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WOLVES’ COMEBACK BID FALLS SHORT IN 7-4 LOSS TO ADMIRALS

December 27, 2023

MILWAUKEE—The Wolves roared back from an early deficit before eventually falling to the Admirals 7-4 on Wednesday night in Milwaukee.

Chris Terry, Griffin Mendel, Mitch Vande Sompel and Rocco Grimaldi scored but it wasn’t enough as the Wolves had their five-game points streak snapped. Matt Donovan added two assists for Chicago, which fell to Milwaukee for the fourth time in five meetings this season.

“It wasn’t the start we were looking for but it’s a testament to the character in this room and guys getting to know each other and playing better together that we didn’t quit,” Vande Sompel said. “It was unlucky how it ended, but there are some bright sides. We just have to clean up those times when we give up a few and end up chasing.”

The Admirals struck early and often to race to a 3-0 lead within the first 10 minutes, 45 seconds of the opening period. Fedor Svechkov, Mark Jankowski and Cal O’Reilly all found the back of the net during that span.

Then the Wolves came alive, reeling off four unanswered goals to seize the lead

Terry started things off late in the first after the Wolves were awarded a power play. The veteran winger drew the penalty and then scored when he pounced on a loose puck in the right circle and fired a shot past Milwaukee goaltender Troy Grosenick high to the stick side.

 

The goal was Terry’s ninth of the season and marked the 10th consecutive game the Wolves scored with a man advantage. Vasily Ponomarev and Donovan earned assists on the score.

In the second, the Wolves kept coming and pulled to within 3-2 on Mendel’s goal in the early going. The defenseman flipped a shot from outside the left circle that found its way through traffic and sailed past Grosenick’s glove. The unassisted goal was Mendel’s second of the season.

In his first game back after spending nine games on the injured list with an upper-body injury, Vande Sompel pulled the Wolves even midway through the second. The defenseman took a feed from Nathan Sucese and wired a shot from the top of the right circle through Grosenick’s pads to make it 3-3.

“It’s been kind of a slow start to the year or me and I’ve had good chances and they haven’t gone in,” said Vande Sompel, who notched his first goal of the season. “I saw a shot there and took it and it ended up going in.”

Grimaldi continued the rally when the veteran winger took a stretch pass from Donovan, skated toward the Milwaukee goal, picked his spot and buried a shot by Grosenick. The goal that gave the Wolves the lead was Grimaldi’s team-leading 16th of the season.

 

The lead was short-lived as the Admirals knotted the score at 4-4 late in the second on a goal by Denis Gurianov.

Milwaukee regained the lead early in the third on Kevin Wall’s goal and put the game away late on Gurianov’s second of the game. Jankowski scored into the empty net for his second goal of the night for the final margin.

Keith Kinkaid (28 saves) took the loss in goal for the Wolves while Grosenick (27 saves) earned the win for the Admirals.

The Wolves now stand at 8-14-2-2 on the season while Milwaukee moved to 16-9-1-0.

Next up: The Wolves host the Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday night (7 p.m.) at Allstate Arena.

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.