Chicago Wolves end 2024 with a victory against Milwaukee
The Chicago Wolves wrapped up the 2024 portion of their American Hockey League schedule with a 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals on Saturday night at Allstate Arena.
Justin Robidas scored twice, Austin Wagner had a goal and an assist and Skyler Brind’Amour and Riley Stillman each tallied as the Wolves earned a split of the home-and-home set with the Admirals. The win was Chicago’s 10th in its last 13 games and the five-time league champions finished with an 8-2-1-0 record during the month of December.
After a scoreless opening period, the teams erupted in the second with a combined 4 goals, 3 by the Wolves.
Robidas notched his first of the game when the forward picked up a loose puck in the Wolves end, blazed his way through the neutral zone, raced toward the Admirals goal and buried a shot from the left circle past Milwaukee goaltender Magnus Chrona. Wagner and Charles-Alexis Legault earned assists on the score.
After the Admirals answered right back 27 seconds later on Anthony Angello’s goal, Robidas struck again 2:04 later. This time, Juha Jaaska made things happen when he stole the puck deep in the Admirals zone and from behind the end line saucered a pass to Robidas in front and he fired it by a lunging Chrona top shelf. Jaaska had the lone assist on Robidas’ eighth goal of the season.
Late in the second, the Wolves cashed in on a two-man advantage when Brind’Amour redirected a pass from Domenick Fensore into the net. Fensore and Scott Morrow recorded assists on the power-play goal that gave Brind’Amour six tallies on the season and put the Wolves out in front 3-1 heading into the third.
Stillman’s goal midway through the third put the Wolves ahead by three scores. The veteran defenseman took a terrific cross-ice pass from Nikita Pavlychev and deposited the puck into a gaping net for Stillman’s first goal of the season. Pavlychev and Nick Swaney had assists.
Milwaukee didn’t go quietly as Joakim Kemell and Jake Lucchini scored to cut the Wolves’ lead to 4-3.
Wagner’s empty-net goal again gave the Wolves a 2-goal advantage before Kemell scored for the Admirals in the waning seconds for the final margin.
Ruslan Khazheyev (29 saves) earned the win in goal for the Wolves while Chrona (32 saves) took the loss for the Admirals.
Chicago improved to 15-10-2-0 on the season while Milwaukee dropped to 14-9-1-3.