Griffins roar past Wolves 5-1

The Chicago Wolves could not make an early lead hold up, dropping a 5-1 decision to the Grand Rapids Griffins on Sunday at Allstate Arena in Rosemont.

Left wing Yannick Veilleux scored for the Wolves (26-19-5-1), who saw their four-game winning streak end.

"We had some opportunities, but we weren't good on our opportunities," said Wolves coach John Anderson. "We were missing nets, hitting sticks. Give them credit. I thought they were in control of the game tonight."

Wolves goaie Jordan Binnington (17-10-3) stopped 24 shots while tying the franchise record by making his 13th consecutive start.

The Wolves opened the scoring on Veilleux's wrister at 9:44 of the first period just after their first power play expired. Adam Burish and Philip McRae battled to claim the puck along the goal line before Burish found Veilleux open in the slot. He fired a shot between the pads of goalie Jared Coreau (12-6-1, 25 saves) for his first goal since Nov. 15.

The Griffins (27-17-5-1) pulled even at 16:51 when Teemu Pulkkinen, the American Hockey League's leading scorer, swiped the puck and dashed the length of the ice on a breakaway to net his 30th goal of the season.

The Griffins took a 2-1 lead at 9:41 of the second when center Andreas Athanasiou snapped a shot from the left dot that g Binnington deflected but could not stop.

The Griffins built a 3-1 lead at 10:37 of the third period on center Mark Zengerle's goal from just outside the right side of the crease. His first attempt banged off the post, but he flipped his next attempt over the prone Binnington.

Marek Tvrdon scored an insurance goal with 2:44 to play when he raced through the neutral zone and blasted home a slap shot from the left faceoff dot. Anthony Mantha added an empty-net tally with 21 seconds to go.

The Wolves continue their seven-game homestand with a pair of games Saturday and Sunday against the San Antonio Rampage.