagnone.
