Chicago Wolves Drop Two to Iowa Wild

DES MOINES, Iowa – Heading into this weekend’s set of games, the Chicago Wolves were looking to keep a brand new win streak alive. To be able to do that, the Wolves would have to get past Iowa Wild, who had bright, shiny weapon at their disposal that was recently signed to a PTO: Eric Staal.

FRIDAY

It was a high speed affair for both teams in the first period of Friday night’s game. They constantly matched each other’s energy and stole pucks from one another. During the back half of the first, the neutral zone became a hopping place. The Wolves picked off a lot of passes in the defensive zone just below the blue line, but then the Wild would steal the puck the moment the Wolves entered the offensive zone. This back and forth pick pocket tango continued throughout most of the period.

The Wolves had a chance to get a leg up on the Wild when Keaton Thompson was called for a delay of game penalty, putting Chicago on the power play. After winning the faceoff, they cleared the puck into their defensive zone so they would have time to draw up a proper play on the man advantage. Chicago’s power play opted to go with an attack the goal first mentality. It didn’t work out so well due to the fact Iowa’s kill kept stuffing their short passes and poke checking anything that came their way. So, the Wolves moved to a more perimeter style of play, which forced the Wild to stay near the slot and clog shooting lanes. This allowed Wolves forwards Stefan Noesen and Jack Drury to slide in and hit Wild netminder Zane McIntyre with a double screen. With McIntyre’s view blocked, Max Lajoie was able to fire off a shot from below the point to give the Wolves the 1-0 lead 19:51 into the game.

Iowa was not happy with letting a goal in during the waning moments of the first period, a fact which was very clear when they scored three goals in the first five minutes of the second period. The first two coming within the first 47 seconds. Yet again, the Wolves were able to find some redemption on the power play. Wild forward Bryce Misely took an interference penalty 5:21 into the period and it took the Wolves 22 seconds to respond with a goal.

The power play started off on a dicey note when Noesen lost his stick on the faceoff draw. Luckily, he got it back in time for Chicago forward Andrew Poturalski to no-look a pass from the left faceoff dot to Noesen, who was sitting on the near goal line. Noesen quickly slapped the shot towards the slot where forward C.J. Smith one-timed it into the back of the net.

At this point in the game, the Wolves were trailing the Wild 3-2 and only had nine registered shots on goal (which means they did their best to make every shot count the moment the puck left their stick). Realizing McIntyre was being too slow down, the Wolves upped the ante and began to find ways to get into scoring range. By the end of the second, they had almost doubled their shot count for the entire game (17).

The start of the third was definitely not a dream scenario for either team, as the Wolves and Wild had players who took a double minor within 40 seconds of each other. Playing three minutes of 4-on-4 hockey wasn’t exactly on their list of ways to be successful heading into the third, but both teams held their own the entire time. In fact, it wasn’t until the Wild’s double minor ran out and the Wolves were on the kill that anyone was able to score.

With 11 seconds left on the Wolves kill, Noesen backhanded a pass from below the blue line in the Wolves’ defensive zone to Poturalski without looking. Poturalski was on the other side of the neutral zone when he caught the pass and immediately went on a breakaway for the net. He cut across the slot and somehow managed to squeak the puck under McIntyre’s pad to tie the game at three.

After tying up the game, the Wolves were a force to be reckoned with for a good chunk of the final period. They had a few two-on-one breakaways and rushed the net multiple times. However, McIntyre stepped up to the call and shut them down at every turn.

The Wild took a penalty with 6:49 to play giving the Wolves a chance to take the lead and skate away with a win. On the other side of the story, Staal and Nick Swaney had another ending in mind. A minute into the Wolves power play, Staal was able to steal the puck near center ice and pass it off to Swaney, who had a massive breakaway before finding the back of the net. The Wolves spent the rest of the period trying to tie things up and push the game into overtime. Unfortunately, Wild defenseman Joe Hicketts kept taking away passing lanes and sacrificing his body to stop shots. Hicketts top-notch defending allowed the Wild to finish the game on top, 4-3.

SATURDAY

On Saturday night, the Wolves continued to find ways to get pucks on net and had control of most of their plays during the first period. In fact, despite not scoring, they controlled much of the first 20 minutes of play. When the second period rolled around, the Wild started to get into a groove and was able to score 8:43 into the second off of a stolen puck.

Other than allowing the Wild to score, the Wolves looked good in the middle stanza of play. There were many times when they hemmed Iowa into their own zone. Plus, the Wolves kill shut down many Wild chances during the back half of the second. Not only did the skaters stand up to the call, but Alex Lyon put his best skate forward and denied the Wild any shot at scoring.

Around FPC

NHL: NHL Power Rankings: Florida Panthers Remain Number One

NHL: Alex Meruelo is Ruining the Arizona Coyotes

NHL:  These Four NCAA Players Will Lead Team USA in the Olympics

NFL: Nitpicks & Nitwits: Is The Patriots’ Party Over Before It Starts?

Wrestling: NXT Black and Gold Shine In Loss To NXT 2.0 in War Games Match

PODCAST: Full Press NHL Podcast Ep 17: Evander Kane; Canada COVID Restrictions; Kraken/Oilers Failures

Then, the final six minutes of the third period rolled around, and Noesen & David Gust scored 1:26 apart to give the Wolves the 2-1 lead. Everything was coming up roses for the Chicago, but during the last four minutes of the game and all of overtime, costly mistakes allowed the Wild to skate away with the win.

When Iowa forward Marco Rossi tied the game at three with 3:31 to play in the game, it was because every member of the Wolves lost sight of the puck when the shot went wide of the net.

Towards the end of the third, Wolves forward Josh Leivo had an opportunity to break the tie when Wild netminder Hunter Jones left the net wide open. From point blank range, Leivo banged the shot off of the post. That goal would have been the ultimate game changer. Finally, when Staal scored the game winner in overtime, it was after the Wolves didn’t pick up a rebounded shot.

The Wolves were given many chances this weekend, but just couldn’t convert those chances into a win.

FUN FACTS AND NOTES

• Chicago Wolves leading point scorer Andrew Poturalski had a multi-point night on Friday with one goal and one assist. It was his fourth straight game with a multi-point game. Oh! And it was Poturalski’s 28th birthday. Quite a lovely way to celebrate your birthday, eh?
• Iowa Wild captain Cody McLeod played in his 1000th professional game on Friday
• In his return to the AHL, Iowa forward Eric Staal tallied three points on the weekend (2g, 1a)
• Wolves forward Josh Leivo played in his 400th professional game on Saturday