Wolves Respond with 5-1 Triumph at Iowa
December 21, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Chicago Wolves News Release
DES MOINES, Iowa - Less than 24 hours after losing by 4 goals at home to the Iowa Wild, the Chicago Wolves gained a measure of revenge with a 5-1 win over Iowa on Sunday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.
Forward John McCarthy recorded his first two-goal game for the Wolves (15-11-3-0) and added an assist. Forwards Rob Bordson, Shane Harper and Colin Fraser also scored goals while Jordan Binnington stopped 27 of 28 shots to earn the win.
The Wolves opened the scoring just 50 seconds into the game as McCarthy claimed a loose puck at the red line and started a 2-on-1 with Bordson. McCarthy passed to Bordson across the slot and, when Bordson made the unselfish dish back to McCarthy, the puck banked off an Iowa defenseman's skate into the open net. Bordson received credit for his sixth goal of the year.
Iowa (9-18-1-1) evened the score at 3:14 of the first when forward Zack Mitchell came from behind the net to redirect Jonathon Blum's centering pass from the right point.
The Wolves regained the lead with Harper's power-play goal at 11:11 of the second as Chicago moved the puck quickly with the man-advantage. Pat Cannone's cross-ice pass set up Ty Rattie's rising blast from the right point that Harper redirected for his ninth goal of the season.
Chicago boosted its margin to 3-1 in the opening minute of the third period when Benn Ferriero powered behind the net and tried to tuck a wraparound inside the right post. Instead, the puck came off Ferriero's stick, tapped McCarthy's right skate blade as he entered the crease and slid between Iowa goaltender Johan Gustafsson's legs.
McCarthy earned his second goal when he picked up an Iowa turnover at the blue line, raced in and blistered a wrist shot from the left faceoff dot past Gustafsson's glove. Fraser delivered the final blow when he whistled a shot from the Wolves defensive zone into an empty net for a shorthanded goal.
Binnington's record improved to 8-4-1 while Gustafsson (21 saves) dropped to 5-11-1.
The Wolves return to Allstate Arena at 7 p.m. Monday to face the Grand Rapids Griffins. To take advantage of the holiday season's best special - the Howliday Gift Pack that includes 10 tickets, a puck, a scarf, a beanie and a Gameworks play card - call 1-800-THE-WOLVES or visit ChicagoWolves.com.
• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...
American Hockey League Stories from December 21, 2014
- Sound Tigers Upended by Norfolk - Bridgeport Islanders
- Barons Down IceHogs 3-1 to Sweep Series - Oklahoma City Barons
- Wolves Respond with 5-1 Triumph at Iowa - Chicago Wolves
- Barons Hand IceHogs 3-1 Defeat - Rockford IceHogs
- Stars Fall Short to Bulldogs in 5-2 Loss - Texas Stars
- Wolves Skate Past Wild 5-1 - Iowa Wild
- Marlies Lose in Overtime 3-2 against Admirals - Toronto Marlies
- Bulldogs Drop Stars 5-2 - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Admirals Get OT Win over Toronto - Milwaukee Admirals
- Rampage Fall to Charlotte 3-1 - San Antonio Rampage
- American Hockey League Game Postponed - AHL
- Worcester Sharks Game Postponed - Worcester Sharks
- Checkers Hit Holidays on High Note with Win over Rampage - Charlotte Checkers
- Penguins Release Cianfrini from PTO - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Hurricanes Assign Justin Shugg to Charlotte - Charlotte Checkers
- Darling Strong, Hogs Fall Short in OT - Rockford IceHogs
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
