Insider: Pick a goalie…any goalie

April 05, 2021

Welcome to Wolves Insider: the report presented by Power Crunch that gives you a taste of all Chicago Wolves developments as the organization enjoys its 27th season.

PICK A GOALIE…ANY GOALIE

The Chicago Wolves are delivering record-setting performances almost every time they hit the ice — and the goaltender’s crease is no exception to this phenomenon.

From March 13 to April, the Wolves used a different goaltender in five consecutive games for the first time in the franchise’s 27-year history. Not only did head coach Ryan Warsofsky juggle five netminders, but each one went the distance and earned the win.

Rookie Beck Warm started the trend with a 4-0 shutout on March 13 at Iowa. Rookie Jeremy Helvig followed the next day with a 6-2 win at Iowa. Antoine Bibeau registered a 6-3 win over Rockford last Saturday, then rookie Devin Cooley followed the next day with a 5-4 win at Rockford in his AHL debut. NHL veteran Petr Mrazek, sent to the Wolves for a one-game conditioning stint after sitting out eight weeks with a thumb injury, made it 5-for-5 on April Fools’ Day with his 43-save effort in a 5-2 home win over Grand Rapids. The quintet combined for a 2.20 goals-against average (11 goals in 299 minutes, 53 seconds) and a .930 save percentage (146 saves on 157 shots).

The new-goalie-each-night streak ended Saturday when Cooley returned to the nets and delivered several sparkling saves in a 4-2 home win over Rockford that gave the Wolves the best record in the AHL: 14-2-0-1 (.853). The Wolves also own six straight wins over the IceHogs.

As jeannot goes, so go the wolves

Who leads the American Hockey League in points per game? It’s Wolves forward Tanner Jeannot, who owns 19 points (9G, 10A) in 12 appearances this season.

Who leads the AHL in goal streak? It’s the 23-year-old Jeannot, who has scored one goal in each of the last seven games. That’s two games shy of the Wolves record set in 2006-07 by Brett Sterling. He also leads the AHL in active point streak with an 11-game run during which he has scored 19 points.

What’s the Wolves’ record when Jeannot doesn’t play? It’s 2-2-0-1. And when he does? 12-0-0-0.

He’s also the most physical player on the roster, the one who always has his teammates’ backs. He even gave up his body to block a shot in the final 90 seconds Saturday with the Wolves protecting a 1-goal lead.

“The way he plays is the right way to play the game of hockey,” said Wolves head coach Ryan Warsofsky. “It just is. He’s simple. When he can be creative, he’s creative. When he goes to the (blue) paint, he scores. So guys watch that. He’s good defensively. He blocks shots. He does all the little things right. He takes care of himself off the ice. I could list a hundred things. There’s just not many people like him in the game of hockey.”

help common pantry with our food drive

Because there are still a lot of Chicagoans who aren’t food-secure, the Wolves are hosting a a multi-faceted Food Drive during April to help Chicago-based Common Pantry, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping people throughout the Chicago area.

On April 24, the Wolves are hosting a Food Drive from noon to 2 p.m at Allstate Arena. Skates will lead the group collecting donations just outside the Box Office.

The Wolves also have placed donation boxes at three locations in Hoffman Estates: Triphahn Center, Willow Recreational Center and the Club at Prairie Stone. Anyone using these facilities are encouraged to leave donations between Friday and April 19.

If you can’t make it to Allstate Arena or any of the Hoffman Estates locations, you can still make a difference! The Wolves are accepting monetary donations here.

TOP LINE

PETR MRAZEK

Needing some game action after missing eight weeks with a surgically repaired thumb, the Carolina Hurricanes’ top goaltender joined the Wolves for a conditioning stint April 1 and stopped 43 shots in a 5-2 win over Grand Rapids. That outing gave the Canes the confidence to start him Sunday against Dallas — and he delivered 28 saves in a 1-0 triumph.

DAVID WARSOFSKY

Head coach Ryan Warsofsky’s younger brother finds a way to get on the scoresheet virtually every game. The 30-year-old defenseman owns 10 points (2G, 8A) in eight appearances for the Wolves, which includes one goal and one assist in the April 1 win over Grand Rapids and two assists in Saturday’s win over Rockford.

 

DOMINIK BOKK

The rookie from Germany continues to scorch the nets. When he scored the Wolves’ first goal in Saturday’s win against Rockford, that gave the 21-year-old five goals in his last seven games. More impressive, Bokk has scored the team’s first goal on four of those occasions. He also has been less hesitant to shoot as he has rifled 17 shots in the last four games.

 

REWIND (2-0-0-0)

SATURDAY, APRIL 3: (at) CHICAGO 4, ROCKFORD 2

• Forward Tanner Jeannot’s power-play goal in the final minute of the second period broke a tie and wound up as the game-winning goal as the Wolves won for the sixth game in a row.
• Forwards Dominik Bokk and David Cotton scored goals to help the Wolves keep pace early, then Jeannot scored for the seventh game in a row and Cole Smith added a late empty-netter.
• Goaltender Devin Cooley posted 31 saves to pick up second win over Rockford in two starts.

THURSDAY, APRIL 1: (at) CHICAGO 5, GRAND RAPIDS 2

• Assigned by Carolina (NHL) for a one-day conditioning stint, goaltender Petr Mrazek posted an AHL career-high 43 saves as the Wolves extended their winning streak to five games.
• Forward Anthony Richard scored two goals in the final eight minutes while defensemen Frederic Allard and David Warsofsky and forward Tanner Jeannot also produced goals.
• Mrazek rejected all 23 shots he saw during the second period.

UPCOMING GAMES