The Chicago Wolves close out their franchise-record-tying nine-game road trip this week, visiting Adirondack today and Midwest Division rival Milwaukee on Friday before returning to Allstate Arena on Saturday and Sunday for their first home games since Nov. 1 (5-1 W vs. MIL); the Wolves head into the final two games with a 5-2-0-0 record during this season’s circus trip, ensuring a winning mark on the trek and tying last year’s win total (5-1-0-0) from the annual outing.
THIS WEEK:
Tue., Nov. 18
at Adirondack Flames
Glens Falls Civic Center
6 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 21*
at Milwaukee Admirals#
Bradley Center
7 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 22*
vs. Iowa Wild
Allstate Arena
7 p.m.
Sun., Nov. 23*
vs. Rockford IceHogs$
Allstate Arena
7 p.m.
*U-Too
#Amtrak Rivalry Game
$Illinois Lottery Cup Game
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
THE FINAL ACT
The Chicago Wolves close out their franchise-record-tying nine-game road trip this week, visiting Adirondack today and Midwest Division rival Milwaukee on Friday before returning to Allstate Arena on Saturday and Sunday for their first home games since Nov. 1 (5-1 W vs. MIL); the Wolves head into the final two games with a 5-2-0-0 record during this season’s circus trip, ensuring a winning mark on the trek and tying last year’s win total (5-1-0-0) from the annual outing.
WOLVES HEADLINERS
— Ty Rattie: Contributed five goals in three games last week, including three in Saturday’s win for his first professional hat trick … Is the third-youngest player in franchise history to record a hat trick, registering his three-goal outing at 21 years, 9 months, and 10 days to trail only Nicklas Jensen’s on April 15, 2012 (19 years, 1 month, 9 days), and Paul Postma’s on Feb. 21, 2010 (20 years, 11 months, 30 days) … Leads the team and league with 10 goals in 15 games, totaling 12 points on the season for third-most on the Wolves … Also leads Chicago with 51 shots on goal, a +10 plus/minus rating, and two power-play goals
— Jordan Binnington: Remained undefeated in November as he picked up wins Wednesday and Saturday, posting his first AHL shutout in Utica and pushing his professional-best winning streak to five games … Is the Wolves’ first rookie netminder to push a winning streak beyond four games since 2007-08, when Ondrej Pavelec strung together six-game winning streaks twice in the regular season and backed the team to the Calder Cup … Sits at 5-1-1 on the season with a 1.86 goals-against average and .928 save percentage, ranking fifth in the league for GAA and first among rookies
— Pat Cannone: Registered multiple-point outings in all three contests last week, a professional-best three-game streak, and totaling six points (2G, 4A) in the efforts … Scoring at a point-per-game pace in November with eight points (3G, 5A) in eight games … Leads the Wolves with 14 points and nine assists in 15 games this season … One-third of the way to his AHL career high (43, 2011-12) one-fifth of the way through 2014-15 … Finished last season, his first with the Wolves, ranking first on the team in plus/minus rating (+24), third in goals (16), and fourth in points (34)
— Mathieu Brodeur: Collected the first multiple-goal game of his professional career Saturday, scoring twice in the first period of the 7-4 win … Tied his AHL career-high +3 plus/minus rating for the third time this season in Rochester … Sits even with Ty Rattie for the team lead in plus/minus rating (+10) … Has four assists in eight games this month after starting the season with one point in his first seven tilts … Has recorded two multiple-point games this season, the first breaking a drought that dated back to March 13, 2013
WOLF TRACKS
— The Wolves will play their second three-in-three of 2014-15 this week with games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; the team went 2-1-0-0 from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, their first three-in-three this season, and 12-3-2-1 in three-in-threes in 2013-14, winning two games in each series.
— Chicago’s results this week will have a major impact on the standings with two tilts against intra-division rivals; the top three teams in the Midwest Division (Rockford, Chicago, and Milwaukee) are separated by three points and all rank in the top five in the league.
— The team has one of the hottest power plays in the league right now, having potted seven man-advantage markers in its last four games, the most of any team in that span; Chicago ranks third in the AHL at 23.1 percent success (15 for 65) for the season.
— The Wolves lead the league in goal differential, sitting atop rankings with a +22 mark (56-34); Bridgeport (+20) sits second while Utica (+16) comes in third.
— Chicago (AHL) and St. Louis (NHL) have combined to earn 47 points so far this season, the second-most of any NHL-AHL affiliation behind Vancouver/Utica (48); the Wolves rank third in the AHL while the Blues sit fifth in the NHL.
— The Wolves are one of four teams (Chicago, Milwaukee, Utica, Worcester) remaining in the league that hold perfect records when leading after both the first and second periods.
EPILEPSY AWARENESS NIGHT
Saturday’s 7 p.m. game against Iowa features Epilepsy Awareness Night, presented by Heidenhain. The first 2,500 fans to enter the arena will receive a purple Wendell Young T-shirt, courtesy of Heidenhain. Wendell and Paula Young’s older son, Matthew, was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 22 in the summer of 2013. Additionally, Saturday is an Adopt-A-Dog night and the team is holding a canned food drive from Nov. 22-29 benefiting Belvidere/Boone County Food Pantry. For more information, visit ChicagoWolves.com/community.
WOLVES REWIND (2-1-0-0)
Saturday, Nov. 15
Chicago 7, (at) Rochester 4
— The Wolves visited Rochester for the only time this season and first since the Western Conference Quarterfinal of the 2014 Calder Cup Playoffs, with Chicago taking the victory at Blue Cross Arena
— Right wing Ty Rattie netted his first pro hat trick while defenseman Mathieu Brodeur added two goals and forwards Dmitrij Jaskin and Yannick Veilleux rounded out scoring
— Goaltender Jordan Binnington stopped 27 shots to extend his winning streak to a professional-best five games
Friday, Nov. 14
(at) Utica 4, Chicago 3
— The Wolves surrendered the game’s opening goal just 32 seconds into the contest but rallied late, ultimately falling to Utica on a bad bounce with minutes remaining at the Utica Memorial Auditorium
— Forwards Ty Rattie and Pat Cannone and defenseman Petteri Lindbohm scored for Chicago
— Goaltender Matt Climie surrendered four goals on 31 shots in just his second regulation loss of the season
Wednesday, Nov. 12
Chicago 3, (at) Utica 0
— Despite being outshot 30-19, the Wolves capitalized twice on the power play and relied on good goaltending to pick up a 3-0 win over the league’s top team at the Utica Memorial Auditorium
— Right wing Ty Rattie opened scoring and forwards Terry Broadhurst and Pat Cannone added tallies on the man-advantage
— Starting consecutive games for the first time with the Wolves, goaltender Jordan Binnington stopped all 30 shots he faced to register his first AHL shutout and extend his win streak to four games
