Since Steve Maltais retired in 2005, only two Wolves have scored at least 20 goals in three consecutive seasons. One is Darren Haydar. The other is No. 14 on our Top 40 Goal-scorers Countdown, presented by Jewel-Osco.
Spencer Machacek was three days shy of his 20th birthday when he made his Chicago Wolves and professional debut on Oct. 11, 2008. Though the 2007 Memorial Cup champion (with the Vancouver Giants) scored just one goal in his first 19 appearances as he adapted to the pro game, the Lethbridge, Alberta, native soon become a steady contributor in the Wolves lineup.
Machacek produced 22 goals over his final 58 games of the 2008-09 season to finish second on the squad with 23 goals, which trailed only Joe Motzko (29 goals).
The Wolves bolstered their front-line scoring in 2009-10 with the return of Brett Sterling (34 goals) and the addition of Tim Stapleton (30 goals), but Machacek shared the team lead with 79 games played and delivered 20 goals with 29 assists. His exploits included a night for the ages when he piled up 2 goals, 3 assists and a +4 plus/minus rating during a 7-1 victory over the Abbotsford Heat on Oct. 24, 2009. He also cranked up the production during the postseason — when he stacked up seven goals in 13 games as the Wolves reached Game 7 of the West Division Final.
The Atlanta Thrashers’ third-round pick in the 2007 NHL Draft returned for one more season in Chicago. He posted 21 goals and 32 assists in 67 games as he also earned 10 games with the Thrashers.
Machacek finished his three-year Wolves career with 64 goals and 86 assists in 223 regular-season games. He ranks 16th on the Wolves’ all-time points list.
He spent three more seasons playing in North America before heading across the pond to become a force in Germany. Machacek spent seven seasons in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga and delivered 79 goals.
Want to enjoy more of the countdown?
No. 40: Gage Quinney
No. 39: Tim Breslin
No. 38: Nathan Oystrick
No. 37: Ben Simon
No. 36: Curtis McKenzie
No. 35: Kamil Piros
No. 34: Mark Mancari
No. 33: Simon Gamache
No. 32: Guy Larose
No. 31: Wade Megan
No. 30: Shane Harper
No. 29: Michael Davies
No. 28: Karl Stewart
No. 27: Cory Larose
No. 26: Pat Cannone
No. 25: Brian Wiseman
No. 24: Colin Stuart
No. 23: Brian Noonan
No. 22: Tim Bergland
No. 21: Joey Crabb
No. 20: Jordan Lavallee-Smotherman
No. 19: Dan Currie
No. 18: Dan Plante
No. 17: Bob Nardella
No. 16: Brandon Pirri
No. 15: Steve Martins
