Gameday: And Ingram makes six

CHICAGO WOLVES (14-4-0-1) AT IOWA WILD (9-9-3-0)

Saturday, April 10 | 6 p.m. | Wells Fargo Arena | AHLTV | Facebook Live

AND INGRAM MAKES SIX

On Friday night, goaltender Connor Ingram made his Chicago Wolves debut during the Iowa Wild’s 4-1 victory at Wells Fargo Arena.

Ingram had not played since Dec. 14 for Bjorkloven in Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan league. It also marked his first action in North America since March 8, 2020, when he made his 33rd and final appearance for the Milwaukee Admirals during the 2019-20 season. Ingram produced a 21-5-5 record with a 1.92 goals-against average and .933 save percentage, which earned him AHL Second All-Star Team recognition.

From the Wolves’ historical perspective, Ingram’s debut enabled this year’s squad to tie the franchise record for most goaltenders utilized in one season — joining (in appearance order) Antoine Bibeau, Jeremy Helvig, Beck Warm, Devin Cooley and Petr Mrazek. Each of the first five won their inaugural appearance for the Wolves. In fact, from March 13 to April 1, each of those first five played one time and each won their game — setting an organization record by starting five different goaltenders in a five-game stretch.

But back to the Wolves’ six-goaltenders-in-one-season record. The first Wolves team to accomplish the feat was the 2000-01 crew that employed Richard Shulmistra (20 wins), Wendell Young (17 wins), Rick DiPietro (4 wins), Steve Passmore (2 wins), Robbie Tallas (0) and Chad Ford (0) during the regular season on the way to the last Turner Cup Finals.

The Wolves’ 2005-06 squad also utilized six goaltenders — and they took matters one step farther as each one earned a win: Michael Garnett (15), Toumas Tarkki (13), Adam Berkhoel (3), Jani Hurme (2), Steve Shields (2) and Gregg Naumenko (1).

TOMASINO, SUZUKI SO SOLID

Recent NHL first-round draft picks are excelling all over the American Hockey League this year — and the Chicago Wolves have one of the better ones in 19-year-old forward Phil Tomasino.

The Nashville Predators’ 2019 first-round selection (he went 24th overall) has been with the Wolves all season and produced six goals and 13 assists in 17 games. His 19 points rank third among all AHL rookies — trailing only 21-year-old Riley Damiani (24 points in 21 games) and 23-year-old Jack Dugan (22 points in 23 games).

Tomasino set up David Cotton’s goal Friday night, which extended the Mississauga, Ontario, native’s point streak to a season-high five games. He has rolled up one goal and seven assists during this run.

Nineteen-year-old center Ryan Suzuki was selected four picks after Tomasino and he owns five goals and five assists in 19 games. He ranks third in the AHL with a 41.7 shooting percentage.

we are the wolves

Twenty-two years ago today, Steve Maltais racked up a hat trick before 13,000 fans at Allstate Arena as the Wolves knocked off the Fort Wayne Komets 5-3.

For Maltais, scoring three goals was nothing new. It marked the 10th hat trick of his Wolves career, but he was by no means done.

By the time Maltais retired following the 2004-05 season, he owned 20 hat tricks (14 in the International Hockey League and six in the American Hockey League).

Maltais’ 454 regular-season goals in a Wolves uniform are almost as many as the next three on the team’s all-time goals list: Brett Sterling (193), Rob Brown (157) and Darren Haydar (128).

last two games

FRIDAY, APRIL 9: (at) IOWA 4, CHICAGO 1

• Iowa scored in the opening minute and added a pair of power-play goals in the first period to set the tone for the victory at Wells Fargo Arena.
• Forward David Cotton scored in the second period to pull the Wolves within 3-1. Forward Phil Tomasino and defenseman Joakim Ryan earned assists — the latter his first point with Chicago.
• Goaltender Connor Ingram posted 32 saves in his Wolves debut.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7: (AT) ROCKFORD 4, CHICAGO 3

• Former Wolves forward Brandon Pirri registered his first AHL hat trick since accomplishing for Chicago at Rockford in Dec. 2018 as the IceHogs snapped the Wolves’ six-game winning streak.
• Forward Tanner Jeannot extended his goal streak to eight games and point streak to 12 while rookie Phil Tomasino posted three points (G, 2A) and Dominik Bokk scored a power-play goal.
• Goaltender Beck Warm stopped 13 shots in his first action since March 13.

By the numbers

1: If the Wolves play all 33 games on their current regular-season schedule, this season will only be 43 percent as long as a normal American Hockey League slate. But after providing that caveat, it’s still impressive that this year’s squad is well on its way to shattering the franchise record for most goals per game. These Wolves have scored 81 goals in 19 games — a league-leading average of 4.26 per outing. The only Wolves team that has averaged more than 4 per game is the 2006-07 crew that paced the AHL with 4.14 per game.

6: Because the Wolves have been juggling so many players from the Carolina Hurricanes and Nashville Predators organizations, equipment manager Ryan Shoufer has needed to create several new jerseys to accommodate everyone. So far, the Wolves have debuted six new numbers. Rookie forward Patrick Harper (43), defensemen Frederic Allard (46), Alex Carrier (47) and Joakim Ryan (48), rookie forward Phil Tomasino (50) and just-released rookie defenseman Matt Murphy (52) have made history this season by becoming the first to wear those numbers. Prior to this season, the Wolves hadn’t introduced a new uniform number since Jake Chelios was given No. 42 before making his AHL debut on April 11, 2014, at Iowa.

8: When Wolves forward Tanner Jeannot scored Wednesday night at Rockford, it extended his goal streak to eight games. He became just the fifth American Hockey League player since the 2012-13 season to register an eight-game goal streak. He joined the company of Toronto’s Chris Mueller (Feb. 1 to March 17, 2019), Albany’s Mike Sislo (Feb. 6-24, 2016), Grand Rapids’ Teemu Pulkkinen (Dec. 19, 2014, to Jan. 7, 2015) and Charlotte’s Drayson Bowman (Oct. 19 to Nov. 4, 2012). The next time Jeannot suits up for the Wolves, he can tie Brett Sterling’s franchise record for the longest goal streak. Sterling produced 13 goals during his nine-game spree from Dec. 2 to Dec. 29, 2006. Jeannot also can tie the AHL’s longest streak over the last 11 years. Norfolk’s Tyler Johnson reeled off a nine-game goal streak March 3-24, 2002.

13: Of the 41 players to compete for the Wolves this season, 13 have played in the NHL this season as well: Frederic Allard, Alex Carrier, Jeremy Davies, Morgan Geekie, Tanner Jeannot, Tyler Lewington, Sean Malone, Max McCormick, Petr Mrazek, Rem Pitlick, Sheldon Rempal, Drew Shore and Cole Smith.

41: The Wolves have played just 19 games, but 41 players already have suited up for at least one game. That’s four more that last year’s squad needed to get through the 61 games before the pandemic brought the season to a permanent halt. This year’s group has a long way to go to set the franchise record for most players used in one season. The 2010-11 crew needed 47 players to complete an 80-game schedule. For those curious about the breakdown between the Wolves’ two NHL partners, the 15 skaters from the Nashville Predators organization have combined for 160 games of action. The 20 skaters from the Carolina Hurricanes organization (including the four signed to Wolves contracts) have combined for 182 games. The Wolves coaching staff split each game down the middle — nine skaters per organization — until injuries and recalls made that impossible. Carolina goaltending prospects have handled all but three games in net.

396: Since the Wolves started playing on Oct. 1, 1994, a total of 688 players have donned the Burgundy and Gold. When defenseman Joakim Ryan made his Wolves debut in last Saturday’s 4-2 win over Rockford, he became the 396th player in Wolves history who also has appeared in the NHL. Put another way, 57.6 percent of all Wolves have played in the NHL.

UPCOMING GAMES