Wolves clinch playoff spot with shutout

DES MOINES, Iowa - Rookie netminder Ville Husso made 26 saves for his first American Hockey League shutout as the Chicago Wolves secured the 18th postseason bid in their 23-year history with a 4-0 victory over the Iowa Wild on Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena.

Center Wade Megan opened scoring early in the third period with his league-leading 30th goal, and Kenny Agostino, the league's leading scorer, added a goal and an assist to push his season point total to 79. Petteri Lindbohm and Ty Rattie also tallied in the third period for the Wolves (39-18-7-5).

Though Chicago officially has punched its postseason ticket, the Calder Cup playoff pairings and schedules won't become official until closer to the end of the AHL's regular season on April 15. The Wolves are planning to host a first-round home game at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 23, at Allstate Arena.

The Wolves own second place in the Central Division, just one point behind the Grand Rapids Griffins with seven regular-season games to play. The Calder Cup playoff format sends the top four teams - ranked on win percentage - in each of the four divisions to the postseason.

The first two rounds consist of intra-divisional play. The first-round series, which pit the No. 1 seed vs. the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed vs. the No. 3 seed, are best-of-five. All subsequent series are best-of-seven.