Insider: Home, sweet home

April 19, 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.

HOME, SWEET HOME

The Chicago Wolves are in the middle of a 26-day stretch where they play eight games on the road and just one at home. While that’s not an ideal situation, the Wolves are eager to take advantage of their one chance at home ice over this lengthy stretch when they host the Rockford IceHogs at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Simply put, head coach Ryan Warsofsky’s squad is the American Hockey League’s best team at home by any metric. When playing at the Wolves Training Facility in Hoffman Estates, the Wolves boast a 9-1-0-1 record that maps out to an .864 points percentage.

They have scored 53 goals while allowing just 26 in those 11 home games, which represents the best home goal differential (+27) in the AHL. To explain how vastly this sets the Wolves apart from their five Central Division foes: Cleveland, Grand Rapids, Iowa, Texas and Rockford have combined for a minus-22 goal differential on home ice.

While the Wolves have been spending so much time on the road, they’ve also been sorting out new roles on the ice. When American Hockey League teams enjoy success, they tend to have a larger percentage of their players recalled from loan by their National Hockey League partners.

That certainly has been the case for the Wolves, who have bid adieu to high-scoring forwards Tanner Jeannot and Phil Tomasino as they have joined the Nashville Predators. When Jeannot left, he led the American Hockey League in points per game with 21 points (10G, 11A) in 13 appearances. He also owned the league’s top goal streak (eight games) and best active point streak (12 games).

The 19-year-old Tomasino, meanwhile, ranks second among all AHL rookies in points per game with 20 points (7G, 13A) in 18 appearances. The only rookie ahead of him is San Diego’s Trevor Zagras, the Bedford, New York, native who dominated the World Junior Championships for the gold-medal-winning United States squad. His 18 points for the USA (7G, 11A) were more than twice as many as any other American.

The Wolves also continue to play without center Rem Pitlick, who scored 8 goals in 8 games before joining the Predators, and 19-year-old center Seth Jarvis, who scored 7 goals in 9 games before rejoining his junior team. Jarvis owns 7 goals and 7 assists in 14 games for the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks.

WE WANT YOU in ’21-22

Want the chance to win a Wolves Prize Pack worth more than $250? All you need to do is to add your name to the Chicago Wolves’ Season Ticket Waiting List for the 2021-22 season! Sign up now right here.

The prize pack includes a white authentic Wolves jersey, a set of bobbleheads, an AHLTV subscription and more!

GET YOUr NON-PERISHABLES TO ALLSTATE ARENA on SATURDAY

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

We’re off to a great start based on the donations we received at three Hoffman Estates Park District locations: The Triphahn Center, Willow Recreational Center and the Club at Prairie Stone, but we still have the big event coming up!

On Saturday, 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.

If you can’t make it to Allstate Arena, you can still make a difference! The Wolves are accepting monetary donations here.

NEXT GOLDEN TICKET RAFFLE: TEAM-AUTOGRAPHED JERSEY!

The Wolves are hosting a special Golden Ticket raffle on Thursday, April 22, to benefit Chicago Wolves Charities.

The prize: A white replica Wolves jersey autographed by the 2021 team! Tickets are just $21 apiece and only 50 will be sold, so your chances of winning are 1-in-50!

To get your ticket, click here early on Thursday.

TOP LINE

COLE SMITH

This rookie forward who opened the season with the Nashville Predators produced his first multi-goal game as a professional Saturday night at Rockford. Smith’s pair of goals helped the Wolves earn a 3-2 lead after two periods and gave him four goals in 18 games this season.

 

DAVID COTTON

The rookie forward from Parker, Texas, continues to be one of the Wolves’ most consistent scoring threats due to his good work around the net. Cotton swatted home a rebound during Saturday’s 4-3 shootout loss at Rockford, which gave the 23-year-old five goals in the Wolves’ last eight games and eight goals in 16 appearances this season.

DAVID WARSOFSKY

After missing a game due to injury, the veteran defenseman returned to the lineup and handed out two assists during Saturday’s game at Rockford. That marked the Massachusetts native’s four two-assist game in his last seven appearances and gives him 11 assists in 11 games for the Wolves this year.

 

REWIND (0-0-0-1)

SATURDAY, APRIL 17: (at) ROCKFORD 4, CHICAGO 3 (SO)

• Rockford’s Tim Soderlund and Brandon Pirri scored in the first two rounds in the shootout to give the IceHogs the extra point on their home ice.
• Rookie forward Cole Smith earned his first professional two-goal game while rookie forward David Cotton added a goal and defenseman David Warsofsky handed out two assists.
• Goaltender Connor Ingram stopped 37 shots during regulation and overtime.

UPCOMING GAMES