The Chicago Wolves reeled off their season-high sixth victory in a row by topping the Wild 4-1 on Friday night in Iowa.
Ryan Suzuki scored twice, Mackenzie MacEachern had a goal and two assists and Jamieson Rees also tallied for the defending Calder Cup champion Wolves.
Malte Stromwall chipped in with three assists as the Wolves extended their points streak to seven games and continued their push for a Central Division postseason spot.
As the clock wound down in the opening period, the Wolves got on the scoreboard first while on the power play. Stromwall sent a shot on goal that Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt stopped but coughed up a rebound right to MacEachern at the side of the net and the veteran forward didn’t miss. Stromwall and Ronan Seeley each had assists on MacEachern’s eighth goal of the season.
The score with nine seconds remaining in the period extended MacEachern’s points streak to four games, Stromwall’s assists streak to four contests and it marked the fifth consecutive game the Wolves opened the scoring.
After a scoreless second, Rees extended the Wolves’ lead to 2-0 early in the third. Teammate Zach Senyshyn slid a backhanded pass through the crease to Rees and the forward buried his 14th goal of the season past Wallstedt to the glove side. In addition to Senysyhn’s helper, Vasily Ponomarev picked up an assist to give him a team-leading 45 points.
Suzuki made it 3-0 Wolves midway through the third. Chicago broke into the Iowa zone before Stromwall found Suzuki with a pass and the forward rifled a wrist shot from the right dot that solved Wallstedt to the stick side. On Suzuki’s 11th goal of the season, Stromwall and MacEachern earned assists.
The Wolves kept coming and a short time later increased their lead to four when Suzuki struck again. This time, MacEachern feathered a backhanded pass through the crease and Suzuki banged it home on his forehand to put the game away. Stromwall’s third assist of the contest gave him a team-leading 30th on the season.
Iowa pulled Wallstedt for an extra attacker and Steven Fogarty scored to spoil the shutout bid by Wolves netminder Zachary Sawchenko.
Sawchenko (29 saves) earned the victory while Wallstedt (21 saves) suffered the loss for the Wild.
The Wolves improved to 32-28-4-3 on the season and Iowa dropped to 32-26-5-5.
Up next: The Wolves host the Wild on Saturday at Allstate Arena (7 p.m.; My50 Chicago, 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.
