ROSEMONT, Ill. – Kenny Agostino recorded his fifth three-point performance of the year to lead the Chicago Wolves to a 5-1 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals on Sunday at Allstate Arena. The Wolves clinched the 2016-17 Amtrak Rivalry trophy that goes to the winner of the teams’ season series.
Chicago goaltender Jordan Binnington (8-6-3) made 26 saves in his first game since Dec. 21, and the Wolves’ power play cashed in twice on four opportunities for the win.
Agostino notched a goal and two assists while centers Ivan Barbashev (G, A) and Wade Megan (G, A) and defenseman Chris Butler (2A) all registered two-point performances.
“I mixed up the lines a little bit,” said Wolves head coach Craig Berube. “It’s been three games where we were kind of flat, so I threw them around a little bit and it happened to work. I thought (Binnington) was excellent. He made some huge saves when it was 2-1.”
After a back-and-forth scoreless first period, Agostino netted the game’s first tally just 54 seconds into the second session. Alone near the center of the left circle, he lasered a shot over Milwaukee netminder Marek Mazanec’s shoulder into the top left corner.
Chicago (24-15-3-2) extended its lead when Megan accepted a backhand pass from Agostino in the neutral zone, skirted net-front traffic to get to the slot and fired a shot past Mazanec (10-8-1) at 5:07.
Just 1:16 later, the Admirals (23-13-2-2) cut the Wolves’ lead in half when a Derek Army slapshot found its way through traffic and behind Binnington.
Chicago again scored early in the period, this time at 1:36 of the third. Megan carried the puck into the zone and down below the Milwaukee goal line. He threw it in front of the net for Agostino and Magnus Paajarvi. The pair jammed away as the puck skittered around the crease. Finally, Paajarvi poked it behind Mazanec for the Wolves’ third marker.
Chicago netted its first power-play tally when rookie Samuel Blais, falling to the ice, slapped the rebound from a Morgan Ellis point shot into a wide-open net at 12:23.
The Wolves pushed the score to 5-1 with less than five minutes to play in the game as Barbashev redirected a Jordan Schmaltz point shot from the top of the crease for another power-play goal.
Chicago is next in action against the Cleveland Monsters for a set of games at Quicken Loans Arena on Thursday (Jan. 26) and Saturday (Jan. 28). Thursday’s contest will stream on AHLLive.com while Saturday’s tilt will be broadcast on CW50. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. both evenings.
Following the AHL All-Star break, the Wolves return home to Allstate Arena for a game against the Central Division-leading Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday, Feb. 3. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m., and the game will air on The U Too. For ticket information or complete 2016-17 game and broadcast schedules, visit ChicagoWolves.com.
