WINNIPEG, Manitoba — John Anderson earned his 750th win as a head coach as the Chicago Wolves picked up a 5-3 victory over the Manitoba Moose Thursday night at the MTS Centre.
Rookie forward Ivan Barbashev’s rebound goal with 9:04 left in the third period gave the Wolves (8-1-0-1) the lead for good as they earned their sixth consecutive win and maintained their status as the top team in the AHL’s Western Conference.
Center Jeremy Welsh scored twice and center Evan Trupp and defenseman Petteri Lindbohm added goals for Chicago, which never trailed. Goaltender Jordan Binnington (5-0-1) registered 33 saves to help Anderson pick up his 599th win with the Wolves and 750th of his 18-year career.
The Wolves opened the scoring at 8:32 of the first period as Trupp delivered his first goal with the Wolves. Trupp claimed the puck along the right boards, fed a pass to Jordan Caron in the right circle and received a touch pass right back. Trupp skated almost to the goal line and lifted a sharp-angle shot over goaltender Connor Hellebuyck’s shoulder.
Manitoba (2-8-1-1) answered at 12:49 with a textbook tic-tac-toe play that ended with center Chase De Leo redirecting a shot past Binnington.
Lindbohm gave the Wolves a 2-1 lead with a rising snap shot from the high slot at the 19:04 mark of the first. Chicago kept pressuring Hellebuyck and Pat Cannone set up Lindbohm for an unchallenged blast through traffic. Cannone’s assist extended his career-high point streak to 10 games.
The Moose forged another tie when former Wolves forward Patrice Cormier came out of the penalty box and accepted a feed for a breakaway that made the score 2-2 at 11:07 of the second.
The Wolves replied with Welsh’s goal at 17:51 of the second. Defenseman Peter Harrold carried the puck into the offensive zone along the right boards, which allowed Welsh to sneak down the slot and redirect Harrold’s pinpoint centering pass for his third goal in the last four games.
The Moose rallied to earn another tie as rookie Jiri Fronk enjoyed a breakaway opportunity and scored his first professional goal at 1:36 of the third.
Barbashev’s goal at 10:56 of the third gave the Wolves a 4-3 lead. Defenseman Jordan Schmaltz and Cannone set up Zach O’Brien in the slot. When Hellebuyck used his right pad to reject O’Brien, the puck went directly to Barbashev for the easy rebound goal.
Welsh delivered his second goal of the night with his power-play tally at 12:24 as he beat Hellebuyck’s blocker from the bottom of the right circle. O’Brien joined Hayes and Cannone with two assists for the night.
The Wolves play the Moose again at 7 p.m. Friday in a game broadcast by The U Too. The team returns to Allstate Arena at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21, for Salute to Military Families Night, presented by Kia and Magellan. The Wolves then host Star Wars Day at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 22. To find the best ticket specials, visit ChicagoWolves.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.
WOLVES 5, MOOSE 3
Chicago 2 1 2 — 5
Manitoba 1 1 1 — 3
First Period—1, Chicago, Trupp 1 (Caron, Hayes), 8:32; 2, Manitoba, DeLeo 1 (Armia, Lipon), 12:49; 3, Chicago, Lindbohm 1 (Cannone, Hayes), 19:04. Penalties—Hodgman, Chicago (roughing), 9:22; Melchiori, Manitoba (interference), 16:28.
Second Period—4, Manitoba, Cormier 2 (Kichton), 11:07; 5, Chicago, Welsh 4 (Harrold, Rattie), 17:51. Penalties—Cormier, Manitoba (slashing), 8:50.
Third Period—6, Manitoba, Fronk 1 (unassisted), 1:36; 7, Chicago, Barbashev 3 (O’Brien, Cannone), 10:56; 8, Chicago, Welsh 5 (O’Brien, Schmaltz), 12:24 pp;
Penalties—Stoykewych, Manitoba (tripping), 11:57; Hodgman, Chicago (holding), 16:43;
Shots on goal—Chicago 8-4-7—19; Manitoba 13-10-13—36. Power plays—Chicago 1-3; Manitoba 0-2. Goalies—Chicago, Binnington (33-36); Manitoba, Hellebuyck (14-19). Referees—Tom Chmielewski and Chris Schlenker. Linesmen—Andrew Stammers and Justin Verhaeghe.
