Wolves split weekend games

The Chicago Wolves split their games this weekend, with a road win Saturday at the Carver Center in Peoria and a road loss at the Toyota Center in Houston.

In the win over the Peoria Rivermen, Spencer Machacek had a three point night, including a power play goal, with eight shots on goal. Chicago stopped a Riverman 5:3 advantage for a minute in the second frame and led in shots on goal in each period of play to win the game 4-1. The win went to Robert Gherson with 20 saves, Manny Legace received the loss with 31 saves.

On Sunday afternoon, in Houston, Machacek had a two goal night and Mike Hamilton had five shots on goal. But Houston dominated the first tow periods of play, racking a 3-1 goal advantage. Going into the final period of play, the Wolves scored once on 16 shots on goal. But the Aeros, with just five shots on goal, scored again, to stay ahead.

Corey Locke of the Aeros was credited with a goal and an assist in the game. Kurtis Foster was credited with two points. Ondrej Pavelec received the loss with 29 saves. Barry Brust received the win with 30 saves.

It was a split decision weekend for the Rockford IceHogs also. They played both games at home.

In a Saturday night game at the MetroCentre, the Rochester Americans gave the Hogs a 4-3 win. The Amerks and the IceHogs are both near the bottom of the league with regard to their net special teams goals, from the table I'm presenting at the Chitowndailynews site (Blogger doesn't like tables):



Rockford gave the Amerks two 5:3 opportunities in this game, and the Amerks were unable to score on either. The Amerks dominated in shots on goal until the third period of play, but it was the Hogs who found the back of the net. Mike Brodeur started in net for the Americans, he was drilled out of the net at 1:38 in the second period on the third unanswered goal by the IceHogs. His nine saves were marked for the loss. Tyler Plante took over from there for the Rochester team, with 17 saves. The win went to Corey Crawford with 33 saves.

It seems odd to me that a team floundering in the offense would blame their loss on a goalie, as the Amerks implicitly did on Saturday when they replaced Brodeur. Clearly there is more going wrong, from shots on goal (defense) to a terrible offense. That's all clear in the table above. A goalie isn't going to stand a chance if no one is standing out front with him, throwing their body in front of shots.

Danny Groulx was credited with two points on the night. Pascal Pelletier had six shots on goal, but no points and Jack Skille had five shots on goal but no points.

In the Monday matinée game, the San Antonio Rampage took the IceHogs 4-3 in a hard fought battle. Two fights between bruisers Sean McMorrow and Francis Lessard marked the game. San Antonio took a 3-0 lead in the first frame with two goals by Kyle Turris and a goal by Dylan Reese.

The Hogs came back with a goal by Groulx. But it was answered by Kevin Porter in the early third frame. Rockford pressured the Rampage, putting 13 shots on net in the final 20 minutes, and scoring two goals in the process. But the Rampage were able to hold the Hogs scoreless for the final eleven minutes to win. Crawford was credited with 20 saves in the loss. Josh Tordjman, the game winner, was credited with 27 saves.

Skille racked up seven shots on goal, but came away pointless again. Tim Brent had a three point night with two goals and an assist. Petri Kontiola had two points. Turris had three points for the night, adding an assist to his first period blowout. Porter and Reese had two point nights with a goal and an assist each. David Spina also had a two points for the night.

There were a few other notes from around the league this weekend. Houston went 4/4 on the power play in a game against the Iowa Chops Saturday at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Matt Beaudoin had a hat trick in the game, with four shots on goal.

But even more spectacular was the weekend of Tim Kennedy. He was named the player of the week for his performance. On Saturday, in a wild game between the Providence Bruins and the Portland Pirates, the Baby Bruins accumulated a 4-2 lead at the end of the second period in a game at the Portland County Civic Center of Portland, Maine. The Pirates tied it up with three goals in the period, the last goal with just 1:10 to go. At that point Kennedy, on the Pirates side, had a point in each of the third period goals, a total of four points in the game based on seven shots on goal. AND, on the Baby Bruin side Mikko Lehtonen also had a four point night that included a hat trick with six shots on goal.

Portland was able to go 3/7 on the power play, that and Kennedy brought them back into the game. During the over time, Brad Marchand was called for boarding. The notes for the game say it was a two minute penalty, but most of these penalties are actually a minute in O/T. Portland was unable to use the resulting 4:3 to gain a goal. For Portland 39 shots on goal, for Providence, 35 shots on goal and a tied game after OT of 5-5.

So, the shootout; Portland shoots first and after the first set of skaters, no goals yet. Kennedy gets up and fails to score. But Lehtonen, after his hat trick, does score. After another score by Mark Mancari for the Pirates and Wacey Rabbit for the Bruins, it is a P-Bruins win.

On Sunday, the Pirates traveled to the Paul E Tsongas Arena to battle the Lowell Devils. It turns into another high scoring battle between the two teams. Portland enters the third frame with a 4-3 lead. Lowell has remained in the game on the strength of two power play goals. Although the Pirates had a series of power plays for the first ten minutes or so of the second period, they only came away with a single power play goal.

Lowell tied the game with a power play goal at 12:47 of the third period. Kennedy comes back with the Pirates to get a hat trick and put Portland back into the lead 1:06 later. But Lowell doesn't give up. They pull the goalie and Portland scores again on the empty net with a minute left. Now the lead is 6-4, Portland. Lowell still doesn't give up, scoring twice in the final minute of play to tie the game.

In total Lowell went 4/6 on the power play. Including the OT period, Jeff Frazee stopped 35 shots on goal for the Devils, John DeCaro stopped 44 for the Pirates. OT is scoreless but is dominated by the Pirates. Once again Kennedy isn't able to add to his stats a shootout goal, but the Pirates did win.

In total, among these two games, Kennedy had seven points and 15 shots on goal. In the second game with Lowell, not including Kennedy, there were five players credited with a three point night. Woah Baby!

Niemi to Blackhawks; Rivermen defeat Hogs 3-1

In Rockford, the Peoria Rivermen pulled out a 3-1 win over the Rockford IceHogs. With goalie Antti Niemi called up to the Chicago Blackhawks, the Hogs had Joe Fallon backing Corey Crawford in the pipes. Fallon, up from the Gwinnett Gladiators, has a 91 percent save percentage after ten games with the Glads.

Niemi, like Crawford when he was called up this season, isn't expected to see a lot of ice time with the Blackhawks. I'm a bit surprised that Niemi was called up, as watching the games, I see Crawford as having a better shot at the National Hockey League. However, I have no better insight than what I've previously shared about Niemi and Crawford.

Having said that, the loss at the MetroCentre demonstrates how top teams sometimes have trouble with lower ranked teams in their division. The same is generally true of the Hogs when they play the MAds or the Wolves when they play the MAds. The Rivermen cause more trouble for the IceHogs than you'd generally expect. In this game they took a lead in the first frame and held on. Early in the second period the Rivermen's Cam Paddock even gave the Hogs a double minor power play opportunity for attempted spearing (bad!). Even though the Hogs out shot the Rivermen 18-9 in the final period of play, it was the Peoria team that took the win, withstanding the Hogs attack.

Tim Brent put seven shots on net for the Hogs, scoring the only goal of the team. Crawford stopped 28 shots on goal for the loss, Manny Legace was in net for the Rivermen, stopping 33 shots on goal. Trent Whitfield had a three point night, Steve Regier had a two point night. Regier notched five shots on goal.

Krazy Karl returns to the Allstate; Wolves lose 4-3

When the last place team comes to town, you sort of expect nothing much to happen. So, maybe we can excuse the Chicago Wolves fans if they skipped the 4-3 loss to the last place Rochester Americans tonight at the Allstate Arena. The Amerks are beyond dreadful. They just suck. Probably less than 2,000 people showed up to see them play.



But, this was a great game to watch. The Amerks are a hard hitting team that likes to finish their checks. This was a concussive experience of a game, with great checks into the boards and on the open ice too.



Tyler Plante opened the game in the pipes for the Americans. He was joined by a Blackhawk/ Wolves alum, Karl Stewart. The Stewart I remember from the lockout year was a guy who loved to cause trouble. There was this one time I recall the whistle was blown, the guys were headed up ice and Stewart skates behind the opposition goal, grabs the opposing goalies' water bottle and takes a long chug. You, know, long enough to make sure the other guys notice what you just did?



He was that type of guy. And his short handed goal attempts were always memorable. The man had wheels.



So, it was nice to see him on the ice tonight. He started the game by showing his fans in Chicago that he still finishes his checks. It was that spirit that led him to play for a short few games for the Blackhawks. Can we get a picture of the girl in the stands asking him to marry her?



Ding, ding and ding. It was also a night when the puck was dinging the Amerks. I mean they may need to replace those pipes there are so many dings and dents in it. Plante didn't do so well in the first period. With five shots on goal, the Wolves scored twice. So, in the second period, the Amerks used Mike Brodeur.



Regular readers and the few that read from Rockford, will recognize Brodeur's name, he was a member of the 2007-8 IceHogs and a prospect for the Blackhawks. His glow was amazing. Now personally, I would have taken one of the stars of the game from Jeff Hamilton of the Wolves and given it to Jamie Rivers of the Wolves for the defense in the second period of play. But there is no doubt that Brodeur had that glow that you sometimes see in a goalie's eyes when they are in the zone and they know it too.



Number one star of the game and deserving of it.



There were 17 shots on goal, more than half the total for the Wolves in the entire game, during the third frame. This guy was a wall. Glove saves, kick saves, stick saves, pad saves, knocking it from the air. My god, his arms and legs were everywhere and it seemed that his chest stopped so many pucks that it has to be black and blue.



At one point in the second period, there was a defensive turnover by the Amerks. It occurred almost in the crease. It was just a screwup caused by pressure. Riley Holzapfel was right there, he had the puck and he shot and hammered and nothing. Brodeur stopped him. It was a point blank moment of first we have control and then Holzapfel is beating on Brodeur's pads with the puck. That stuff happened all night to Brodeur. His win, stopping 24 shots and letting one in, was remarkable.



Now, I said take the star from Jeff Hamilton. But, he had a great night too. Three points, including two goals. The Amerks' Janis Sprurkts had two goals, while the Amerks' Michal Repik and the Wolves Brett Skinner had two points each.



Finally, the loss went to Ondrej Pavelec. He stopped 19 shots. I'm beginning to suspect that riding Pavelec like a horse is poor coaching. This guy needs a lot of rest, and is still not back from his injury earlier in the season.



This is the first time I've really noted poor on-ice officiating. Zac Wiebe missed some calls, and yes, at least one was on the Wolves. His misses led to a fight between Joey Crabb and Michael Duco, Duco having to tell Crabb to knock off the BS with the goalie. It should have been Wiebe doing that work instead of the 194 pound Duco. Despite what should have been a call on the Wolves, it was a missed call earlier that probably cost the Wolves an additional power play. Well, first game in about 20? This is much better than previous years in my opinion.



I've been beating on the Amerks as a bad team. Earlier this week I published a stat that they lose about half a goal a game, net, to the power play. And, tonight, there it was, an unanswered power play goal. Around the blog, Jane is an Amerks fan and so is much of her family. You can imagine the back and forth that occurs. But, looking at them play tonight, I wonder what is the real issue with the team? I guess they don't play as a team, have poor defense and don't score. That would do it. But, when they do things right, as they did tonight at the Allstate, that's a good team out there.



It was a nail-biter of a win for the Rockford IceHogs in Peoria tonight. The stats show Antti Niemi shut down the Rivermen with 21 saves. Manny Legace, good, but not enough with 21 saves too, received the loss.



We're at a point in the year when everyone is warmed up. This game looks like it was a great example of defensive play, of hot goalies and everyone having to go down to the last ounce of strength to win. The final, 1-0 for Rockford at the Carver Arena.

Crabb in four point effort

Joey Crabb had a four point night with a hat trick and an assist in a 5-1 Chicago Wolves win over the Peoria Rivermen at the Allstate Arena tonight. Crabb took advantage of two 5:3 power play opportunities and an even strength goal in racking up the hat trick. He assisted Spencer Machacek in his goal and was on ice, distracting the Peoria Rivermen for the final goal, an empty net run up the ice by Jordan LaVallee with a 1:07 remaining in the game.

Crabb, with seven shots on goal for the game, opened a can of whoop on the Peoria team with a series of three checks in the first period, all within a period of about fifteen seconds. They started behind the Wolves goal where the puck squirted loose, he followed the puck up the ice and flattened a Riverman into the boards at the blue line, continued up the ice and his last check was on a Peoria blue liner right in the Peoria crease.

He followed that up with a 5:3 power play goal with four seconds remaining in the first period. At 47 seconds into the second period, he assisted Machacek with his goal. At 9:49, after the Rivermen gave the Chicagoans yet another 5:3 he took another goal.

During one second period power play on Peoria, Trent Whitfield came up with the puck. His breakaway could have been stopped by Riley Holzapfel, at the near boards, but Whitfield eluded Holzapfel and found Ondrej Pavelec's five hole. It was the only score of the game for Peoria.

In the final period of play, Chicago gave the Peoria team four power play chances. Peoria also was beating on the Wolves, notching eleven shots on goal. Nevertheless, at 14:56 Crabb found the back of the net again for the hat trick. Less than four minutes later, after Peoria pulled their goalie, LaVallee, with Crabb on his flank, put the finish on the game with an empty net goal.

Pavelec received the win, stopping 30 shots on goal. He really looked good tonight as the defense was more effective in front of him except in the case of the short handed break away. Ben Bishop received the loss with 22 saves. In part due to Crabb, the power play came alive with three for eight, while the defense held the Rivermen scoreless in six penalty kills.

It was Crabb's eighth, ninth and tenth goals of the year in the American Hockey League. It was his sixth point of the season in the AHL. It is his 19th game this season in a Wolves sweater. He was sent to Chicago by the Thrashers January 30th. According to the Internet hockey database, he also played in 26 games as an Atlanta Thrasher, scoring just three goals and four points.

Journal Star: Rivermen sold to Blues

The Peoria Journal Star reports that a co-owner of the Peoria Rivermen predicts the sale of the team to the owner of the St. Louis Blues will be announced within two weeks. “We have reached a verbal agreement,” Bruce Saurs told the Journal Star.

“There’s no doubt they intend to keep it in Peoria for a long time to come,” Saurs is reported as saying. The Journal Star says the offer was about $3.5 million, including the share owned by Anne Griffith. The Rivermen have an agreement to stay in Peoria’s Civic Center through the 2009-10 campaign with five year option to continue. Saurs, 81, is to remain in Peoria for the Blues fronting the organization.

The story, by Dave Eminian, says the process picked up speed when the Anaheim Ducks made an offer to purchase the team in March. However, Anaheim would have moved the team, according to Eminian.

Preds recall Rinne

The Nashville Predators have recalled Pekka Rinne from the Milwaukee Admirals Sunday. The Predators list three goalies on their line-up, Dan Ellis, Chris Mason and Rinne. The loss of Rinne for any games is likely to hurt the Milwaukee Admirals, as they are currently in fifth place in the West Division, with just three points between them and the sixth-place Peoria Rivermen.

Both teams have a substantial lead on the fourth-place North Division team, the Hamilton Bulldogs and one would be able to move to the North Division for the playoffs if the season ended today.

Predators Coach Barry Trotz was quoted on the Admirals Crew discussion board as saying, “our decision now is to keep three goaltenders here.” Since losing Rinne, the MAds have been 1-1.

Rivermen hurt by 2-1 loss Sunday v Wolves

The Chicago Wolves defeated the Peoria Rivermen 2-1, Sunday, in a contest at the Carver Arena. It was the first time the two American Hockey League West Division foes had met since December 19th and marked the seventh game this season between the two teams.

The Rivermen, in sixth place in the West Division, were dealt a blow, today, when the St. Louis Blues assigned goalie Chris Beckford-Tseu to the Alaska Aces of the ECHL. The hopes of the team now rest with a rookie, up from the University of Maine, Ben Bishop and also Marek Schwarz.

Bishop had a 13-18 record with the Black Bears this season, with a 92.3 save percentage, which was the third best in a season for the team. His 819 season saves were fifth in Maine’s history.

Schwarz has a save percentage of 89.5, and a record of 12-11-2.

The two teams meet three more times in the next month. The Rivermen have edged the Quad City Flames for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, probably a North Division spot due to weakness in that division. Although the Rivermen lead the fourth place North Division Hamilton Bulldogs by three points with a game in hand, two surging teams are ahead of the Rivermen.

The Milwaukee Admirals, with a 7-3 record in the last ten games, have 75 points, or a three point lead, with the Rivermen having a game in hand. While the Houston Aeros, technically in fifth place, have a one-point lead and three games in hand over the Rivermen. The Aeros are also 7-3 in their last ten games.

The Rivermen play the Admirals twice in the next week, the Aeros three games in the next three weeks.

Crombeen gets hat trick, Rinne gets a shut out

B J Crombeen got a hat trick and an assist in a 7-3 drubbing of the Lake Erie Monsters by the Iowa Stars in Iowa action tonight. Meanwhile, in Milwaukee, the Hamilton Bulldogs were shut out by Pekka Rinne and the Milwaukee Admirals, 3-0.

The red-hot MAds are now 7-3 in their last ten games. They lead the Houston Aeros by two points, but the Aeros have 4 games in hand on the Admirals. The Aeros are also 7-3 in their last 10 contests.

The Quad City Flames, meanwhile, are flaming out of the competition for the final playoff spots in the West Division, trailing the Peoria Rivermen by five points with a game in hand.

Bishop expected to start against MAds Friday

Ben Bishop has been assigned to the Peoria Rivermen and is expected to start in net against the Milwaukee Admirals Friday, according to the Peoria Journal Star’s Dave Eminian. The 6’7”, 210 pound goalie from the University of Maine recorded 92.3 save percentage and a GAA of 2.14 last season. He is 4-7-2 in Hockey East action this season, 8-10-2 overall.

More trades in West

Al Montoya, a 23 year-old native of Glenview, has been traded by the New York Rangers to the Phoenix Coyotes. He has been assigned to the San Antonio Rampage. Phoenix traded Montoya and Marcel Hossa for goalie David LeNeveu, Fredrik Sjostrom and Josh Gratton.

Montoya has played goal in 31 games for the Hartford Wolfpack this season. He has a 16-8-3 record, 90.8 save percentage and 2.54 GAA. LeNeveu appeared in 21 games this season for the Rampage. He posted a record of 9-7-3 with 91.1 save percentage and a GAA of 2.66.

In Peoria, Dave Eminian is predicting moves by the St. Louis Blues on trade day were “no help” to the Peoria Rivermen. Jeff Woywitka, a blueliner with 30 points, has skated in 52 Peoria games this year.

Other moves in Peoria, prior to trade day, St. Louis assigned Chris Beckford-Tseu and Marek Schwarz, both goalies, to the team. Derek Gustafson was released from a PTO. Schwarz has played 23 games this season with the Rivermen, posting a record of 9-10-2, with a save percentage of 89.1 and a GAA of 2.57. Beckford-Tseu has been in 28 games for the Rivermen, posting a record of 15-9-2. He has a 90 percent save rate and a GAA of 2.61.

Icehogs shut down Mads 2-0

It was a quiet game, until the third period when four players were sent to the showers at the same time. The Rockford IceHogs, with Wade Flaherty in net, and Michael Brodeur backing, shut down the Milwaukee Admirals 2-0 at the Rockford MetroCentre today. Rockford put 22 shots on Pekka Rinne for the win, while the MAds only summed up 17 shots on goal for the game.

Matt Ellison and Nolan Yonkman for Milwaukee and Ryan Stokes and Kris Versteeg for Rockford were given fighting majors with just four and half minutes remaining in the game. Alex Henry was given a double minor in the same altercation.

The Quad City Flames beat up the visiting Grand Rapids Griffins 6-1 at the iWireless Center in Moline and the Houston Aeros shutout the Rochester Americans 4-0 at the War Memorial.

The Griffins are pretty much out of the hunt, now, for the final spot in the North Division, trailing even the last place West Division team for the fourth opening. The North Division fourth place team, the Syracuse Crunch, have 60 points in 59 contests while now three West Division teams are tied at 65 points, one has two games in hand over the Crunch, making it nearly impossible for the Crunch to take the last spot in their division.

The West Division race for the final playoff spot has the Quad City Flames, the Milwaukee Admirals and the Houston Aeros all tied at 65 points, meaning one of them will probably advance to play in the North Division playoffs. Each team has 59 games played, except the Aeros, who have two games in hand. In fourth place of the division is the Peoria Rivermen with 66 pointsd in 58 games. This is the tightest race in the American Hockey League currently.

Germyn hat trick for 26th BD

Carson Germyn celebrated his birthday with a hat trick in a game Friday against the Peoria Rivermen. The 6-2 win was the most goals scored in a game this season by the Quad City Flames. Marc Nesseler of QC Online said a sign held by fans Mike and Trisha Hunter and Jeni Chisholm wishing Germyn a happy birthday helped get Germyn going.

“Now I’ve got to find out what he needs for motivation for Sunday,” Coach Ryan McGill told Nesseler.

The Flames trail the Milwaukee Admirals by two points with 63 points in sixth place. At the moment, all of the West Division teams, except for the Iowa Stars, could advance to one of five playoff spots, four in the West Division, and one in the North Division as the Syracuse Crunch have fewer points than the fifth, sixth and seventh place West Division teams. Although the Milwaukee Admirals would currently hold that playoff spot, the Flames have been playing somewhat better with 12 points in the last ten games, versus 11 points for Milwaukee.

Blues organization, too much talent?

The St. Louis Blues are not typically a team considered over blessed with young talent. But the Anchorage Daily News details how the Alaska Aces, on the ECHL end of the pipeline from St. Louis and Peoria, have two extra bodies aboard for a road trip this weekend.

Sticking in Peoria is Eric Neilson, according to the report, with three fisticuffs and 29 PiM since his call-up. Down is leading Aces scorer Josh Soares and goalie Marek Schwarz. The Rivermen received Derek Gustafson from Alaska.

The likely Rivermen goalie is Hannu Toivonen with five American Hockey League starts. He has a 4-1 record so far and stops 88.3 percent of shots.

How to drive a Zamboni (R)

First of all, as Kirk Wessler points out in this article in the Peoria Journal Star, a Zamboni is an ice resurfacing machine manufactured by the Zamboni Co… Anyway the point is, the sentence above is flawed grammatically. You operate a Zamboni manufactured ice resurfacing machine.

Lot’s more fun, though I wonder if Dave Eminian, the writer who covers the Peoria Rivermen, got a shot at resurfacing the ice too.

Wolves back on track; Beat Peoria 7-4, Iowa 10-2

The Chicago Wolves overpowered the Peoria Rivermen 7-4 at the Allstate Arena Wednesday night as Darren Haydar joined fellow Atlanta Thrashers prospects Jason Krog and Brett Sterling in a relaunch of the 2007 first line. The line was responsible for six of the Wolves goals on Wednesday, with Krog scoring five points in the contest.

The game marked the return of Haydar, the Wolves Captain, from the Thrashers. The 2007 MVP joined a line that was already familiar to him. On a line with Sterling and Krog, he posted a franchise record number of consecutive goals in the previous season. Although Krog did not play in Atlanta this season, he played 23 games in the NHL last season.

Sterling played ten games in Atlanta this season. Other Wolves who have returned from Atlanta this season are Ondrej Pavelec, the top goalie prospect for the Thrashers, who played seven games; and Bryan Little, who played 29 games. Kari Lehtonen was assigned to the Wolves by Atlanta for a brief three game conditioning assignment following an early season injury.

Upheaval in the goaltender ranks may have led to the Wolves to drop three games earlier this month, culminating in a 4-3 loss against the league leading first-place Providence Bruins. However Pavelec who only lost one of the three games, got his feet under him and came back to keep the Wolves in a game against the Rochester Americans on the 13th in a 5-3 win in Rosemont, breaking the losing streak.

An unexcited Wolves turned around the next day and lost 4-1 to the Peoria Rivermen with Robert Gherson in net. Then, with Pavelec back in net, pounded the Iowa Stars 10-2, with Kevin Doell putting up a hat trick the next night.

That loss may have been enough for the Wolves to slip out of first place. Although the Chicagoans have two games in hand on the first place team and remain just two points behind in the standings.

It is the on and off nature of the Wolves this month that leaves fans wondering what is next. Wednesday’s game was no different, with the Wolves out playing the Rivermen, but unable to put the game away until late in the third period. Defensive faux pas are putting to much pressure on Pavelec, while the lines are juggled to handle the numerous veterans and top prospects being sent down by Atlanta, leading to big scoring games and still, close games.

Sterling's hat trick lifts Wolves over Rivermen in 17th win of year

Brett Sterling scored a hat trick and the game winning goal to give the Chicago Wolves a 4-3 overtime win over the Peoria Rivermen in play Thursday at the Allstate Arena. In addition, Atlanta Thrasher teammate Kari Lehtonen stopped 30 Rivermen shots on goal.

The game gives the Wolves 17 wins in the first 20 games, positioning the team for one of the best seasons the franchise has ever enjoyed. The team currently leads the American Hockey League with 35 points.

But all eyes were on the NHL teammates playing in Wolves colors, Lehtonen, assigned to the Wolves from the Atlanta Thrashers on a three game conditioning assignment picked up his second win of the year. His play, not as brilliant as on Tuesday, was on enough to beat out the Rivermen who were led by Kelly Cup winning goalie Chris Beckford-Tseu.

The game demonstrated the team aspect of the sport as Lehtonen pushed back a Rivermen overtime man advantage, but it required the brilliance of Sterling’s play to finally seal the victory for the Wolves.

Since being assigned to the Wolves by the Thrashers, Sterling has led the team in scoring, notching 11 goals and 18 points in just 12 games. Sterling’s totals have pushed the 2007 Rookie of the Year into 31st scoring place in the American League, despite playing only about 60 percent of the games of the other leaders.

Peoria is one of just three teams to have defeated the Wolves this season, the others being Milwaukee in an overtime win and San Antonio. Tied at the end of the first period, following goals by both teams separated by just seconds, Peoria took a one goal lead in the second period on a power play goal by Jean-Guy Trudel.

In the third period, Chicago came from behind to take the lead from Peoria on unanswered goals by Sterling and Steve Martins. However, Julian Talbot tied the game for the Rivermen with 20 seconds remaining in the game when Peoria pulled their goalie for a man advantage.

In the overtime period, Peoria was awarded a power play following a trip by Brian Sipotz at the team benches. The Rivermen were unable to convert the advantage, however. The final goal by Sterling was a feed from college teammate Joey Crabb and Karel Pilar to the near circle. Sterling’s previous hat trick was March 14, also at home in a 4-3 win against the Peoria Rivermen.

Peoria 1 1 1 0 -- 3
Chicago 1 0 2 1 -- 4

First Period---1, Chicago, Sterling 9 (Krog, Schultz), 6:14; 2, Peoria, Stastny 3 (Porter, DuPont), 6:22. Penalties---DuPont, Peoria (cross-checking), 16:11; Woywitka, Peoria (holding), 18:37.

Second Period---3, Peoria, Trudel 5 (Glumac, Drazenovic), 13:57 pp. Penalties--- MacKenzie, Peoria (holding), 7:59; Valabik, Chicago (interference), 13:15; Painchaud, Chicago (holding), 17:21; Drazenovic, Peoria (tripping), 18:47.

Third Period---4, Chicago, Sterling 10 (unassisted), 4:05; 5, Chicago, Martins 8 (unassisted), 8:03; 6, Peoria, Talbot 9 (Glenn, DuPont), 19:40. Penalties---Martins, Chicago (hooking), 11:13.

Overtime---7, Chicago, Sterling 11 (Crabb, Pilar), 4:31. Penalties---Sipotz, Chicago (tripping), 2:56.

Shots on goal---Peoria: 9-11-13--33. Chicago: 6-11-7-2--26. Power plays---Peoria: 1-4. Chicago: 0-4. Goalies---Peoria, Beckford-Tseu (22-26). Chicago, Lehtonen (30-33). A---3,405. Referee---Chris Ciamaga. Linesmen---Justin Lyle and Chris Allman.

Four in a row; Wolves 4, Rivermen 2

In their best start in franchise history, the Chicago Wolves are now 4-0, defeating the Peoria Rivermen 4-2 at the Carver Arena Sunday in Peoria, Ill. The Wolves are now one of only two teams, the other is the Worcester Sharks, that have a perfect record this season.

The first Wolves goal of the period, a power play, was passed into the Rivermen zone by Nathan Oystick. Picked up by Steve Martins on the near circle, it was passed across ice to Jesse Schultz, the former Manitoba Moose, who beat Riverman goalie Jason Bacashihua to score.

The second goal of the first period was scored on a delayed penalty call as Andre Deveaux jammed the puck past Bacashihua from near the paint. The penalty created one of four power play opportunities in the first period for the Wolves in a period that saw no calls against the Wolves by referee Shaun Davis.

However, the Rivermen answered the Wolves goals before the end of the period as Julian Talbot battled almost from his own zone to behind the Wolves net with the puck against Karel Pilar and Joey Crabb and others. There the Wolves finally managed to poke it free, unfortunately right onto the stick of Julian Talbot who potted it for the score from between the far circle and the paint.

The score was 2-1, Chicago, at the end of the first period. The second period saw Fred Brathwaite hold the Chicago team in the game with a number of saves. Peoria received three 5:3 opportunities in the period amid five penalties against the Wolves. They dominated the period, putting 14 shots on goal versus just 7 for the Wolves. However, the Rivermen special teams failed in this period, and all night, with no power play goals against the Wolves. With a scoreless period, the game moved to its final 20 minutes with the Wolves holding on to their one point lead.

Talbot evened the score mid-way through the final frame on a two-man breakaway. From the near circle, Talbot found Brathwaite’s five hole to even the score. However, just 30 seconds passed before Joey Crabb battled against Trent Whitfield against the far boards for the puck. Popping it loose to Schultz, he one-timed it from the far circle for the game winning goal. In the closing seconds, Deveaux stripped the puck from Jeff Woywitka and passed cross ice to Colin Stuart. Stuart made the easy empty net for a 4-2 win.

Brathwaite received the win, stopping 28 shots. Bacashihua received the loss, stopping 18 shots.

Chicago 2 0 2 -- 4
Peoria 1 0 1 -- 2

First Period---1, Chicago, Schultz 2 (Martins, Oystrick), 11:25 pp; 2, Chicago, Deveaux 1 (Stuart, Doell), 13:10 extra man; 3, Peoria, Talbot 2 (Kariya, Linglet), 18:37. Penalties---Hellstrom, Peoria (interference), 2:14; Porter, Peoria (tripping), 6:46; Whitfield, Peoria (roughing), 10:44; Birner, Peoria (holding), 19:52.

Second Period---None. Penalties---DuPont, Peoria (hooking), 4:35; Fahey, Chicago (hooking), 6:25; Valabik, Chicago (roughing), 7:29; Kwiatkowski, Chicago (holding), 11:28; Anderson, Chicago (hooking), 13:16; Sipotz, Chicago (tripping), 13:48.

Third Period---4, Peoria, Talbot 3 (DuPont), 10:47; 5, Chicago, Schultz 3 (Crabb), 11:17; 6, Chicago, Stuart 1 (Deveaux), 19:52 en. Penalties---Porter, Peoria (elbowing), 3:07; Polak, Peoria (holding), 4:48; Fahey, Chicago (hooking) 8:01; Doell, Chicago (slashing), 19:54; Deveaux, Chicago (double minor roughing), 19:54; Benson, Peoria (double minor roughing).

Shots on goal---Chicago: 9-7-6--22. Peoria: 9-14-7--30. Power plays---Chicago: 1-7. Peoria: 0-7. Goalies--Chicago, Brathwaite (28-30). Peoria, Bacashihua (18-21). A---3,360. Referee---Shaun Davis. Linesmen---Chris Allman and Bryan Pancich.

QC -- IceHogs rivalry not dead yet; Flames may move Knights

The hockey rivalry between the Quad Cities and Rockford may not be done after all. Media outlets in the Quad Cities and in Omaha, Nebraska are saying that the Calgary Flames have scouted the Mark of the Quad Cities and intend to move the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights to the Mark, probably by the 2007-8 season.

The Omaha World-Herald reported this morning it had obtained a memo from Calgary President Ken King outlining the reasons the Knights would be moving from Omaha. The Calgary Flames own a majority interest in the Knights. The memo said the Knights had operating losses of $4 million over two years, season ticket renewals were disappointing, lagging attendance and the inability of the Omaha market to sustain three hockey teams.

Omaha is also home to the junior level Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League and the University of Nebraska at Omaha Division 1 NCAA team.

Separately, the Quad City Times reported Darryl Sutter, the general manager of the Flames, was spotted by reporters at a downtown Moline hotel. Two sources close to the Omaha Knights organization told the QCTimes.com that the Knights would not return to the Omaha Civic Auditorium.

The Knights are also owned by a local benevolent group, the Knights of Ak-sar-Ben, which would have its interest bought out. The Omaha World-Herald indicated the Knights would displace the Quad City Mallards, which have played at the Mark since 1995. However, the QCTimes piece indicated talks are underway with the Mallards management.

The Mallards management had examined moving to the American Hockey League last season. However, the team felt the financial requirements of moving leagues, such as upgrading the Mark to increase the size of the rink, would make the move prohibitive. In addition, the Mallards had applied for membership in the ECHL. However, that application was rejected as the closest rival to the Mallards was the Dayton Bombers, about an eight hour bus trip away.

The Peoria Rivermen had moved to the AHL from the ECHL two seasons ago. The move would leave the United Hockey League with just eight teams, several of which are considered financially unstable. Earlier in the season Richard Brosal, the UHL Commissioner, had indicated he was leaving at the end of the season. The only remaining UHL franchises in Illinois are the Chicago Hounds and the Bloomington Prairie Thunder. Both teams are expansion teams, and just ended their first season.

If the Knights move to the Quad Cities, Illinois would have four American Hockey League teams. Teams would play in Des Moines, Peoria, Rockford, Chicago, Milwaukee, Grand Rapids and Moline. Just a little further east is the new Cleveland team and two established teams in Ontario and four teams in New York State.

Among states with AHL teams, Illinois and New York lead with four each. Massachusetts and Pennsylvania each have three teams. There are two teams each in Texas, Ontario and Connecticut. An additional Canadian team is located in Winnipeg.

Exciting loss closes regular season for Wolves

In the American Hockey League, the regular season ended Sunday. Two races were decided on Sunday involving three teams within a short driving distance of Chicago. The Chicago Wolves and the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights fought a fairly even game until penalties with less than four minutes remaining gave Chicago its best shot at evening the score.

Chicago needed a regulation win in the game to take the division crown from Omaha and was, at that point, behind by one goal. Pulling the goalie, Chicago put a 5-3 power play on the ice at 17.07 but failed to stop an Omaha empty net goal that iced the game and the season for the Knights at 19.09.

It was an outstanding effort by Michael Garnett, who took the loss. He stopped 29 pucks among an onslaught of Omaha. Warren Peters of Omaha and Cory Larose of Chicago both scored two goals in the game. Game winner Curtis McElhinney stopped 24 shots in a determined Chicago effort.

The Knights face the Iowa Stars in the first post season divisional semi-finals. Here are the results from this season in that contest:

2006-10-27 Omaha @ 2 Iowa 1 Final
2006-12-26 Omaha @ 2 Iowa 5 Final
2006-12-31 Omaha @ 5 Iowa 1 Final
2007-02-16 Omaha @ 2 Iowa 1 Final OT
2007-03-30 Omaha @ 3 Iowa 1 Final
2007-04-03 Omaha @ 2 Iowa 1 Final
2006-10-26 Iowa @ 3 Omaha 4 Final
2006-11-04 Iowa @ 3 Omaha 0 Final
2006-12-16 Iowa @ 1 Omaha 3 Final
2006-12-29 Iowa @ 3 Omaha 1 Final
2007-01-19 Iowa @ 1 Omaha 3 Final
2007-03-07 Iowa @ 3 Omaha 0 Final

Chicago will face the Milwaukee Admirals in their first post season divisional finals. The Wolves have been on the receiving end of the Admirals all season, with wins at the Bradley Center for the Chicagoans in the last two weeks.

Since joining the AHL, the Wolves and the Admirals have only met one time in post-season play. That was in 2004 and the Admirals defeated the Wolves in six games, the Rochester Americans in five and when the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lost in four games, that gave the Admirals their first banner in more than a decade and the Calder Cup.

The Admirals and the Wolves have met two other times in post season play in the International Hockey League, with the Wolves topping the Admirals in 1998 and again in 2001.

Milwaukee has qualified for the playoffs every year since 2003. The Houston Aeros sent them home in 2003 after three games. The Admirals had beaten the Rochester Americans in three that year to get to the conference finals. In 2005 it was the team formerly known as the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, now the Portland Pirates, who sent them home in four games. Last year they made the Calder Cup finals, finally losing the series to the Champion Hershey Bears at the Bradley Center in six. Along the way, Milwaukee bested the Iowa Stars in seven, the Aeros in 4, and the Griffins in four.

Chicago qualified for post-season play every season of its eleven year history, except last. The Wolves won the Calder Cup in 2002 with wins over the Mighty Ducks in three, the Grand Rapids Griffins in five, the Syracuse Crunch in seven, the Houston Aeros in five to win the cup at home against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in five games.

The Wolves were eliminated from the 2003 cup race with wins against the Griffins in four and a loss to the Hershey Bears in five. The 2004 race saw the Wolves defeat the Griffins in four before losing to the Admirals. In 2005 the Wolves made it to the finals of the cup race, with series wins over the Aeros in five, the Ducks in five, the Manitoba Moose in four, before being swept by the Philadelphia Phantoms in four.

Milwaukee’s Sheldon Brookbank was awarded the Eddie Shore award for defense this season. While Pekka Rinne was ranked sixth among league goalies. The Milwaukee penalty kill is ranked third in the league at 86.1 percent. Rich Peverly is the ninth ranked player for short handed goals, with four and is the 18th ranked player for goals with 30 in the regular season.

Darren Haydar of the Wolves received the league’s Les Cunningham award for Most Valuable Player Award and the John B Sollenberger Trophy for leading scorer in the league. His +/- rating of +24 ranked him eighth among players in defense. Rookie Brett Sterling received the Willie Marshall award as the leader in goal production and the Dudley Red Garrett Award for Rookie of the Year. Defenseman Brian Sipotz tops all league defensemen with a +/- rating of +34 and was recognized by the club for outstanding public service. Derek MacKenzie, who is currently playing with the Atlanta Thrashers, tops all league players with five short handed goals. Brad Schell was named ECHL MVP and to the league's All-Star first team. He scored 110 points this season, including 85 assists which places him fourth in the league among all-time assists.

The Wolves power play is third ranked in the league at 20.4 percent.

Brookbank, Sterling and Haydar were all named to the AHL’s first team All-Stars. Chicago’s Nathan Oystrick was named to the second team All-Stars.

The contest between a high-powered offense and a high powered defense has been in Milwaukee’s favor this season. Results from the Atlanta Thrashers/ New York Rangers series and the Nashville Predators/ San Jose Sharks series will effect the AHL races if Atlanta and Nashville are terminated before either the Wolves or the Admirals. Here are the results for the season:

2006-10-13 Chicago @ 7 Milwaukee 5 Final
2006-12-26 Chicago @ 5 Milwaukee 4 Final OT
2007-01-06 Chicago @ 2 Milwaukee 4 Final
2007-04-06 Chicago @ 5 Milwaukee 4 Final
2007-04-13 Chicago @ 4 Milwaukee 3 Final SO
2006-10-14 Milwaukee @ 5 Chicago 1 Final
2006-12-16 Milwaukee @ 3 Chicago 2 Final SO
2007-03-10 Milwaukee @ 6 Chicago 4 Final
2007-03-17 Milwaukee @ 5 Chicago 4 Final
2007-03-30 Milwaukee @ 5 Chicago 1 Final

Also decided on Sunday was the last open berth in the playoffs. Peoria needed a win and for Grand Rapids to lose to take the fourth berth in the North Division. Grand Rapids got thumped by Toronto 5-1 in their final road game. However the Admirals shut the Rivermen down 4-0 in the final game of the regular season in Milwaukee. The Griffins go on to face the Manitoba Moose in the first round of the North Division playoffs.

Here are the results of the season for that series:

2006-11-07 Grand Rapids @ 1 Manitoba 2 Final
2006-11-08 Grand Rapids @ 1 Manitoba 2 Final
2007-03-23 Grand Rapids @ 2 Manitoba 3 Final SO
2007-03-24 Grand Rapids @ 3 Manitoba 4 Final SO
2006-11-03 Manitoba @ 0 Grand Rapids 4 Final
2006-11-04 Manitoba @ 4 Grand Rapids 5 Final SO
2007-03-16 Manitoba @ 3 Grand Rapids 2 Final SO
2007-03-17 Manitoba @ 3 Grand Rapids 2 Final

Peoria losses another by multiple: 6-1

One night after a shoot-out loss to the Peoria Rivermen in Peoria, the Chicago Wolves finished the regular season series against the Downstate team, winning 6-1 at the Allstate Arena Sunday afternoon. Peoria struggled all season against the Wolves, ending the season dropping eight games, one in a shoot-out.

Chicago got on the board early with a 1.22 score. Six different Chicago players scored goals, none by the top line. The game saw two short-handed goals and two power play goals scored. Peoria is struggling to enter the post-season, its hopes slowly fading, it faces Iowa in DesMoines next, currently posting a losing away record.

For the Wolves, every game is a must win as they have slipped to just one game in front of the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights, with the Knights having three more games in hand than the Wolves to play. If Chicago slips into second place, it would likely face the Milwaukee Admirals in the playoffs round one. The Wolves have a losing record this season against the Admirals and would probably face elimination. If the Wolves hung on to first place and the Rivermen managed to take fourth place, then the Wolves would face a team it has largely owned this season in the first round.

In the game, the first goal was scored early when Niko Dimitrakos intercepted a pass along the boards. He passed the puck up to Cory Larose near the hash marks who drop it to Jordan LaVallee for the first score on Chris Beckford-Tseu. The Rivermen evened the score up a little over ten minutes later after winning a face-off, the puck was raced up the boards by Jon DiSalvatore. At the circle he snapped a pass that ricocheted off of Wolves Nathan Oystrick and into the net for a short-handed goal.

In the second period a delayed penalty saw the puck centered by Andre Deveaux to Kevin Doell who maneuvered it passed Beckford-Tseu for the game-winner.

The third period was a penalty filled, ice-covered pugilistic battle that kept the penalty time keepers on their toes. In total 53 minutes were called in the game on the Wolves, 43 of which were in the third period, and 69 minutes on the Rivermen, 55 of which were in the third period. Ignoring the minor penalties, here’s how the period went, Colin Stuart followed a penalty with a short-handed shot that bounced off of Rivermen blue liner Jamie Rivers onto the stick of Kevin Doell for an easy open net shot. Less than two minutes later Doell led a breakout into the Rivermen defensive zone. Brian Sipotz had penetrated behind the Rivermen defenses and redirected the shot past Beckford-Tseu.

The first fight of the period, shortly after that, Guillame Desbiens dropped the gloves with Ryan Ramsay. Hans Benson, Rocky Thompson and Deveaux then received penalties at 9.03 for fighting and unsportsmanlike conduct. Mark Popovic then scored off of a power play pass from Brett Sterling. Then in the last minute, Brian Fahey gave the Wolves another power play goal, after which the two teams celebrated with a fight between Deveaux, again, and Patrick Wellar and Ramsay, again.

Beckford-Tseu had 25 saves in the fight, while Michael Garnett faced a pathetic 21 shots on goal, stopping 20. As a measure of the weakness of the Peoria team, there were only four shots on the Chicago goal in the third period, Just seven in the first period. Lack of discipline and a lagging offense is crippling the Rivermen this season. Plus, the team is letting their blue line be penetrated time after time, putting their goalie under pressure to stop to many offensive attacks.