ROSEMONT, Ill.—The Wolves wrapped up a busy March schedule with a 4-0 loss to the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Sunday at Allstate Arena.
The Wolves weren’t able to solve Firebirds goaltender Victor Ostman, who made 29 saves for his first shutout of the season. Chicago dropped its second in a row and finished the month with a 5-7-2-0 record. The Wolves’ Magic Number to clinch a Central Division postseason berth remained at one point.
“I thought we had the effort the whole time—I don’t think that’s a question ever with this group,” Wolves forward Nick Swaney said. “It’s finding that first goal and going from there. We have to flush this and get ready for the next one.”
The Firebirds took a 1-0 advantage into the first intermission after Ben Meyers scored late in the opening period.
Logan Morrison’s goal early in the second pushed the Coachella Valley advantage to two scores and Jagger Firkus’ power-play marker made it 3-0 heading into the third period.
David Goyette capped the scoring for the Firebirds with a score midway through the third.
Ruslan Khazheyev (37 saves) took the loss in goal for the Wolves while Ostman picked up the win for the Firebirds.
Chicago fell to 32-28-4-0 on the season while Coachella Valley moved to 35-22-2-5.
The result meant the Wolves must wait to clinch the 22nd postseason appearance in franchise history.
“Whenever you can make the playoffs it’s a huge accomplishment,” Swaney said. “We want to do it whenever we can so we can check that box and move on and focus on playing.”
Up next: The Wolves travel to Grand Rapids to face the Griffins on Wednesday night (6 p.m.).
For information on Wolves ticket plans for the 2024-25 season—everything from single-game tickets to Flex Packs to group outings—visit chicagowolves.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.
