The Wolves are down to the last 17 games (11 home, six away) of the season and will face Midwest Division opponents in 13 of those, including when they close out the season with a streak of 10 intra-division tilts; the Wolves are 18-9-2-2 against Midwest foes this season after going 13-22-4-3 against them last year.
THIS WEEK:
Sat., March 15*
vs. Texas Stars
Allstate Arena
7 p.m.
Sun., March 16*
vs. Texas Stars
Allstate Arena
3 p.m.
*U-Too
GAMES WILL BE TELECAST LIVE ON THE U-TOO OR WCIU
Log on to chicagowolves.com for broadcast schedule, or to watch or listen to the action live online
FAMILIAR FACES
The Wolves are down to the last 17 games (11 home, six away) of the season and will face Midwest Division opponents in 13 of those, including when they close out the season with a streak of 10 intra-division tilts; the Wolves are 18-9-2-2 against Midwest foes this season after going 13-22-4-3 against them last year.
WOLVES HEADLINES
— Pat Cannone: Made his return from injury in Wednesday’s loss to Grand Rapids, dominating in the weekend back-to-back with four points (3G, A) and a combined +6 plus/minus rating … Notched his first professional hat trick and Chicago’s second of the season (Sergey Andronov, Dec. 27 at Lake Erie) to lead the Wolves to a 7-2 win over Abbotsford on Saturday … Tied for third on Chicago in goals (11) and plus/minus rating with a +15 … Tallied 25 points (10G, 15A) and 41 penalty minutes in 74 AHL games with the Binghamton Senators last season … Tied for second on the team and seventh in the AHL with a career-high +21 plus/minus rating
— Matt Climie: Notched his 100th American Hockey League win in a 4-1 victory over Abbotsford on Sunday, his first game action since he beat the Heat on Feb. 22 … Posted consecutive wins for the third time this season to move to 8-9-0 … Has gone 5-3-0 with a 2.30 goals-against average and .914 save percentage in 2014 after starting the season 3-6-0 with a 3.32 goals-against average and .885 save percentage … Posted a 24-25-3 record last season with Chicago, registering a 2.42 goals-against average and .921 save percentage … Recorded five shutouts away from Allstate Arena and six total, setting a single-season record for road whitewashes while also tying general manager Wendell Young (1999-2000) for the team record for total shutouts
— Eric Selleck: Held scoreless in his debut for the Wolves on Wednesday in Grand Rapids, but collected three points (G, 2A) and a +2 plus/minus rating in the weekend sweep of Abbotsford … Paces Chicago with 100 penalty minutes through 45 games this season … Appeared in two National Hockey League games with Florida last season, posting one assist, a +2 plus/minus rating, and 17 penalty minutes … Tied his AHL career-high with 11 assists and 16 points in 60 games with San Antonio in 2012-13 while leading the team with 181 penalty minutes
— Shane Harper: Contributed assists in all three contests last week, pushing his point streak to three games and point total in the last five contests to six (2G, 4A) … Registered 10 points (5G, 5A) and a +9 plus/minus rating in 17 games during the second half of the season after putting up 13 points (5G, 8A) and a -1 plus/minus rating in 30 games during the first half … Bagged 5 goals, 5 assists, and 10 points in 48 AHL matchups with the Adirondack Phantoms during the 2012-13 campaign
WOLF TRACKS
— With the sweep in Abbotsford, the Wolves completed not only a season sweep of the Heat but also a four-game sweep of their games north of the border this season; Chicago beat Toronto on Jan. 25 and Hamilton on Jan. 26.
— Defenseman Joe Corvo scored the game-winning power-play goal in his season debut in Saturday’s win; the game was CORVO’S first in a Wolves uniform since Game 4 of the Calder Cup finals on June 10, 2005.
— Six skaters recorded multiple-point games in Saturday’s win, which tied the Wolves season-high for goals; Pat Cannone (3G), Eric Selleck (G, A), Jani Hakanpaa (2A), Shane Harper (2A), Tyler Shattock (2A), and Brent Regner (2A) all picked up more than one point in the game.
— Chicago has gone 11-for-61 on the power play in its past 15 games; the 11 goals make up almost one-third of the Wolves’ total power-play goals for the season (34-for-267) and were part of a season-high stretch of four consecutive games with a man-advantage tally.
— The Wolves went 5-for-6 on the penalty kill against Grand Rapids on Wednesday and were a perfect 5-5 against Abbotsford last weekend, pushing their road penalty kill to sixth-best in the league at 86.2 percent (125-for-145); Chicago’s overall penalty kill sits tied at fifth in the league at 85.7 percent (228-for-266).
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
— Tickets are now available for the Wolves fifth Wine Tasting Fundraiser on Thursday, March 13, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Harry Caray’s in Rosemont. Fans will have the opportunity to sample wine and appetizers, enter auctions and raffles and mingle with Wolves Christian Hanson, Adam Cracknell, Keith Aucoin, Pat Cannone, Jake Allen, Alexandre Bolduc, and assistant coaches SCOTT ALLEN and DAVE ALLISON. Tickets can be purchased for $55 by going to chicagowolves.com or calling 1-800-THE-WOLVES.
— An appearance by Wolves right wing Ty Rattie and two from defenseman Cade Fairchild this week close out the 19th season of the “Read to Succeed” program, presented by Butternut Bread and J.U.L.I.E. Inc. Members of the squad have made more than 25 library visits throughout the Chicago area this season for the program, which has reached more than 650,000 children since its inception in 1995. For the full schedule visit chicagowolves.com/community.
WOLVES REWIND (2-1-0-0)
Sunday, March 9
Chicago 4, (at) Abbotsford 1
— Three first-period goals boosted the Wolves past Abbotsford to complete both the weekend and series sweeps of the Heat
— Forwards Alexandre Bolduc, Cody Beach, Dmitrij Jaskin, and Tyler Shattock tallied for Chicago
— Goaltender Matt Climie made 28 saves to notch his 100th AHL win
Saturday, March 8
Chicago 7, (at) Abbotsford 2
— The Wolves tied their season-high for goals as Pat Cannone registered his first professional hat trick in the team’s road win
— Joe Corvo (PP, GW), Eric Selleck, Adam Cracknell, and Michael Davies also scored goals while Brent Regner, Jani Hakanpaa, Tyler Shattock, and Shane Harper notched two assists apiece
— Goaltender Jake Allen stopped 28 of 30 shots for the win
Wednesday, March 5
(at) Grand Rapids 4, Chicago 2
— The Wolves winning streak was halted at four as they dropped one-goal leads twice to lose ground in the Midwest Division race
— Right wings Michael Davies and Ty Rattie scored in the opening minutes of the first and second periods, respectively
— Goaltender Jake Allen kicked out 36 of 39 shots, but saw his three-game winning streak snapped
