Wolves blanked by Grand Rapids 3-0

The Chicago Wolves were unable to produce any offense Friday night as the Grand Rapids Griffins and goaltender Tom McCollum captured a 3-0 decision at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont.

Wolves goaltender Matt Climie (2-7-0) stopped 34 shots, while McCollum (5-3-1) kicked out all 20 he faced.

The slumping Wolves (9-9-2-1), who have dropped eight of their last 10 contests, have provided Climie just 15 goals in his nine appearances this season.

“They were the better team than we were tonight,” said Wolves coach Scott Arniel. “We were chasing all night long and you aren’t going to win many hockey games when you have 9 shots after two periods.”

The Griffins (12-7-1-1) opened scoring one minute into the second period with a power-play goal by Adam Almquist. His shot from the far circle was stopped by Climie, but the rebound bounced toward the slot where it hit off the skate of a Wolves defender and trickled over the goal line.

The Griffins doubled their lead when center Joakim Andersson sent a pass from the side of the net to the slot. Landon Ferraro’s shot was stopped by Climie, but Andersson jumped on the rebound and fired the puck over Climie’s glove at 4:20 of the third period.

Tomas Tatar closed out scoring for Grand Rapids 1:50 later. The Griffins entered the Wolves’ zone on a 3-on-1 rush. Gustav Nyquist found the streaking Tatar alone at the top of the crease and he tapped home an empty netter.

The Wolves travel to Rockford today for an Illinois Lottery Cup contest against the IceHogs at 7 p.m. They return home at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 13, against Hamilton. For tickets, call 1-800-THE-WOLVES or visit ChicagoWolves.com.