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Hours before the calendar flipped to 2020, Oscar Dansk posted 20 saves to lead the Chicago Wolves to a 2-0 victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins on Wednesday night at Van Andel Arena.
Forwards Tye McGinn and Valentin Zykov scored for the Wolves (16-16-2-1), who wrapped up the decade with a .600 winning percentage as they posted a 414-261-54-40 record during the 2010s.
Dansk (11-6-0) ended his December just as he started it – with a victory at Grand Rapids. For the month, the 25-year-old Stockholm, Sweden, native produced a 7-0-0 record with a 1.57 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage.
The Wolves opened the scoring with McGinn’s goal 8:52 into the night. Nicolas Roy carried the puck down the right side and tried to fire on the net, but the puck deflected off a defender. It banged off the back wall to the side of the net, where McGinn flicked it between the post and Griffins goaltender Pat Nagle for his eighth goal of the season.
Zykov pushed the margin to 2-0 with 4:02 left in regulation. A wild Grand Rapids shot rebounded all the way out to the neutral zone, where Brandon Pirri claimed it to start a 2-on-1 rush with Zykov. Pirri slid a perfect pass across the high slot to Zykov, who whistled his shot off Nagle and into the net.
Nagle (1-4-1) stopped 22 of 24 shots in the loss for Grand Rapids (13-17-2-2).
The Wolves open the New Year by hosting the Texas Stars at 7 p.m. Thursday and the Iowa Wild at 7 p.m. Saturday.
