Wednesday, Oct. 25 | 11:00 a.m. | Allstate Arena
BARBS IS BACK
On Sunday, center Ivan Barbashev joined the Wolves for the first time since May 8 when he tried to help defeat the Grand Rapids Griffins in the Central Division Finals of the Calder Cup Playoffs. At the American Hockey League level, the 21-year-old has played exclusively for the Wolves — appearing in 111 games through two seasons (2015-17) and tallying 65 points (29G, 36A).
KASKISUO ON DECK
When both Oscar Dansk and Max Lagace were recalled from loan by the Vegas Golden Knights — with both Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban on IR — the Wolves were in need of goaltenders. The Wolves’ newest goaltending tandem is Kasimir Kaskisuo and C.J. Motte. Kaskisuo was loaned to the club from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday and Motte signed a professional tryout contract last week with Chicago. Motte is no stranger as he spent the end of last season with the Wolves on a PTO. In 2016, Kaskisuo was signed as a free agent by the Maple Leafs at the end of his sophomore year with the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.
DANSK LAGACE JUMP TO NHL
It’s been a busy week for the men between the pipes as the goaltenders —Oscar Dansk and Max Lagace — who have backstopped the Wolves in all five contests this season were both recalled from loan by the Vegas Golden Knights. Following an injury to goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, the Golden Knights recalled Lagace but by week’s end he had been returned on loan to the Wolves and Dansk called to take his place. On Oct. 21, Malcolm Subban was injured in the third period against St. Louis. Dansk, a rookie, stepped into the net for his NHL debut and made 10 saves to help Vegas steal an overtime win. With both Fleury and Subban on injured reserve, Lagace again was recalled to be the second active goaltender on the Golden Knights roster.
SCHOOL DAZED
Last season, the Wolves did not fare so well in school-day contests. In three morning matches, the Wolves posted a 1-1-1-0 record and were outscored 14-9 by their opponents. All three games during the 2016-17 campaign were against Central Division foes — Cleveland (Feb. 22), Grand Rapids (Dec. 15) and Milwaukee (Nov. 9). This season, Chicago will compete in four School-Day Games and three of those contests are against Central Division opponents. The Wolves travel to Milwaukee next week for a 10:30 a.m. game and then will host the Grand Rapids Griffins (Dec. 21) and Texas Stars (Feb. 27).
By the Numbers:
- 2: Five games into the 2017-18 campaign, the Wolves already have given up two short-handed goals. Tucson’s Dakota Mermis (Oct. 21) and Nick Merkley (Oct. 22) each collected a short- handed tally against the Wolves. Mermis’ marker opened the scoring on Saturday and Merkley tied the game, 1-1, late in regulation to force overtime on Sunday. Last season, the Wolves didn’t give up a short-handed goal until their seventh contest of the year. That match was against the Rockford IceHogs and Cameron Schilling (now with Manitoba) collected the marker. Conversely, it only took four games for Wade Megan to register an unassisted shortie against the San Antonio Rampage.
- 11: Forward Teemu Pulkkinen, the overtime hero of Sunday’s game against the Tucson Roadrunners, has collected 11 points — four goals and seven assists — in five games. His totals land atop the American Hockey League leaderboard. Charlotte’s Lucas Wallmark also owns 11 points, but only has three goals and has skated in two more games that Pulkkinen. Four of his five game have been multi-point productions, but Sunday marked his first multi-goal game. If Pulkkinen keeps up his 2.20-points-per-game pace, he will score 167 points through 76 regular-season contests
- 32: Center Ivan Barbashev will reprise No. 32 during his time with the Wolves. He last wore 32 as a rookie during the 2015-16 campaign. Last season, Barbashev donned No. 22. But prior to his return, fellow center Wade Megan claimed those digits. This season will mark Barbashev’s third with the Wolves.
- 194: On Oct. 24, forward Beau Bennett was recalled from loan by the St. Louis Blues. The 25-year-old Bennett is no stranger to the National Hockey League as he has 194 NHL games under his belt and was a member of the 2016 Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Unfortunately, Bennett did not meet the requirements to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. However, the California native is within range of career NHL Game No 200.
- 304: The Wolves are clicking along at a 4.00-goal-per-game pace. If they can maintain over the course of the season, they will complete the year with 304 tallies. That’s 53 goals better than last season’s 251 markers, which was good enough for third in the entire American Hockey League. Oct. 22 was the first time the Wolves scored fewer than three goals in a game and the club managed to net 15 tallies in the first three contests of the season.
Game Rewind
Sunday, Oct. 22 (at) Chicago 2, Tucson 1 (OT)
- Chicago rebounded during overtime of a tight defensive game to split a two-game set with Tucson.
- Forward Teemu Pulkkinen netted both Wolves goals for his first multi-goal game of the season.
- The Roadrunners’ lone goal was their second short-handed marker in as many games against the Wolves.
- Goaltender Max Lagace earned his second victory of the year with a 23-save performance.
Saturday, Oct. 21 Tucson 4, (at) Chicago 3
- The Wolves fell to the Roadrunners in the visitors’ Allstate Arena debut.
- Defenseman Shea Theodore registered a goal and an assist while center Wade Megan collected two assists in his 2017-18 Wolves debut.
- Forwards Tomas Hyka and Paul Thompson also scored for Chicago.
- Goaltender Max Lagace turned aside 25 shots in the loss.
FOLLOW. LISTEN. WATCH.
Listen on Facebook LIVE Watch on AHL LIVEHEAD-TO-HEAD RECORDS
0-0-0-0
2016-17 Regular Season
2-2-0-0 | Chicago
Overall Head-to-Head Record
60-36-3-5-6
SERIES GAME-BY-GAME
| Date | Location | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 10/25/2017 | Allstate Arena | |
| 11/15/2017 | Bell MTS Place | |
| 11/17/2017 | Bell MTS Place | |
| 01/05/2018 | Allstate Arena | |
| 02/24/2018 | Bell MTS Place | |
| 02/25/2018 | Bell MTS Place | |
| 03/25/2018 | Allstate Arena | |
| 04/15/2017 | Allstate Arena |
