HOME FOR THE HOWLIDAYS
The Wolves will play the first of this season’s two School-Day matinees on Thursday, facing off against the Texas Stars at 11 a.m. from Allstate Arena. The other School-Day game is slated for Feb. 23 versus Grand Rapids. Thursday’s game also kicks off a four-game homestand as Rockford (Dec. 19), Manitoba (Dec. 21) and Iowa (Dec. 26) follow the Stars into Allstate Arena over the holidays. The Wolves don’t hit the road again until Dec. 28.
EPILEPSY AWARENESS JERSEY AUCTION
On Saturday, the Wolves are giving commemorative T-shirts to the first 2,500 fans and auctioning unique epilepsy-themed jerseys that feature Hockey Hall of Famers Chris Chelios and Gordie Howe to highlight Epilepsy Awareness Night, presented by Heidenhain. The purple Epilepsy Awareness jerseys are inspired by the bond between Wolves general manager Wendell Young and his older son, Matthew, who was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2013 at the age of 22. The online portion of the auction concludes Friday. The final online bids become the starting bids for the Silent Auction at the game on Saturday night. To see all of the commemorative and autographed jerseys available, visit ChicagoWolves.com/Auctions.
THIS WEEK
Thursday, Dec. 17^
vs. Texas Stars
Allstate Arena
School-Day Game
The U Too (26.2)
11 a.m.
Saturday, Dec. 19^
vs. Rockford IceHogs
Allstate Arena
Epilepsy Awareness Night
Illinois Lottery Cup
The U Too (26.2)
7 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 21^
vs. Manitoba Moose
Allstate Arena
Craft Beer Night
The U Too (26.2)
7 p.m.
Games will be telecast live on The U Too or WCIU, The U or D2 Channel 7.2
Visit ChicagoWolves.com for broadcast schedule, or to watch or listen to the action live online
WOLVES HEADLINERS
- Andre Benoit: Continues to pace the Wolves in scoring, amassing 21 points on 3 goals and 18 assists … BENOIT ranks third among AHL defensemen in scoring, 1 point behind Toronto’s T.J. Brennan and San Diego’s Brandon Montour … BENOIT, a member of two Calder Cup Championshp teams, owns points in six of his last seven games.
- Ty Rattie: Made his 150th AHL appearance on Tuesday night … RATTIE assisted on Jordan Caron’s power-play goal against the Admirals and now rates as the team’s third-leading scorer with 16 points in 19 games.
- Jordan Caron: Scored Chicago’s lone goal in a 2-1 loss at Milwaukee … CARON’s hot scoring touch has resulted in five goals in seven games … The season totals for CARON look like this: 7 goals and 5 assists for 12 points in 23 games … CARON has spent time on the Wolves’ top forward line and owns a pair of power-play tallies.
- Yannick Veilleux: Saw his season-best point streak halted at three games on Tuesday. Now in his third season with the Wolves, VEILLEUX’s numbers this season (6G, 4A, 10P) in 24 games are on pace to easily eclipse his points total from a season ago (9G, 4A, 13P) compiled in 64 games with the Wolves.
- Zach Pochiro: Made his Wolves and AHL debuts Tuesday night in Milwaukee … The rookie center won three-of-four faceoffs and finished with an even plus/minus rating … POCHIRO participated in Chicago’s training camp and made the opening night roster. He also has spent two stints in Quad City (ECHL), totaling 14 points (6G, 8A) in 21 games.
WOLF TRACKS
- The Wolves have lost three straight games by one goal. The team is 3-4-1-2 in one-goal games.
- Chicago continues to rank as one of the more prolific scoring teams in the AHL, standing fifth out of 30 teams with a 3.05 goals-per-game average.
- Thursday’s rematch against Texas offers Chicago an opportunity to avenge its most lopsided loss of the season. The Stars came away with a 7-3 win on Oct. 16, scoring three times on the power play.
- Chicago renews its Illinois Lottery Cup Rivalry with Rockford on Saturday. The game marks Rockford’s first visit this season to Allstate Arena. The Wolves are 0-1-0-1 against the IceHogs with 10 games left in the season series.
- The Wolves’ platoon system in goal has produced nearly identical results. Jordan Binnington sports six wins, a 2.64 goals-against average and .904 save percentage while Pheonix Copley owns five wins, a 2.53 goals-against average and .909 save percentage. Both players have started 12 games and have 301 saves to their credit.
WOLVES REWIND (0-3-0-0)
Tuesday, Dec. 15
(at) Milwaukee 2, Chicago 1
- Chicago surrendered an early third-period goal which proved to be the difference against Milwaukee in an Amtrak Rivalry game at the Bradley Center
- Jordan Caron scored a second-period goal off a deflection on assists from Andre Benoit and Ty Rattie
- Pheonix Copley finished with 22 saves in the loss
Saturday, Dec. 12
(at) Lake Erie 2, Chicago 1
- Chicago mustered just one goal in falling to Lake Erie at Quicken Loans Arena as the Monsters completed a two-game sweep
- Ivan Barbashev scored the Wolves’ lone goal on assists from Yannick Veilleux and Scooter Vaughan
- Pheonix Copley recorded 23 saves in his first game against Lake Erie
Friday, Dec. 11
(at) Lake Erie 4, Chicago 3
- Danny Kristo and Jeremy Welsh scored in the final four minutes to get the Wolves close, but it wasn’t enough at Quicken Loans Arena
- Eriah Hayes scored the Wolves’ first goal of the night to cut into a 3-0 deficit while Peter Harrold handed out two assists
- Jordan Binnington posted 26 saves in the loss
