Early goal gives Wolves a 1-0 win
Chicago Wolves goaltender Matt Climie and Abbotsford Heat goalie Barry Brust dueled for 60 minutes, but the Wolves posted the lone goal to earn a 1-0 win in their School-Day game Wednesday afternoon at the Allstate Arena.
Right winger Darren Haydar’s first-period goal was all Climie (6-7-0) would need as he kicked out all 27 shots he faced in helping Chicago (13-9-2-1) to its fourth straight victory, which matched a season-high.
With the win, the Wolves have improved to 7-1-0-0 all-time in day games.
“I told the guys that whoever wakes up first will win the game,” said Wolves head coach Scott Arniel. “We had a great first period and got them on the ropes early and were able to win another one-goal game.”
Haydar’s goal came at 10:02 of the first period as he finished off a three-on-two rush with forwards Jordan Schroeder and Nathan Longpre. Longpre skated into the Heat zone and sent a pass to the far boards for Schroeder, who found Haydar in the slot, and the Chicago captain snapped a wrist shot over Brust’s stick.
Brust (8-2-1) stopped 34 of 35 shots for Abbotsford (15-6-3-3).
The Wolves head to Michigan to battle the Grand Rapids Griffins at 6 p.m. Saturday. They return home on Dec. 29 for a 7 p.m. game with Abbotsford.