Wolves lose to Hamilton in shootout
Defensemen Chad Denny and Brett Skinner tallied power-play goals for the Chicago Wolves in regulation, but the club suffered a 3-2 shootout loss to the Hamilton Bulldogs in a matchup between the last two Calder Cup champions at the Allstate Arena Saturday night.
Chicago (35-32-2-2) used the point gained from the shootout to cling to a tie for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West Division, deadlocked with the Rockford IceHogs, who earned a 3-2 shootout win against the Manitoba Moose Saturday night.
"It really came down to a goaltending battle and Pavelec was great for us," said Wolves Head Coach Don Granato. "We had no problem generating chances and excitement, but unfortunately we were on the losing end of it tonight. Our effort was good but the conversion rate was not as good as we expected it to be."
Hamilton (43-25-3-0) lit the lamp, 4:30 into the first period to take a 1-0 lead. Right wing Mike Glumac took a pass from David Desharnais and flung a shot by Wolves goaltender Ondrej Pavelec, glove side.
Chicago found the back of the net with 1:35 remaining in the second period. Defenseman Chad Denny collected a pass from Jamie Rivers at the blue line and hammered a slapshot by Hamilton goalie Marc Denis to send the game into the second intermission tied, 1-1.
A power play early in the third period opened the ice for Chicago to pull ahead, 2-1. Defenseman Clay Wilson slipped a pass across to fellow blueliner Brett Skinner, who cranked a long shot from just inside the blue line, which dipped just under the crossbar and clanked into the net past Denis.
Denis (24-16-0) turned aside 36 shots in regulation and overtime for Hamilton, and thwarted four of five Wolves shootout tries.
The lead was short-lived, as Yannick Weber responded for the Bulldogs, 69 seconds later. When a group of players piled up behind the Wolves net, the puck squirted out to Weber stationed alone along the boards. He collected it and ripped a shot by Pavelec to tie the game, 2-2.
Pavelec (17-16-2) posted 27 saves on 29 shots in regulation and overtime for Chicago, and made two saves on four shots in the shootout.
The Wolves will play their first road game since March 7 when they visit the Quad City Flames at I Wireless Arena on Wednesday at 7 p.m.