Goaltender Oscar Dansk stopped 28 shots for his first career American Hockey League shutout and help the Wolves earn their first victory of the season, 3-0, against the San Antonio Rampage Friday night at AT&T Center.
Center T.J. Tynan scored the game’s opening goal to collect his team-leading 48th point and move into the No. 6 spot among the league’s top scorers. Defenseman Jake Bischoff scored while playing in his first game since Feb. 17. Veteran blueliner Jason Garrison delivered an empty-netter in the final minute.
After a scoreless first period, the Wolves (30-18-6-2) opened scoring at 9:55 of the second period. On the power play, Philip Holm and Teemu Pulkkinen played catch at the points before Holm sent the puck down to Brandon Pirri low in the right circle. He slid a one-touch pass to Tynan on the opposite side for a tap-in goal.
Chicago doubled its lead with 3:05 to play in the second session as Pulkkinen led a 3-on-1 rush and took a booming shot from the right wing. Goaltender Ville Husso (13-10-4) made the initial save, but the fourth man in – Bischoff – slapped in the rebound from the slot for the 2-0 lead.
San Antonio (27-23-8-0) pulled Husso with less than three minutes remaining. From the Wolves end of the ice, Garrison banked a shot off the glass in the Rampage end for the empty-net goal with just 28 seconds on the clock.
Since returning to Wolves on Jan. 24, Dansk (5-0-1) has five victories in as many starts.
The Wolves next face the Texas Stars at H-E-B Center on Saturday, March 3. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on CW50.
