Friday, Nov. 11 | 6 p.m. | Quicken Loans Arena
Barbs Wired
Center Ivan Barbashev kept his point streak alive with his team-leading sixth goal in Wednesday’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Admirals. The 20-year-old netted Chicago’s first goal of the game at 7:46 of the second period when he wired a shot from a bad angle past Admirals goaltender Marek Mazanec. The tally was Barbashev’s third goal in two games. On Saturday against the Grand Rapids Griffins, he netted two goals: the opening and game- winning markers. During his five-game point streak, Barbashev has registered 4 goals and 4 assists for 8 points. He is second in team scoring with 10 points (6G, 4A), just 3 points behind defenseman Brad Hunt (3-10–13).
Welcome to the Club
Wing Conner Bleackley is the latest rookie to join the first pro point club. In Wednesday’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Admirals, Bleackley registered two primary assists. First, defenseman Brad Hunt sprung Bleackley from the defensive zone up the right wing boards. in the offensive end, Bleackley dished a cross-ice pass to Ivan Barbashev, who protected the puck in the left corner, skated up the wall to the bottom of the circle and ripped a bad- angle shot against Admirals netminder Marek Mazanec. Then at 14:20 of the same frame, Bleackley found Andrew Agozzino near the right-side wall in the offensive zone. Agozzino sliced through the Admirals defense and ripped the puck up under the crossbar for his first marker of the season.
Get Shorty
The Chicago Wolves have two short-handed tallies this season. The latest came in Wednesday’s 5-4 overtime setback against the Milwaukee Admirals. On the penalty kill, wing Andrew Agozzino and center Alex Friesen rushed up ice, and Agozzino lasered a shot for his second tally of the game. The goal gave Chicago a short-lived 3-2 lead. The Wolves’ first shortie was courtesy of center Wade Megan in the squad’s first victory of the season on Oct. 22 — a 4-2 win over the San Antonio Rampage at AT&T Center. With 54 seconds left in the second period, Megan—the 2015-16 American Hockey League leader with 7 short-handed tallies — chased the puck behind San Antonio’s net, outdueled a Rampage defenseman for possession, and then skated out toward the right circle and slid the puck past a diving Spencer Smith to tie the game.
Back-to-Back
Wednesday marked the first time this season a goaltender has gotten consecutive starts for the Chicago Wolves. Coming off a 34-save performance in the 4-2 victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday, netminder Jordan Binnington got the nod against the Wolves’ Amtrak Rivalry competitor, the Milwaukee Admirals. In the 5-4 overtime loss against Milwaukee, Binnington made 20 saves, including two in the extra frame until Alexandre Carrier rushed up the right wing and whipped a shot through two Chicago players and past Binnington for the 5-4 final score.
BY THE NUMBERS:
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0: Of the active skaters on the Chicago Wolves roster with at least six games played, three have zero penalty minutes this season. Center Ivan Barbashev and wing Magnus Paajarv have been too busy scoring goals to sit in the penalty box. Paajarvi has 3 goals through six games and Barbashev has a team-leading 6 goals through 11 games. Forward Bryce Gervais has been busy getting under the opponent’s skin, but has managed to keep his nose clean, and notched a goal through six games.
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2: In Wednesday’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Admirals, rookie forward Conner Bleackley registered the first two professional points of his career. His two primary assists set up Andrew Agozzino’s first of two goals in the game and Ivan Barbashev’s team-leading sixth tally of the season. Bleackley is the third Wolves rookie to record his first professional points this season. Defenseman Vince Dunn tallied both his first goal and assist in his first game on Oct. 15 against the Grand Rapids Griffins at Allstate Arena. Wing Samuel Blais nabbed his first professional point, an assist, in a 4-2 victory over the Cleveland Monsters on Oct. 30 at Allstate Arena.
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13: Defenseman Brad Hunt leads all Chicago Wolves skaters with 13 points through 11 games this season. The 28-year-old picked up his latest 2 points in Chicago’s 5-4 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Admirals on Wednesday. Hunt has recorded at least a point in all but two games and has four multi-point performances through 11 games. He and left wing Brett Sterling are tied with a team-leading +4 plus/ minus rating. Hunt has also been a disciplined skater this season with only two minor penalties to his name.
19: Through seven road games this season, the Wolves have broken even in scoring with 19 goals for and against. The five goals allowed in Wednesday’s overtime loss against the Milwaukee Admirals was the most goals the Wolves have given up in a single game this season. The Wolves’ 3-1 setback against the Grand Rapids Griffins on Oct. 14 at Van Andel Arena marked the club’s largest margin of defeat on the road, two goals. Otherwise, Chicago has not lost by more than a goal away from Allstate Arena and have accrued a 3-2-1-1 record on the road.
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40: Center Ivan Barbashev is leading the Wolves with a 40 percent shooting percentage. The 20-year-old has been scoring goals from near-impossible angles and has racked up 6 goals through 11 games this season. He also has 4 assists for a club second-best 10 points. The second-year pro’s shooting percentage is also good enough for seventh-best in the American Hockey League. As of Wednesday’s 5-4 overtime setback against the Milwaukee Admirals, the Moscow native has 4 goals and 4 assists for 8 points during his current five-game point streak.
Recent Games Recap
Wednesday, Nov. 9: (at) Milwaukee 5, Chicago 4 (OT)
- The Wolves dropped their third straight contest against Milwaukee in Amtrak Rivalry action.
- Left wing Andrew Agozzino netted his first two goals of the season, including a short- handed marker, while center Ivan Barbashev kept his five-game point streak alive with his team-leading sixth goal and Magnus Paajarv nabbed his third tally of the season.
- Rookie Conner Bleackley registered his first career professional points, both assists, on Barbashev’s and the first of Agozzino’s goals.
- Goaltender Jordan Binnington turned aside 20 shots in his second consecutive start.
Saturday, Nov. 5: Chicago 4, (at) Grand Rapids 2
- Chicago closed out the weekend clipping its Lake Michigan rival, the Grand Rapids Griffins, in the squads’ third of 10 meetings this season.
- Center Ivan Barbashev registered 2 goals to become the team leader with 5 goals, while rookie wing Samuel Blais recorded his first professional tally.
- Former Griffin Landon Ferraro recorded an empty-net marker for the 4-2 final score.
- Goaltender Jordan Binnington turned aside 34 shots for the victory.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Tonight’s game begins at 6:00 p.m. on The U Too presented by the Illinois Office of Tourism. The U Too is found over the air at WCIU-DT 26.2. Cable subscribers get the channel on Xfinity 230 and 360, RCN 35 and WOW 170 while Dish Network customers find the games on Ch. 48.
Complete broadcast schedule; all games stream live on AHLLive.com
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