Passing game doing trick for Wolves

• Reprints

Updated: December 28, 2011 10:16AM

The Wolves’ passing was so sharp in a 5-3 win over the Peoria Rivermen on Saturday at Allstate Arena that with every possession in the offensive zone, they appeared as if they were on a power play.

Defenseman Mark Matheson knew better but acknowledged his team’s offensive fluidity has been the catalyst for six victories in a seven-game stretch.

Matheson scored on a power-play goal at 18:09 in the first period when he redirected a shot by Steve Reinprecht into the net.

‘‘[Passing well] always feels good,’’ Matheson said. ‘‘It gives the whole team confidence. Other guys who aren’t on the ice at the time build off of it.’’

Jordan Schroeder scored two third-period goals, the Wolves’ second power-play goal at 12:58 and an empty-netter at 19:17, after he missed a penalty shot in the first period with the game tied at 1. He hadn’t collected a point since scoring a goal Nov. 4 against Peoria.

‘‘I’ve been a little snake-bitten lately, so it definitely feels good to put a few in and help the team win,’’ Schroeder said. ‘‘It’s fun to be playing on this kind of team when we’re really rolling right now.’’

For the seventh straight game, the Wolves scored on the power play. That’s comforting for coach Craig MacTavish, who saw his team — which came in ranked 19th in the American Hockey League with a 16.2 efficiency rating on power plays — go five straight games without a power-play goal before this streak.

‘‘The thing about this level is you never know how long you’re going to have the person out,’’ MacTavish said. ‘‘So you’ve got to really try and put a stretch together when you’re healthy and the parent team is healthy.’’

Nathan Longpre and Tim Miller also scored for the Wolves, who face the Rivermen again today.