Chicago Sun-Times

Wolves get their coach in John Anderson

Tue, 16 Jul 2013 15:12:00 -0500

The Wolves were so certain about who they wanted to hire as their coach that when they negotiated their affiliate contract with the St. Louis Blues, the potential hire of John Anderson was part of the discussion.

Wolves, St. Louis Blues agree to multi-year affiliate deal

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 20:28:33 -0500

At the first intermission of the St. Louis Blues game against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, the Blues and Wolves announced that the two teams had agreed to a multi-year affiliate deal. Most recently the Wolves had a two-year affiliate deal with the Vancouver Canucks, which ended after Sunday’s regular-season finale. Weeks prior, the Canucks had bought the Peoria Rivermen, which was a clear indication that the franchise was intent on running its own AHL affiliate. The Rivermen were the Blues affiliate. Wolves general manager Wendell Young and owner Don Levin were present in St. Louis for Tuesday’s announcement. The …

With season over, Wolves’ focus shifts to finding new parent club

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 22:16:38 -0500

The Wolves, who failed to advance to the AHL playoffs, finished their season with a 3-1 loss to the Grand Rapids Griffins on Sunday at Allstate Arena. Now that the team has concluded play, the front office might be entering its most exhaustive month of the year. A two-year affiliate contract with the Vancouver Canucks ended Sunday, and Wolves general manager Wendell Young said the agreement will not be renewed. So Young and the rest of the Wolves’ executives are tasked with finding an affiliate for next season. Young said the search is down to two teams. The deal needs …

Wolves eliminated from playoff contention with loss to Admirals

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 21:50:00 -0500

The Wolves were eliminated from playoff contention with a 2-0 loss Saturday to the Milwaukee Admirals at Allstate Arena. Mark Van Guilder scored 17 minutes into the first period to give the Admirals a 1-0 lead, and that’s the way the score remained until Kevin Henderson added an empty-net goal with nine seconds left in regulation. Magnus Hellberg stopped all 27 shots he faced from the Wolves (37-29-5-4), who went 0-for-4 on the power play and failed to muster much consistent pressure.The Wolves end their season with a game at 4 p.m. Sunday against the Grand Rapids Griffins at Allstate …

Wolves rally, pick up two huge points

Wed, 15 May 2013 07:18:35 -0500

Shaky Charlotte Checkers goalie John Muse seemed like the perfect opponent to help the Wolves keep pace in the hotly contested Western Conference playoff race. The Wolves, however, struggled to score, and it looked as if the opportunity had slipped away, but they rallied with a relentless third-period effort that was applauded by coach Scott Arniel and won 2-1 in a shootout. Darren Haydar, Brett Sterling and Jon Matsumoto scored in the shootout, which the Wolves won 3-2. Muse entered with a 3.43 goals-against average and an .882 save percentage, but the Wolves were unable to score until Jordan Schroeder …

Brett Sterling’s hat trick lifts Wolves to victory over Monsters

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:50:03 -0500

All too often this season, the Wolves have blown third-period leads, largely because they have played passively. But for a large portion of the season, they have been without left wing Brett Sterling, their most potent scorer. Against the Lake Erie Monsters on Friday at Allstate Arena, Sterling proved just how valuable he can be to the Wolves in the third period. After his team took a one-goal lead into the second intermission, Sterling scored all three of his goals in the third and helped the Wolves to a 5-2 victory. “If you sit back and just play defense all …

Rumors heating up about Wolves switching from Canucks to Blues

Wed, 01 May 2013 16:03:05 -0500

Amid rumors of an affiliation switch from the Vancouver Canucks to the St. Louis Blues, the Wolves played the Milwaukee Admirals for the 10th time Saturday night. The Admirals scored twice in the third period to escape Allstate Arena with a 4-3 victory. The Wolves (32-24-5-4) have never missed the playoffs but fell a point behind the last playoff spot in the Western Conference with 11 games left, three at home. “[Playoff standings] change every night,” Wolves coach Scott Arniel said. “You don’t worry about that until the end of the year.” The Admirals broke a 2-2 tie in the …

Special teams the difference in Wolves’ loss to Admirals

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 23:20:52 -0500

The Wolves and Milwaukee Admirals each were playing for the third consecutive day Sunday, so the fatigue factor was the same for both teams. What wasn’t was the same was the special-teams play. The Admirals got two power-play goals and held the Wolves scoreless on four man-advantage chances in a 4-1 victory at Allstate Arena. ‘‘We are getting everything we can out of these guys, and it comes down to being able to finish,’’ Wolves coach Scott Arniel said. The intensity of the game was apparent three minutes in, when two fights broke out. Immediately after the first altercation, the …

Wolves beat Marlies in shootout

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 06:23:11 -0500

For the last couple of weeks, the Wolves have been actively seeking a remedy for their inconsistent offense. Coach Scott Arniel might have found a couple when the Wolves played the Toronto Marlies on Friday at Allstate Arena. Left wing Brett Sterling returned to the lineup after missing over two months with a lower body injury, and defenseman Danny Groulx made his debut after an AHL loan swap between Wolves parent-club Vancouver and San Jose. Both players were major contributors offensively in a 4-3 shootout victory. The Wolves won the shootout 1-0, snapping a three-game losing streak. In his first …

Rumble on visitors’ bench raises Scott Arniel’s ire as Wolves lose to IceHogs 2-1

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 21:08:31 -0500

The Wolves admitted they didn’t play their best against the division-rival Rockford IceHogs on Sunday at Allstate Arena. But by the end of a 2-1 loss, the Wolves’ focus wasn’t on their play, but on a late-game altercation on the IceHogs’ bench. As a result, Wolves coach Scott Arniel called out the officials and an IceHogs team notorious for taking cheap shots. With 3.6 seconds remaining, the Wolves’ Guillaume Desbiens put a clean hit on the IceHogs’ Ben Smith, but both players fell into the visitors’ bench because the IceHogs failed to properly close their door. Immediately three players sitting …

Wolves’ Michael Davies keeps hex over Hogs in victory

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 22:09:47 -0500

The Wolves found few scoring opportunities Sunday when they faced the Rockford IceHogs at Allstate Arena. But luckily for the home team, Michael Davies always seems to capitalize when he plays the Wolves’ division rival. Davies scored two goals in a 3-2 victory, despite the Wolves mustering only 21 shots. Davies has scored seven of his 31 career goals in 18 regular-season games against the IceHogs. It has taken him 123 games to amass the other 24 goals. He has 12 goals this season. “Everyone has their team that they feast off of, and I just get lucky every time,” …

Wolves settle for ‘extra point’ in 3-2 shootout loss to Admirals

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 07:09:50 -0500

In the back end of a home-and-home series with the Milwaukee Admirals, the Wolves salvaged a point in a 3-2 shootout loss Saturday night at Allstate Arena. “It was a better effort from us tonight,” Wolves coach Scott Arniel said. “We had some good chances, but their goaltending was pretty good. You want to get that extra point.” The Wolves were stunned by three goals in the third period Friday during a disheartening 4-3 defeat in Milwaukee. Admirals goalie Magnus Hellberg stopped three of four attempts in the shootout Saturday, giving up a goal to Darren Haydar. Juuso Puustinen, Matt …

IceHogs take advantage of tired Wolves in 2-1 win

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 18:14:03 -0500

The Wolves denied they were fatigued after playing the second game of a back-to-back Sunday against the Rockford IceHogs at Allstate Arena. But it was apparent in the their 2-1 loss. The Wolves arrived in Chicago around 2:00 a.m. after winning 3-0 in Peoria on Saturday. Knowing the Wolves were playing on minimal rest, Rockford was aggressive from the start and seemed to outskate the Wolves to almost every puck. “We weren’t moving our feet,” left wing Darren Haydar said. “We were a little bit slow in everything we did. We would get the puck, we would chip it in, …

Slap-happy Wolves finish off Monsters

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 07:14:18 -0500

Wolves coach Scott Arniel encourages his defensemen to shoot the puck as often as possible. On Saturday night against the Lake Erie Monsters at Allstate Arena, it seemed like the time was always right. Wolves defensemen peppered Monsters goaltender Kent Patterson with a barrage of slap shots in a 3-1 victory. After getting outshot 8-1 to start the game, the Wolves finished with 30 shots. “Our starts are something we’ve got to work on,” Wolves defenseman Kevin Connauton said. “That’s something we’re definitely focusing on. Kind of learn as you go and forget about this one, at least that start, …

Andrew Ebbett’s return brings spark to Wolves’ top line in 4-3 shootout victory over Heat

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 10:48:28 -0500

When the Vancouver Canucks reassigned forward Andrew Ebbett to the Wolves on Tuesday, coach Scott Arniel was happy to be able to dress four full lines for Wednesday’s game against the Abbotsford Heat at Allstate Arena. Injuries had forced the Wolves to play down a forward in the previous two games. But Arniel and the Wolves couldn’t have predicted how productive Ebbett and linemates Bill Sweatt and Darren Haydar would be after being reunited. In the Wolves’ 4-3 shootout victory, Haydar scored twice and had an assist, Sweatt scored and assisted twice and Ebbett added an assist. The Wolves (25-16-4-3) …