Harper, Wolves turn on the power for 4-1 win

Posted February 07, 2015 5:01 pm

Special to the Daily Herald

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Right wing Shane Harper scored a pair of power-play goals as the Chicago Wolves earned a 4-1 victory Saturday over Charlotte - their second win in as many nights at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Harper's first multi-goal game of the season gave him 21 for the year, which ranks third in the American Hockey League. Defenseman Joel Edmundson and forward Nathan Longpre also scored for the Wolves (24-18-5-1) while goaltender Jordan Binnington (15-9-3) posted 20 saves in the win.

For the second straight night, Harper delivered the all-important first goal for the Wolves - who win 86 percent of the time when they score first. The Wolves took their time on the power play, as center Pat Cannone fed the puck from the top of the left circle to Harper in front of the crease. Harper moved the pass to his forehand and slid it past goaltender Drew MacIntyre (13-16-4, 23 saves) at 9:00 of the first.

The Checkers (16-25-5-1) evened it up on Chad LaRose's power-play goal 15 seconds into the second period. Center Jason Bast took a pass at center ice and flew down the left side before centering the puck into the slot for LaRose, who redirected it off a defenseman into the net.

Edmundson gave the Wolves a 2-1 lead at 2:44 of the second with his first goal of the year. Edmundson started the play by pushing the puck ahead to Yannick Veilleux in the neutral zone. Veilleux carried across the blue line, waited for traffic to clear and returned it to Edmundson in the high slot for a wrister that whizzed over MacIntyre's blocker.

Harper registered his second goal when the Wolves enjoyed a 5-on-3 advantage at 17:17 of the second. The Wolves patiently worked it around the perimeter until Magnus Paajarvi, while holding the puck below the right circle, spied Harper alone in the slot for a 3-1 lead.

Longpre added an empty-net tally, his first goal of the season, to ice the victory with 1:26 to go.

The Wolves start a seven-game homestand at 7 p.m. Wednesday when they host the Milwaukee Admirals in an Amtrak Rivalry game at Allstate Arena.

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