Home ice kind to Wolves
Chicago Wolves coach John Anderson was stumped a season ago when it came to his team's play at the Allstate Arena.
The Wolves were nearly unstoppable on the road, finishing with an AHL-best 27-8-2-3 road record.
But when they slept in their own beds, attended their own morning skate, dressed in their own locker room and played before their own fans, they struggled. The Wolves won 19 games at the Allstate Arena and finished just 2 games over .500. Anderson never found a reason for it.
A season later, Anderson no longer has to worry about such strange occurrences.
The Wolves surpassed last season's home mark and won their 20th on home ice with a 6-1 victory over the Houston Aeros on Wednesday.
"Who knows?" said Anderson of the change in home play. "It's just one of those things. If I could have figured it out last year, I would have fixed it."
The Wolves have needed little fixing this season as they're on their way to the best record in franchise history. The Wolves' 73 points in 50 games is the most in team's 14 seasons.
Captain Darren Haydar, one of five Wolves goal-scorers Wednesday, believes a major reason behind the team's success is rarely mentioned.
"People don't give us our due, but we work hard," Haydar said. "Plus, we're not making many mistakes late in games."
Goalie Ondrej Pavelec has also had a glove and a stick in the matter. Pavelec has won his last 4 starts, during which he has made 95 saves and allowed just 4 goals.
Kevin Doell scored twice in Wednesday's win and Jesse Schultz, Brett Sterling and Joel Kwiatkowski each added a goal.