Wolves Earn Fourth Consecutive Win With 5-3 Victory Over Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE - The Chicago Wolves rattled off the first five goals of the game and held on for a 6-3 win over the Milwaukee Admirals in an Amtrak Rivalry matchup Friday night at the Bradley Center.
Right wings Darren Haydar (G, 2A) and Mark Mancari (G,2A) paced the offense for the Wolves, which won its fourth straight contest.
Chicago (7-5-0-2) opened scoring when center Kevin Doell intercepted the puck and dropped a pass to Haydar who sent a one -timer past Milwaukee goaltender Jeremy Smith at 4:19 of the first period.
The Wolves inched ahead 2-0 at 5:46 of the second period when Haydar took off with the puck after a Milwaukee turnover and passed to defense man Kevin Connauton, who drove the puck toward the left side of the net and slipped it past Smith.
The Wolves took a 3-0 lead when Haydar's initial shot redirected off of forward Nathan Longpre's skate and into the back of the net at 8:01 of the middle frame.
Left wing Bill Sweatt put Chicago ahead 4-0 with seconds remaining on a five-on-three advantage when he tapped home a rebound past Smith at 10:24 .
Smith (12-16-1) stopped 12 of 16 shots before being replaced by Atte Engren at 31:55.
Chicago took a 5-0 advantage when left wing Mike Duco tapped home the puck into an empty net after Engren played the puck outside of his crease and left the goal unattended at 15:47 of the middle frame.
Engren turned aside seven of eight shots in 27:10 of relief duty.
Milwaukee (8-4-0-1) got on the scoreboard on the power play at 17:34 when a shot by left wing Gabriel Bourque was stopped by Wolves net-minder Matt Climie but right wing Ryan Thang picked up the rebounded slapped a shot past Climie, top-shelf.
Climie (5-2-0) saved 31 shots to earn his fourth consecutive win.
Admirals right wing Jusso Puustinen scored twice in the third period to bring Milwaukee within two goals, but Mancari's empty net tally with 47 seconds remaining in the game sealed the win for the Wolves.
The Wolves return home to the Allstate Arena at 7 p.m. tomorrow night for a game against the San Antonio Rampage.
Notes:
First Period---1, Chicago, Haydar 6 (Doell), 4:19; Penalties---Roussel, Chicago (roughing), 9:42; Ford, Milwaukee (roughing), 9:42; Ellis, Milwaukee (holding), 11:36; Sauve, Chicago (hooking), 14:38.
Second Period---2, Chicago, Connauton 5 (Haydar, Baumgartner), 5:46; 3, Chicago, Longpre 4 (Mancari), 8:01; 4, Chicago, Sweatt 4 (Haydar, Mancari), 10:24 pp; 5, Chicago, Duco 3, (unassisted) 15:47 sh; 6, Milwaukee, Thang 6 (Borque, Josi), 17:34 pp. Penalties---Erixon, Chicago (interference), 3:05; Bourque, Milwaukee (boarding), 8:27; Bartley, Milwaukee (delay of game), 8:58; Schroeder, Chicago (roughing), 15:35.
Third Period---7, Milwaukee, Puustinen 6 (Wilson, Latta), 1:59; 8, Milwaukee, Puustinen 7, 14.19; 9, Chicago, Mancari 4 (unassisted) 19:34 en. Penalties---Valentine, Milwaukee (roughing), 7:48; Matheson, Chicago (roughing), 15:16; Mueller, Milwaukee (interference), 15:23; Miller, Chicago (roughing), 19:34.
Shots on goal---Chicago: 8-12-5--25. Milwaukee: 9-12-13--34.
Power plays---Chicago: 1-5. Milwaukee: 1-5. Goalies--Chicago, Climie (31-34). Milwaukee, Smith (12-16), replaced by Engren (7-8) at 31:55. A---5452. Referee---Matt Kirk. Linesmen---Mathieu Chenier and Peter Cichy.
(Courtesy of Chicago Wolves)
