Wolves' fast start leads to fun result

The Chicago Wolves needed to have fun.

They needed a first period in which they were unstoppable, and they needed to have a night completely different from their previous one.

After letting their emotions -- especially their anger -- come to a head in Saturday's home loss to Houston, the Wolves regrouped and bounced back with a dominant first period on their way to a 6-4 win over the Grand Rapids Griffins at the Allstate Arena on Sunday.

"We wanted to come out strong," said Wolves center Kevin Doell.

With the win, the Wolves (101 points) became the sixth team in franchise history to reach the century mark. The Wolves are tied for first place in the Western Conference with the Toronto Marlies.

Doell led the charge.

Making his return from an abdominal strain that sidelined him the previous three games, Doell proved right away he was healthy again. Just 1:53 into the first period, Doell put the Wolves ahead 1-0 when he knocked in a rebound in front of the net.

"That was definitely a confidence booster if I had any doubt about myself," he said. "That was definitely a good start."

Less than two minutes later, the Wolves strung together three quick passes, the final one hitting a streaking Chad Painchaud. He directed the puck into the net for his first AHL goal.

It was a goal Painchaud had been waiting for all season. Although up with the Wolves most of the year, he had seen limited minutes. Sunday was his 20th game.

"You got to stay positive," Painchaud said. "There's ups and downs. This year there's been a lot of downs. I felt the pressure. It's definitely a load off. It's a relief to score that first goal."

Joe Motzko, Colin Stuart and Brett Sterling added goals as the Wolves went ahead 5-0 in the first period.

Jason Krog picked up his 100th point of the season, joining Rob Brown, Darren Haydar and Steve Maltais as the other Wolves to reach the milestone.

Wolves rookie goalie Ondrej Pavelec made 31 saves and won his 30th game of the season.