Wolves Roar Back to Defeat Griffins 4-3
March 1, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Chicago Wolves News Release
The Chicago Wolves kicked off a three-game road trip in style when they rallied to top the Grand Rapids Griffins 4-3 on Wednesday night in Michigan.
Vasily Ponomarev scored twice, Josh Melnick had a goal and an assist and Jack Drury also found the back of the net to lead the Wolves to their eighth win in their last 11 games.
Anttoni Honka and Jamieson Rees each added two assists as Chicago came back to win the key Central Division showdown and move within four points of the Iowa Wild for fifth place and the final postseason spot in the Central. The triumph also marked the Wolves' fifth in a row on the road.
Grand Rapids started strong in the opening period and took a 2-0 lead on goals by Chase Pearson and Matt Luff before the Wolves turned the game around in the second with an offensive explosion.
With the defending Calder Cup champions on the power play, Ponomarev wired a wrist shot from the top of the left circle that sailed past Grand Rapids goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to the glove side. Anttoni Honka and Melnick were awarded assists on the play.
A short time later, the Wolves tied it when Melnick took a cross-ice pass from Jamieson Rees, maneuvered toward the Griffins net, deked Nedeljkovic to the ice and tucked the puck into the gaping net. Rees and Cavan Fitzgerald recorded assists on Melnick's 12th goal of the season.
The Wolves took their first lead of the game on a pretty tic-tac-toe passing play that resulted in Drury's ninth goal of the season. Drury won a faceoff in the Griffins zone to Honka, who then fed Max Lajoie and the Wolves captain hit Drury with a pass as the center cruised through the slot and redirected the puck by Nedeljkovic. Lajoie, who was named the AHL's Player of the Month for February earlier Wednesday, and Honka picked up assists.
Midway through the third, the Wolves reeled off their fourth consecutive tally when Ponomarev finished another nifty passing play for his team-leading 16th goal of the season. Malte Stromwall dropped a pass to Rees who then found Ponomarev and the Russian rocketed a one-timer past Nedeljkovic for a 4-2 Chicago lead.
Grand Rapids pulled Nedeljkovic and the Griffins cashed in with the man advantage when Joel L'Esperance scored late in the third for the final margin.
Pyotr Kochetkov made 20 saves to earn the win in goal for the Wolves while Nedeljkovic (25 saves) suffered the loss for the Griffins.
The Wolves improved 23-24-3-2 on the season while Grand Rapids dropped to 22-25-3-2.
Up next: The Wolves travel to Manitoba to face the Moose on Friday (7 p.m.; AHLTV).
• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...
American Hockey League Stories from March 1, 2023
- Biro's First Hat Trick Not Enough in 7-5 Loss to Rocket - Rochester Americans
- Belleville Sens Stifled by Comets - Belleville Senators
- Griffins' Comeback Falls Short in 4-3 Loss to Chicago - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Addamo Nabs First Two AHL Goals in Pens' Loss to Bears - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Snively Stumps Penguins in 5-3 Bears' Win - Hershey Bears
- Monsters Third Period Frenzy Falls Short in 6-5 Loss to Crunch - Cleveland Monsters
- Wolves Roar Back to Defeat Griffins 4-3 - Chicago Wolves
- Crunch Defeat Monsters, 6-5 - Syracuse Crunch
- Comets Win Third Straight, Beat Senators 4-1 - Utica Comets
- Defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok Recalled by Arizona Coyotes - Tucson Roadrunners
- Admirals Shutout Iowa - Milwaukee Admirals
- Monsters Acquire Forward Alex Whelan Via Trade from Hartford Wolf Pack in Exchange for Future Considerations - Cleveland Monsters
- Wolf Pack Trade Forward Alex Whelan to Cleveland Monsters - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Bears Recall Defenseman Benton Maass from South Carolina - Hershey Bears
- Popular Amerks Theme Nights Return Throughout the Month of March - Rochester Americans
- Milwaukee Blanks Iowa 1-0 - Iowa Wild
- Hogs' Comeback Denied by Marlies - Rockford IceHogs
- The Bridgeport Report: Week 19 - Bridgeport Islanders
- Wolves' Max Lajoie Named AHL Player of the Month - Chicago Wolves
- Desnoyers Named AHL Rookie of the Month - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Lajoie, Desnoyers, Silovs Named AHL Award Winners for February - AHL
- Notebook: Stepping Up - Charlotte Checkers
- New York Islanders Sign Lennox - Bridgeport Islanders
- Blue Jackets Assign Goaltender Jet Greaves to Monsters - Cleveland Monsters
- Kile Returns, Nagle to Reading - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Poirier Returns to Texas, While Karlstrom, Olofsson and Murray Head to Dallas - Texas Stars
- Game Preview: Bears vs. Penguins - Hershey Bears
- Tampa Bay Lightning Reassign Forward Max Cajkovic to Syracuse Crunch - Syracuse Crunch
- Hogs and Marlies Meet for Morning Matchup - Rockford IceHogs
- Game Preview: Iowa Wild at Milwaukee Admirals - Iowa Wild
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.
