Chicago Wolves cruise past Grand Rapids

The Chicago Wolves jumped out to a 3-0 lead and cruised to a 3-1 victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins on Sunday at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont.

Mark Mancari recorded a goal and an assist, and Chris Tanev notched a pair of assists to help the Wolves win back-to-back home games for the first time this season.

“Our special team units got us off to a quick start tonight,” said Wolves coach Craig MacTavish. “We received a huge boost from them and rode that momentum to the victory.”

The Wolves (11-9-1-3) were short-handed when they opened the scoring, as Ryan Parent blasted a slap shot over the glove of goalie Joey MacDonald at 4:19 of the first period.

With the Wolves enjoying a 5-on-3 advantage at 10:44 of the first, Steve Reinprecht snapped a quick pass to Mancari, who tapped home the puck into an empty net for a 2-0 lead.

Early in the third period , Mancari skated in on a breakaway and fired a shot that hit MacDonald in the mask. Mike Duco scored on the rebound at 5:35 for a 3-0 lead.

Wolves starting goalie Matt Clime, who made a dozen saves, left the game with an injury at 33:23. Eddie Lack came on in relief and stopped 14 shots, losing the shutout when the Griffins (10-12-1-2) scored with a 5-on-3 advantage at 10:23 of the third period.