The Chicago Wolves kicked off their season-long, six-game road trip with a 1-0 loss to the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday night in Michigan.
Zachary Sawchenko was excellent in goal for the Wolves with 19 saves but he was out-dueled by Griffins netminder Alex Nedeljkovic (27 saves). Cross Hanas scored for Grand Rapids as the Griffins topped the Wolves for the second time in three meetings between the Central Division rivals this season.
Grand Rapids notched the only goal of the game early in the first period when Hanas beat Sawchenko to the stick side from a sharp angle.
From there, the goaltenders took over.
The Wolves put pressure on Grand Rapids in the third period, out-shooting the Griffins 7-1, but Nedeljkovic stood tall to hand Chicago its second shutout of the season.
The Wolves fell to 12-17-3-1 on the season while Grand Rapids improved to 14-19-1-1.
Up next: The Wolves will travel to Manitoba to face the Moose on Tuesday (7 p.m., AHLTV).
For information on Wolves ticket plans for the 2022-23 season — everything from single-game tickets to Flex Packs to group outings — visit ChicagoWolves.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.
