ROSEMONT, Ill.—Max Comtois and Cole Schneider each had two goals while Josh Melnick added a goal and an assist to propel the Wolves to a 5-3 victory over the San Diego Gulls on Sunday at Allstate Arena.
Vasily Ponomarev, Cavan Fitzgerald and Nathan Sucese each added two assists as the Wolves earned a split of the weekend series with the Gulls, snapping a three-game losing skid in the process.
“It wasn’t pretty (Sunday) but we stuck with it and we played well at the right time,” Comtois said. “When we stick to our gameplan and we’re playing simple hockey, we bear down on our breakouts and that helps us get our attack going.”
Melnick got the Wolves off to a fast start when he found the back of the net 1 minute, 23 seconds into the game. The forward rifled a shot from the slot that beat San Diego goaltender Calle Clang. Sucese and Rocco Grimaldi earned assists on Melnick’s second goal of the season—and second in two games.
Midway through the opening period, Schneider notched his fourth goal of the season when he tapped the puck in from the left post following a terrific cross-crease pass from Dominic Franco. Fitzgerald also picked up an assist on the play that gave the Wolves a 2-0 lead heading into the intermission.
The Gulls pulled even early in the second with goals by Chase De Leo and Nathan Gaucher in a span of 1:30.
Comtois put the Wolves out in front 3-2 late in the second when he broke into the San Diego zone on a two-on-one with Chris Terry and after taking a pass from his teammate wired a shot past Clang to the stick side. The goal, assisted by Terry and Ponomarev, was Comtois’ fourth of the season.
“Terry is a shooter so everybody in the building thought he was going to shoot but he made a really good pass,” Comtois said. “I just had to find a spot to put it in the back of the net.”
The Wolves extended the lead to 4-2 on Comtois’ second of the game early in the third. The forward received a pass from Ponomarev and tucked a shot in on his forehand. Fitzgerald was also awarded an assist on the goal.
“The puck went to Ponomarev and I know my role, I go to the net,” Comtois said. “I got a lucky bounce in my skates and that was it.”
San Diego closed the deficit to 4-3 a short time later on a score by Glenn Gawdin, but the Wolves sealed the deal on Schneider’s second of the contest.
With the Wolves on the power play, the veteran forward redirected a shot from Melnick that eluded Clang. Sucese also had an assist on Schneider’s score.
Adam Scheel (26 saves) earned the win in goal for the Wolves while Clang (21 saves) suffered the loss for the Gulls.
The Wolves up their record to 5-11-1-1 on the season while San Diego fell to 4-11-4-0.
Next up: The Wolves travel to Texas to take on the Stars on Friday night (7 p.m.).
For information on Wolves ticket plans for the 2023-24 season—everything from single-game tickets to Flex Packs to group outings—visit chicagowolves.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.
