Wolves win home opener

The Chicago Wolves officially closed one book and opened another Saturday.

After raising the banner to celebrate last year's Calder Cup championship and the final achievement of longtime coach John Anderson, the Wolves began their 2008-09 home campaign and the story of new coach Don Granato with a 3-2 victory over the Peoria Rivermen before 11,988 at the Allstate Arena.

"It was pretty exciting," Wolves goalie Ondrej Pavelec said. "It was nice to be back in front of all our fans. It was a pretty exciting time for everybody who won the Cup. We hope, everybody hopes, we bring another Cup to Chicago."

Heading into the game, Granato wasn't concerned about his new team making a good first impression in front of the home fans.

"There wasn't (any nerves for me tonight) because going into tonight's game, to be perfectly honest with you, I had thought our guys had gotten better each game to the point where I was very nervous going into last night's game at Quad Cities," Granato said.

"Just because you're still learning your own team. Last night I thought our guys played so well that it gave me a lot of comfort going into tonight."

Following a 26-minute pregame celebration, Pavelec's play in front of the net (29 saves) and a game-winning goal by Matt Anderson sparked the biggest cheers.

Anderson broke a 2-2 tie with 6:57 left in the third when he fired a slap shot into the right corner of the net off a rebound.

As for Pavelec, he continued to show why he's considered one of the top goalie prospects. He made 29 saves, both goals coming on Rivermen power plays.

"I think Pav is a tremendous competitor and certainly great to have back there," Granato said.

The Wolves' offense has been the most noticeable difference from last season. After averaging nearly 4 goals and leading the AHL last season, the Wolves have been sluggish this season. They scored just 1 goal in each of their first three games and had to fight for all 3 Saturday.

"It's not like we're going to fill what we lost a year ago," Granato said. "This team has to find its own identity. I think that's a challenge itself."

Jamie Rivers and Jordan LaVallee scored the Wolves' other goals.