ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Chicago Wolves forced overtime with a third-period goal, but Grand Rapids defenseman Ryan Sproul scored 2:43 into extra time to send the Wolves to a 2-1 defeat Tuesday night at Allstate Arena.
ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Chicago Wolves forced overtime with a third-period goal, but Grand Rapids defenseman Ryan Sproul scored 2:43 into extra time to send the Wolves to a 2-1 defeat Tuesday night at Allstate Arena.
Forward Jeremy Welsh scored his fourth goal in the last four games for the Wolves (17-12-4-0) while goaltender Matt Climie rejected 29 of 31 shots during Chicago’s final game of 2014.
“I thought we played solid,” said Wolves head coach John Anderson. “We didn’t give up a ton of chances and neither did they. (Climie) was really strong all night.”
Grand Rapids (16-11-3-0) opened the scoring 3:43 into the game on Teemu Pulkkinen’s American Hockey League-leading 17th goal of the year. Center Tomas Nosek circled behind the net and his wraparound attempt went through the crease, but the puck went directly to Pulkkinen and he found the open side of the net.
The Wolves pulled even at 5:22 of the third with Welsh’s power-play goal. Jake Chelios moved the puck from the right point along the blue line to Matt Register, who launched a wrister that Welsh redirected into the net while planted in front of Grand Rapids goaltender Tom McCollum.
Sproul’s game-winner occurred shortly as the Griffins launched a 4-on-2 assault into the Wolves zone. Marek Tvrdon carried the puck across the blue line on the right, but veered to the left to create space and saucered a pass across the slot to Sproul for a backdoor score.
McCollum (7-8-3) posted 20 saves to pick up the win. Climie’s record moved to 7-7-3.
The Wolves ring in 2015 with a pair of home games as they host Hamilton at 7 p.m. Friday and Rockford at 7 p.m. Saturday. Wolves defenseman Brent Sopel will be honored before Saturday’s contest for reaching the 1,000 professional games milestone. To get the best deals on tickets, visit ChicagoWolves.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.
GRIFFINS 2, WOLVES 1 (OT)
Grand Rapids 1 0 0 1 — 2
Chicago 0 0 1 0 — 1
First Period—1, Grand Rapids, Pulkkinen 17 (Nosek, Sproul), 3:43. Penalties—Brodeur, Chicago (elbowing), 8:27.
Second Period—None. Penalties—Climie, Chicago (delay of game, served by Eager), 3:59; Marchenko, Grand Rapids (high-sticking), 14:40.
Third Period—2, Chicago, Welsh 9 (Register, Chelios), 5:22 pp. Penalties—Ferraro, Grand Rapids (slashing), 4:50.
Overtime—3, Grand Rapids, Sproul 3 (Tvrdon), 2:47. Penalties—None.
Shots on goal—Grand Rapids 12-8-10-1—31; Chicago 6-4-10-1—21. Power plays—Grand Rapids 0-2; Chicago 1-2. Goalies—Grand Rapids, McCollum (20-21); Chicago, Climie (29-31). A—6,179. Referees—Jon McIsaac and Pierre Lambert. Linesmen—Jesse Pletsch and Jim Scarpace.
