Saturday nights all right for fighting in Toronto

It was fighting and fighting and fighting some more in Toronto as the Rockford IceHogs met the Toronto Marlies in a game that featured half as many fights as goals. The Hogs acquitted themselves well, however, bringing home a 6-3 win in the contest at the Ricoh Coliseum.

Jack Skille and Kyle Rogers started the roughhousing with roughing penalties just 1:23 into the game. Evan Brophey found Justin Pogge's five hole for the first goal at 8:44. At 10:57 Mike Radja completed a series of fast back and forth passes to put it past Pogge for a 2-0 score. Then Jake Dowell and Darryl Boyce danced for a five minute penalty at the 11 minute mark. And at 13:23, not a fight, but a disagreement? A high sticking penalty to Niklas Hjalmarsson and a slashing penalty to Ben Ondrus.

That wasn't going to satisfy the blood lust, so Mike Brennan and Kris Newbury went at it mano to mano for another five minutes in the sin bin, with a minor tacked on to Newbury. That gave Rockford a power play and Judd Blackwater used the opportunity to pound in the 3-0 goal.

The second frame, Dowell starts out with a double minor for high sticking. And now Toronto Center Tim Stapleton, using one of his ten shots on goal, chips it in to make it 3-1. This is interesting to try to figure out, Dowell's double means the advantage was 5:4. But then there was an interference called on Mark Bell making it 4:4. However Tim Hambly is caught holding the stick, making it 4:3, then there is a goal, which would cut Dowell's double by two minutes, but it is still 4:3 for... Oh god, this is higher math at this point. In any case there is yet another power play goal scored at 7:12. So, the Marlie advantage lasted at least that long.

Let's celebrate that with a fight. At the 7:12 mark of the second period there's Jordan Hendry, he gets two minutes for cross-checking and two minutes for roughing. And there's Pete MacArthur, we haven't heard from him yet, five for fighting. And Newbury, two for roughing and Darryl Kronwall, five for fighting. Is anyone watching the score? It's 3-2 Rockford.

An interference called on Bates Battaglia gives Rockford another power play and Niklas Hjalmarsson will use that to push the IceHog lead back to 4-2. That's a good reason to fight of course and this time it was Dan Bertram and Joe Ryan at the 17:09 mark. But wait! There's more! One more goal in the period, Blackwater. Blackwater? He just joined the team on the 29th and he already has three goals. What gives? Where has he been?

Final period of play. The Hogs lead 5-2. Toronto lights it up, firing 11 shots on goal in the period. At the 12:21 mark the discipline that had marked this period breaks down as Rob Klinkhammer and Jaime Sifers have a go and get five each. Now, consider that this is the final fight of the game. This isn't a series of enforcer fights, its each team on each team:

Skille Rogers Two minutes each roughing
Dowell Boyce Five minutes each for fighting
Hjalmarsson Ondrus High Sticking/ Slashing two minutes
Brennan Newbury Five minutes each for fighting
Dowell --- Double minor for high sticking
Hendry Two minutes for cross checking/ two minutes for roughing
Newbury Two minutes for roughing
MacArthur Kronwall Five minutes each for fighting
Bertram Ryan Five minutes each for fighting
Klinkhammer Sifers Five minutes each for fighting

I mean look at the list. The only two players to repeat on it are Dowell and Newbury. This was quite a fight card! In total 47 minutes of penalties to the Hogs and 41 to the Marlies. The Hogs were able to get two for four on the power play. Stapleton shot an unbelievable ten shots on goal, nearly a third of the 31 total for the Marlies. He had a goal and an assist for the night.

Radja and Brent had a goal and two assists, Blackwater had two goals. Adam Pineault had three assists. Petri Kontiola had two assists. The Marlies Newbury had two assists. Corey Crawford received the win. He stopped 28 shots on goal. Pogge received the loss, he stopped 15 shots on goal.

In all of this mess, a few things stand out to me, first, ten shots on goal in a game by one player is very unusual, gotta give the man credit. The second I see is the two goals by Blackwater. Can he maintain this pace? Where is he from? After that, I'd want to consider a blue liner for the final star of the game. This was a very physical game. I'm thinking Hambly as he has an assist and was on the ice for a +/- of +2. But I'm open to other suggestions. But clearly, a defensive fight, in every sense of the word.

Bad night for Hogs, Wolves

The Milwaukee Admirals scored just 12 seconds into the game against the Rockford IceHogs on Saturday night at the MetroCentre. Following the initial goal, the Hogs came back with 4:01 remaining in the period to tie the game: Rob Klinkhammer scoring off a pass. But the Admirals put bookends on the period with a goal with just 40 seconds remaining.

A second period goal by Dan Bertram tied the game. However the final period didn't go the way the Hogs hoped, with two goals unanswered by the MAds. The final score was 4-2 in favor of the Admirals.

Niklas Hjalmarsson was credited with two assists on the night for the Hogs. Ryan Jones and Mike Santorelli had a goal and an assist each for the Admirals.

The final game for the two teams prior to the All-Star Break, the Hogs gave up just two power plays to the Admirals. The Admirals gave up four power plays. Corey Crawford stopped 31 shots on goal for the Hogs, and Drew MacIntyre 31 shots for the Admirals. Shots on goal: 35 for Milwaukee and 33 for the Hogs. This was a test of two equals and Milwaukee came out on top in a packed house in Rockford.

In Toronto, the Marlies beat the Wolves 3-1 at the Ricoh Coliseum. Chicago scored first on a power play, 2:30 into the game. However, from that point on, the only thing in the net was off a Marlies stick. It was another disappointing night for Chicago shooting, as they only put 22 shots on the Toronto goal. Ondrej Pavelec, returning to his first night in goal since an injury sidelined him, stopped 33 Marlies shots and six power play opportunities.

Wolves television analyst Billy Gardner did not call the Saturday game. His father, who still lives in Southern Ontario, is seriously ill. Gardner seized the opportunity to spend time with him. Gardner was replaced by Dan Turple, Tyson Marsh and Gene Ubriaco.

Wolves end losing streak with shootout win

The Chicago Wolves won their first game of the new year, taking the Toronto Marlies 3-2 in a shootout last night at the Allstate Arena. Robert Gherson stopped 23 shots on goal and Jeff Hamilton put seven shots on goal in the effort. Jordan LaVallee notched a goal and an assist, leading the Wolves effort.

Chicago went 0 for nine on the power play in the night. The two teams traded power plays back and forth, a total of 14 power plays during the game. A long series of power plays allowed the two teams to trade the numerical advantage on the ice starting at 12:18 into the first period with a Marlies power play and ending five minutes and four power plays later, when a Wolves power play expired at 17:18.

In the overtime period Chicago received another advantage with 2:44 remaining when Alex Foster was given a double minor. Despite six shots on goal for the period Chicago was unable to score and the game was sent into a shootout.

Brett Skinner, new acquired by Atlanta from the New York Islanders for Junior Lessard, notched one of the shootout goals and had an assist on the night. The other new addition, Clay Wilson, did not see action. The last time Chicago put a streak of two wins together ended December 18. In between it lost ten games, winning just three.

Chicago is 4-1 in shootouts this season. It is also 1-2 on extra time victories, giving it a winning record of 5-3 if the game goes beyond regulation.

4-2 win puts Wolves in finals; Home Ice & PP leading factors in wins

A 4-2 win Friday night at the Allstate Arena against the North Division champs, the Toronto Marlies, is sending the Chicago Wolves to the American Hockey League championship game. It will be the third time the Wolves have played in the AHL championship finals since joining the AHL in the 2001-2 season.

The series, won 4-1 by the Wolves, started with a pair of convincing wins by the Wolves at the Allstate Arena and a pounding of the Marlies at the Ricoh Center earlier this week. However, the Marlies came back to crush the Wolves in the second game at the Ricoh Center. Home ice advantage has been a key factor, in the wins in the league, as only the opponents of the Portland Pirates, seeded third in their division, have not been able to win the series.

Portland is still in the playoffs, the last Cinderella team. They are tied 3-3 in the Eastern Conference finals with the Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton Penguins. The winner of a game seven, tonight at the Wachovia Arena in Wilkes Barre, plays the Wolves next week starting Thursday.

The power play was a key feature, again, in the Wolves victory over the Marlies on Friday. Each Wolves goal, except the final empty net goal, was on a power play. Toronto has been unable in this series to effectively use its man advantages against the Wolves. The Marlies, in fact, were leading the game 2-0 at the end of the first frame. It seemed a dangerous tipping point in the game as the first goal has also been a deciding factor in many of the post season games played, according to NHL analysts.

The discipline of the Marlies began to breakdown midway through the second period. An elbowing call on Phil Oreskovic at 7:52 was followed by a hooking call on Buffalo Grove-native Andy Wozniwski at 9:12, giving the Wolves a 5:3 advantage. The Wolves used it to score twice within sixteen seconds.

Joel Kwiatkowski’s power play, which broke the dam, was his fourth in as many games. The Marlies were given ample opportunities to catch the Wolves, including a five minute major called for kneeing against Andre Deveaux at about the six minute mark of the third frame.

However it was another of those soft penalties that Toronto has not learned from, called against Alex Foster at 14:47 into the period that put the game out of reach for the Marlies. Darren Haydar, assisted by Kwiatkowski and Jason Krog lit the lamp for the game winner. Later, Kevin Doell, on a breakaway, potted the empty insurance goal with 42 seconds remaining on the clock.

The Chicago Wolves have won three league championships since their first campaign in 1993-4. Two Turner Cups were won under the old International Hockey League. In their first season with in the AHL the team won the Calder Cup championship. The Wolves returned to the Calder Cup finals, in the lockout season, when they lost to a Philadelphia Phantoms team loaded with players who are now in the NHL.

John Anderson, the Wolves coach for each of their championships, also won a Colonial Cup championship in the United Hockey League (now the International Hockey League) behind the bench for the Quad City Mallards.

Marlies edge back from golf game w/ 6-1 romp

Finally, Wednesday night, American Hockey League fans saw the Toronto Marlies team that came back from a 3-1 deficit against the Syracuse Crunch and that offered Chicago a big loss in April.

A 6-1 loss in the Ricoh Center in Toronto has set the Chicago Wolves back to a 3-1 series lead. The Marlies, who started Justin Pogge in this match, were able to stop the Chicago power play on Wednesday, giving up only one goal against the Chicago special teams on eight attempts.

A dominant Marlies put 12 shots on Ondrej Pavelec in the first period, penetrating him three times, once on the power play. Chicago was able to return one point to the scorecard in the period. The Marlies then added three more unanswered goals to their point total in the next two periods. Colin Murphy had two goals and an assist. Pogge was credited with 27 saves.

Wolves lead 3-0 in series; Earn 4-1 win in Toronto

The Toronto Marlies, unable to exert discipline, dropped the third game in the Western Conference series of the Calder Cup tournament last night. The Chicago Wolves took advantage of the Marlies, winning easily 4-1 at the Ricoh Center in Toronto.

Only two teams have been able to come back from a 3-0 deficit, according to the American Hockey League. Any loss in the next four games ends the season for the Toronto Maple Leaf farm team and advances the Wolves to their third Calder Cup final since joining the AHL in the 2001-2 campaign.

The Wolves took advantage of four of the ten power plays presented by Toronto, earning all of their points with a man advantage. The Wolves, now, lead the league in power plays in both percentage and in raw number, being awarded 105 advantage opportunities in the post season, compared to 86 for the Marlies, the closest team in opportunities. 22.9 percent of the power plays are successful.

The Wolves lead successful power plays on the road by an even more dramatic 27.5 percent.

On the penalty kill, among active teams, the Wolves have given 100 power play opportunities to opponents, but lead the active teams in percent of kills with 89 percent. The Marlies place first, having given opponents 105 power play opportunities. They have the worst penalty kill among active teams, successfully stopping 77.1 percent of plays.

A key to the Wolves domination of the Marlies in this series is their ability to kill penalties and take advantage of their power play chances.

Another big component of the Wolves play is the dump and chase. The Wolves have used this method with abandon against the Marlies and the IceHogs, rarely carrying the puck across the line. While the Marlies have crumbled in the first three games, the first game and first period showed a determined forward defense by the Marlies that forced turnovers and the dump and chase.

However, the Wolves have successfully battled in the corners against the Marlies. The Wolves have taken possession of the puck from the Marlies corner, and beat the Marlies on their own side of the ice.

Finally, the Wolves have successfully used a cross ice passing plan that seems to demand that the player leading the charge pass to another player, even when they have an open shot on goal. You’d think this is a bit of madness, but it has led to a string of victories since the Wolves adopted it during the IceHogs series.

With everyone from the Canadian media to the coach of the Marlies noting the need to stop taking undisciplined penalties, you would assume the Marlies’ captain would be standing up telling his players to hold their tempers.

But it was a stupid penalty by Ben Ondrus in the final frame of the Tuesday game that lead to one of the Chicago goals.

Marlies back against the wall--- again

You need to wonder who will receive the MVP, if the series between the Toronto Marlies and the Chicago Wolves ended today. Offensively, Jason Krog has scored five goals, driving the Marlies goalie from the net in game two and leading the league in post season scoring.

On the other hand, defensively, the Marlies can’t seem to figure out Ondrej Pavelec. Pavelec has only allowed two goals in the last three games, going four periods at present without letting anything in.

This is a team game, of course, and the Wolves have been hot both offensively and defensively since game seven win against the Rockford IceHogs. They’ve taken advantage of the Marlies lack of discipline with power play goals and just grinding the Marlies down. A great example of that was the third period of the second game. A new goalie in net, the Wolves didn’t test him with an offensive effort, but rather ground the offensive edge of the Marlies for 20 frustrating minutes.

The Marlies didn’t help things either, allowing further Wolves power plays in the third period, which basically took any oxygen out of the effort of the to even score. In the final moments of the second and third periods, it looked as if the Marlies were completely out of gas, playing a defensive game as if they were on the penalty kill.

The Marlies’ back is against the wall now, behind 2-0 and heading home. They haven’t played particularly well at home in the post season, dropping two games in a row to the Syracuse Crunch in the previous series. They had to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win that series. And that showed heart, but maybe it was also the end of the string for this team. Maybe the win against the Crunch was the final hurrah.

If they drop the Tuesday night game, in Toronto, to the Wolves, it will be statistically impossible for them to come back. Even a win on Tuesday must be matched by a big effort on Wednesday for the Marlies to have a hope of winning this series.

It is early yet, but this just doesn’t look good for the Marlies.

Krog hat trick; Wolves 4, Marlies 1

Jason Krog scored a hat trick and a point to lead the Chicago Wolves to a 4-1 win over the Toronto Marlies in the first game of the Western Conference finals of the American Hockey League Calder Cup championship, Friday night at the Allstate Arena.

Krog’s hat trick was the ninth hat trick by a Chicago Wolves player in post-season play. Darren Haydar scored a goal and an assist in the win. Joe Motzko scored a pair of assists. Ondrej Pavelec stopped 26 shots on goal for the win.

The Marlies held the Wolves scoreless in the first period. A fierce defense of the blue line largely prevented the Chicago team from penetrating the offensive zone, even during power plays. Chicago was held to just eight shots on goal in the first period, compared to nine shots on goal by the Marlies, this despite three Chicago power plays to the Canadian team’s one in the period.

In the second frame, the Chicago team scored on a power play with just a minute and a half into the period. Krog’s first goal, at 7:15 into the period was matched 21 seconds later by the sole Toronto goal of the game.

Scott Clemmensen, who stopped 28 shots in the game, does not have a butterfly save, looking more like a Catholic kneeling in prayer when he closes his five hole. His rebounds were beautifully deflected away from the action. However, as shown against Pavelec in the Rockford series, the better players can anticipate this and we can expect Chicago to park a Sterling, Motzko or Steve Martins on the weak circle waiting to rebound on the empty net.

Krog’s final two goals came with less than two and half minutes remaining. His final goal was a short-handed and empty net score. The best of seven series continues on Sunday with a 3 P.M. game at the Allstate Arena.

Wolves are pumped; Oh! Canada! Here we come!

Game seven between the Rockford IceHogs and the Chicago Wolves highlighted two different styles of play. That was clear by looking at the game sheets of the series. Although the Wolves were outshot almost throughout the series, and particularly in game seven, they won.

That goes against hockey sense. You put the puck on the net and good things happen. But, not for the IceHogs in this series. I used the term desperation hockey to describe the play of the Hogs. I meant it as a complement. It is another of the myths of hockey that to win a championship you need to play desperation hockey.

It was desperation hockey for the Hogs; they were on the wrong end of the score almost throughout the season at the Allstate Arena. And there is nothing to get you thinking about winning and losing quite like a game seven.

So the Hogs, they played hard. They finished their checks; they took every opportunity they had to shoot the puck at Ondrej Pavelec.

This was a great foe. And what made it even more intense was the background radiation in this series. Wolves’ fans have said, from time to time, for example last season I said, the Wolves could take the Chicago Blackhawks in a series. I still believe last year’s BHawks would find it very difficult to face the Wolves or several other American Hockey League teams.

Last season the crest said NHL team, but the play didn’t.

I haven’t said that this year.

Here was the baby Hawks, if we can use that term in a gentle way, and the Wolves were able to put them away.

Barely.

I felt the Wolves were cruising through the end of the regular season. From about March 1st on, they played without passion and without heart. I was worried about what would happen in the post season with this team.

Sure, they were a great team. This is probably the best Wolves team I’ve ever seen. Granted, I’ve only been watching them for about five years. But they lacked that special character, the heart of a champion. They seemed to be playing to finish the season.

Unfortunately, this was brought home even more, as players, the contracts with the Atlanta Thrashers ending at the conclusion of the season, announced they were signing on to European teams. Maybe, they didn’t want to get hurt, maybe they didn’t care about a championship. Those words came from the discussion boards and they percolated in my head and I hoped they weren’t true.

I don’t want to be a homer about this, but I wanted the Wolves to win the series. I didn’t want these European signings to be the end of the road for this team. I figure next year is the year for the IceHogs. This year belongs to the Wolves.

Then we played the Milwaukee Admirals in the post season. Series one, leading to the West Division Crown. The Admirals have a long history with the Wolves, going back to the original International Hockey League. They were a team that could find the weakness in our best. And when they were hot and we were the cellar dwellers, we found the way to win against them.

It’s a great rivalry, although I wish there were better interaction with the fans.

I could see this team growing and accepting the increase in adrenaline needed to win as the series progressed. Thank you MAds, you helped push the Wolves to a higher level of play.

Still, when the series started against the Hogs, the Wolves won the first two games and it seemed as though it would be an easy series. The boys relaxed. Thank you Hogs for winning three games. Thank you for making them realize they wanted to win. Thank you for forcing them to play some of the best hockey I’ve seen all season.

What could have been better? Well, if the Hogs had managed to make it into the North Division finals, I think this would be a Conference final between Rockford and Chicago. That would have been excellent.

Also, I’ve wanted to see the Manitoba Moose make it to the Conference Finals. But they seem to fade away in the post season year after year. Even the Grand Rapids Griffins would be a great North Division foe to face, though I’ve always liked playing the Moose best.

Those are all IHL rivalries. But okay, we’re taking on the Marlies. Second City USA v. Toronto. The big apple, if you will, of Canada. Nothing gets me more in the mood for a great game than hearing O’ Canada. The boys appear ready to win a ring and hang a banner. Let’s take the Marlies guys! Eight more wins and you hang your championship banner. Eight more wins and you get sized for a big ole’ ring. Eight more wins and you’ll have something to remember and cherish when your career is over.

Physical Crunch threaten upset win in North Div.

Zenon Konopka led the Syracuse Crunch to a key 5-4 OT come-from-behind win over the Toronto Marlies Wednesday. Konopka scored a goal and three assists in the game. His over time pass to Joakim Lindstrom was responsible for the game-winning goal. The Crunch now threatens to send the Marlies home for the year with a win in any game in the American Hockey league North Division Finals series.

Konopka is ranked 11th among league scorers in the post-season. Ranked fourth among players with penalty minutes, the scorer has two Crunch line-up ahead of him among players with penalty minutes: Derek Dorsett, who was suspended for a widely reported instigator incident in a game earlier this week, and Tom Sestito.

Talking Trash

The blog has had some of its best times at the MetroCentre and following the Rockford IceHogs. The only thing better than a series championship series with the Hogs versus the Wolves would be a conference championship. And that could have happened this year.

For the Wolves, this is really a blessing. No disrespect to the players, but the Wolves were cruising from about March 1st to the end of the season. A series against the Milwaukee Admirals and a series against the Rockford IceHogs is just what this team needs to get ready for a final showdown for the Calder Cup.

Not that I wouldn’t love to see the IceHogs go on to the Calder too.

There are people out there, and I’m thinking of you Bob Howard, who don’t seem to be giving the West Division a chance in the Calder Cup race. Syracuse, Portland and Providence is the mantra. No one said it was going to be easy to win the Calder. But for every great goalie and team in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Division, there has been one in the West.

I truly thought the promising career of Pekka Rinne was finished when he was mugged while home over the summer in Oulu, Finland. He looked so shaky on his return last season. Nashville seemed to give up on him, relegating him to the AHL for the rest of his career.

I don’t think that is true any longer. I’ve seen the Nashville goalies up close, and Rinne should be able to take their spot next season, if there is fairness in the heavens. Though John Anderson will tell you that there is no fairness, especially in the heaven dominated by hockey.

Rinne kept the MAds in the series against Chicago far longer than the rest of the team deserved. His play was top form.

Now, in round two, the Wolves face Corey Crawford. As I mentioned in the blog before, I was blessed to have tickets the night Corey played at the United Center against the Anaheim Ducks. He shut them down. In the three games so far, no one can doubt his ability to stop pucks.

This is a tougher series than against the MAds too, because the IceHogs are simply a better team then the MAds. They have been all season. Either the Hogs or the Wolves should be able to handle the Crunch or the Marlies and move on to the finals.

Will the next series be easy for either team? Of course not. Even 4-1 series wins, at this level, are hard-played white knuckle contests. The small-ice Hogs are a physical team and would match up well against the Crunch, while pitting Toronto against Chicago would be an exciting big city battle of two places with original six teams that have disappointed their fans recently.

Zenon Konopka’s reputation is preceding him to the Midwest. We could start the trash talk now, but let’s see if the Crunch has more staying power than Al, the ice monkey, and his political run for mayor. Let’s see them defeat the Marlies first.

By the way, Al is the best thing about Syracuse. It is one of the few places in the AHL I’ve visited where none of the home fans approached us, where I felt the stadium deserved a bull dozer and the city to be forcibly repatriated to either the Iroquois or, if they wouldn’t take them, Great Britain.

3 Up, 3 Down. Top Western teams, goalies meet in 2 contests

The American Hockey League’s North and West division leading teams, the Toronto Marlies and the Chicago Wolves, met at the Allstate Arena Saturday night leading to the third straight loss for the Marlies against West Division teams, a season high, and the third straight win last week for the Chicago Wolves.

With a 2-1 lead entering the second frame, it appeared that the battle of the two leading Western Conference teams would be won by the superior defense of the Marlies over the superior offense of the Wolves. Then, three unanswered second period Wolves goals in under five minutes reversed the fortunes of the Wolves. Bryan Little had a goal and three assists in the win. Toronto had entered the game trailing the Wolves by a point in the Western Conference. However its Western swing is earning it no respect, with losses so far in Milwaukee, Rockford and now Chicago.

“Our line played really well tonight, it seemed that every shift the bounces were going our way,” Little said. “A game like tonight gives me a lot of confidence… it all seemed to change tonight.”

With nearly half the season behind it, the Wolves are winning 75 percent of their games and have the second best power play in the AHL. They are in second place overall in the league, trailing only the Providence Bruins, who are in a bit of a slump, but are winning 78.2 percent of their games overall.

In Milwaukee, the Rockford IceHogs made their first visit to the Bradley Center this season, pulling out a 3-2, come from behind win over the Milwaukee Admirals in a shootout. Milwaukee’s Antii Pihlstrom opened the scoring with a short-handed goal. Hogs goalie Corey Crawford faced Ads goalie Pekka Rinne in the bout. Both goalies are listed as top winners, with 17 notches each. However, Rinne is also listed as topping the losing column with 14 losses this season.

The Admirals stifled the Hogs offence through two and half periods. Troy Brouwer brought the Hogs within one at the 11:26 mark of the third period. Then, pulling the goalie, the Hogs were able to send the game into overtime with a goal by Derek Nesbitt. Martin St. Pierre received two assists in the game. He has received points in every Hogs goal this weekend.

Despite a 4:3 power play in the overtime period, the Hogs were unable to convert their strength to a goal and had to win the game in a shootout.

The Wolves host the Milwaukee Admirals in a game Wednesday.


Toronto 2 1 1 -- 4
Chicago 1 3 1 -- 5

First Period---1, Chicago, Giroux 11 (Oystrick, Little), 11:28; 2, Toronto, Newbury 13 (Oreskovic), 11:47; 3, Toronto, Mitchell 12 (Williams, Earl), 13:12. Penalties---Foster, Toronto (holding), 7:47; Sterling, Chicago (hooking), 7:56; Haydar, Chicago (interference), 8:41; Mitchell, Toronto (holding), 9:26; Mitchell, Toronto (cross-checking), 15:59; Battaglia, Toronto (interference), 19:55.

Second Period---4, Chicago, Little 4 (Crabb, Lehman), 2:29; 5, Chicago, Schultz 14 (Little, Giroux), 7:08; 6, Chicago, Martins 14 (LaVallee, Crabb), 7:26; 7, Toronto, Boyce 8 (Leveille, Harrington), 14:57. Penalties---LaVallee, Chicago (tripping), 2:52; Crabb, Chicago (high-sticking), 7:32; Newbury, Toronto (roughing), 8:51; Desbiens, Chicago (roughing), 8:51; Aubin, Toronto (boarding), 10:42; Valabik, Chicago (hooking), 12:56; Ondrus, Toronto (hooking), 15:56; Haydar, Chicago (slashing), 17:16.

Third Period---8, Chicago, Fahey 9 (Schultz, Little), 12:02; 9, Toronto, Harrison 5 (Newbury, Harrington), 16:27 pp. Penalties---Battaglia, Toronto (hooking), 1:23; Newbury, Toronto (hooking), 10:09; Sterling, Chicago (slashing), 11:09; Earl, Toronto (tripping), 12:08; LaVallee, Chicago (roughing), 15:51; Sifers, Toronto (slashing), 18:51; Newbury, Toronto (game misconduct), 20:00

Shots on goal---Toronto: 14-11-8--33. Chicago: 12-10-14--36. Power plays---Toronto: 1-8. Chicago: 0-10. Goalies---Toronto, Clemmensen (31-36). Chicago, Pavelec (29-33). A---9,118. Referee---Nygel Pelletier. Linesmen---Peter Cichy and Al Stensland

Wolves drop another Shoot Out; END THIS FORMAT!

A tired Chicago Wolves came from behind to tie, but were unable to finish off the Toronto Marlies in a game Saturday at Ricoh Coliseum. The extra period game was decided by a shoot out that Chicago lost. Chicago has lost five of six shoot outs this year, and two of its six over time games.

The shoot out is not a format that has been kind to the Wolves. In the previous season, the team engaged in 11 shoot outs, winning only three of them.

Justin Pogge held the Wolves at bay, stopping 11 shots on goal in the first period. Boris Valabik, who returned to play Saturday for the first time since a December injury, was called for roughing at 4.23. That set up a power play opportunity for Erik Westrum. Firing from the boards, the puck ricocheted off of Aleksander Suglobov and past Fred Brathwaite. Brathwaite faced just four other shots in the period.

The second frame saw the Wolves answer the goal when they had a power play opportunity of their own. With just under two minutes into the start of the period, Alex Bourret cross passed to Mark Popovic at the top of the circle who top-shelved it past Pogge. Pogge stopped 14 Wolves shots in the period. Brathwaite shut the Marlies down, stopping seven shots in the period.

In the final frame of regulation play, Jeremy Williams, returning to the Marlies from his own injury, passed the puck up the ice to Westrum. Westrum, on a breakaway, took an off-angle shot that went through Brathwaite’s legs, giving the Marlies a 2-1 lead. With less than a minute to go, Brathwaite was pulled from the goal, giving Chicago a man advantage. Jared Ross found the puck loose in front of Pogge. He hammered on it until he scored.

In the shoot out, Cory Larose and Brett Sterling scored for the Wolves, while Westrum, Colin Murphy and Suglobov scored for the Marlies. It was Brathwaite’s first loss in six starts. In the American Hockey League, shoot out losses are not counted against the goalie. Brathwaite stopped 33 of 35 shots on goal. Pogge, who has not won his last four starts, stopped 26 of 28 shots on goal.

Wolves vent on Marlies. Win 8-1

The Chicago Wolves continued the Canadian portion of the Ice Capades road trip, trouncing the Toronto Marlies 8-1 Monday at the Ricoh Coliseum.

The first period was marked by 18 minutes of penalties, one fight and six goals. The teams had 34 shots on goal in the period. Fred Brathwaite, stopped 19 shots, only letting Jeff Corey’s lone goal in at just past five minutes into the period. Jean-Francois Racine, meanwhile stopped nine shots, while letting five pucks pass including a short-handed goal and a power play goal.

Andre Deveaux, acquired by the Atlanta Thrashers in a trade on Thursday from the Tampa Bay Lightning, opened the scoring up for the Wolves by skating behind the net to pick up a pass, spinning and flipping it into the goal. Tied, the Wolves scored six more times in the next twelve minutes. Additional goals were scored by Joey Crabb, Kevin Doell and Brian Fahey before the Marlies pulled Racine.

Not stopping, the Wolves continued to score on Marlies goalie Justin Pogge when Brett Sterling potted two goals in a space of three minutes.

Derek MacKenzie continued the scoring in the third frame and Troy Milam ended the slaughter of the baby Leafs with a power play netter. In all, 19 points were awarded to 15 of the 21 players on the Wolves bench, including an assist to Brathwaite. Sterling received three points. Alex Bourret, MacKenzie, Doell and Cory Larose received two points each.

Sterling is now the leading active scorer in the American Hockey league with 42 goals and 70 points in 49 games this season. Brathwaite’s win propels him among the top ten goalies of the AHL, with a save percentage of 92 percent and a 2.56 Goals against average.

The power play unit was two for six on the night. The Wolves power play is now at 21.3 percent and an astounding 23.1 percent on the road.

The win gives the Wolves 69 points. The trailing Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights have five games on the Wolves, and 61 points. Since January 19th, when the Wolves ended a 1-7 stretch with a decisive victory over the Peoria Rivermen, they have gone 6-1-2 and allowed 19 goals in 9 games while helping themselves to 44 goals in the process. During this entire period, they have been without Jason Krog, and in the last three games, Darren Haydar.

Additional meat has been added to the blue line with the presence of Andy Delmore. Delmore was acquired as part of the previously discussed trade between the Thrashers and the Lightning. Boris Valabik, the 6’ 7” blue liner who was injured in late December, was practicing with the team in Winnipeg but has not returned to the ice for play. Despite his absence, the defense has only allowed 2.11 goals per game since the 19th. That is about 31.2 percent less goals allowed than the AHL average of 3.06 per game. In the first half of the season, the Wolves were the fourth worst team for allowing goals.

Brathwaite stopped 39 shots on goal for the win. Pogge stopped 20 shots, all in the second and third periods. The loss went to Racine. The Wolves play the Hamilton Bulldogs, second place team in the North Division, on Wednesday and Friday before returning to Toronto to complete the Canadian swing with another game against the Marlies on Saturday. The road trip is interrupted by a single game at home against the Syracuse Crunch on Sunday. The Crunch game will be the seventh game in ten days for the Wolves. The Wolves then play three road games in Texas ending on February 23 against the San Antonio Rampage.

Marlies win in SO

The Toronto Marlies held the Chicago Wolves to a 3-3 tie in regulation and overtime, leading to a shoot out loss for the Wolves. The shoot out loss for the Wolves is the third of four such losses this season. Overall all the shoot outs have occurred with Fred Brathwaite in net.

The Chicago play was marked by two short handed goals in the first period, the first by Derek MacKenzie and the second by Colin Stuart. MacKenzie shares a lead in the AHL for short handed goals with four so far this season.

Toronto came back in the third frame to make it 3-2, when Marlie Robbie Earl put one in on a rebound off of Wolves goalie Fred Brathwaite. Overall, Brathwaite had 46 saves, a season high. In the overtime, Chicago was given an almost two minute advantage due to a penalty on Jeff Corey, but was unable to convert the advantage to a goal.

Marlie goalie Jean-Francois Racine had 41 saves in the contest. The on-ice crew from the Saturday game were in residence again Sunday afternoon and yet another questionable call occurred, the game-ending goal in shoot out by Robbie Earl. Wolves goalie signaled to the referee that the signal that Earl could start his run was not given and was heard to say he wasn’t ready.

Nevertheless, the goal stood and the Marlies were awarded the win.

Wrist Shot

I'd earlier written about Steve Silverthorn, who had three shut outs in two leagues. On Friday the 12th Steve lost a game for Iowa against the Houston Aeros, 3-1, stopping 41 Houston shots. Last night, with Iowa behind 4-1 in the second frame, he was pulled for Tobias Stephen. Silverthorn stopped only nine shots in this contest, in those two frames.