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Wolves Showing Their Teeth

December 16, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


SPRINGFIELD, MA ... After a slow start to their Calder Cup championship defense, the Chicago Wolves have howled to life over the last three weeks, and take an eight-game winning streak into the final week before the Christmas break.

Some new faces in burgundy and gold have made immediate contributions to this pack of Wolves, including goaltender Milan Hnilicka, who is 5-0-0 with a 2.60 goals against average since being assigned by the parent Atlanta Thrashers on Dec. 4. Hnilicka, a former Olympic gold medalist (1998) and Calder Cup champion (2000), is now 27-11-0 in 41 career AHL contests.

Chicago also received Ryan Tobler on loan from the Tampa Bay Lightning organization and Chris Nielsen in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Tobler, who had two assists in 11 games with Springfield this season, has two goals and four assists in his first six games with the Wolves, while Nielsen needed five games in Chicago to match the 1+3=4 pts. he tallied in 19 contests with Syracuse to start the 2002-03 season.

J.P. Vigier, who represented the Wolves at the 2002 AHL All-Star Game, was recalled by Atlanta on Saturday, as was former first-round draft choice Kirill Safronov. Yuri Butsayev, whose name has gone down in AHL history after scoring the Calder Cup-winning overtime goal for the Wolves last season, has also split his season between Chicago and Atlanta, as has rookie forward Mark Hartigan.

Veteran captain Steve Maltais continues to lead Chicago in the locker room and on the ice, where he has posted team-leading totals of 15 assists and 25 points this season, and his six power play goals, tied for most on the team, have spearheaded the Wolves to the second-best power play efficiency in the AHL (21.2 percent). Dan Snyder and Ben Simon have combined for eight goals on the year – six of them shorthanded. And second-year pros Simon Gamache, Derek MacKenzie and Kurtis Foster are continuing to develop into future NHL regulars.

With eight consecutive wins and points in 10 straight (9-0-0-1), the Wolves have moved into ninth place in the Western Conference with a record of 12-9-1-2. Their 24 games played are two fewer than any other team in the entire league.

CREASE COMPETITION ... Six roster spots are available for goaltenders at the 2003 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic, and there are several worthy candidates making their cases heard around the league.

Hamilton's Ty Conklin, with a record of 11-5-0 and a league-leading 2.05 goals against average, is one of the front-runners for a berth on the PlanetUSA All-Star team. The native of Anchorage, Alaska, is in his second pro season after a four-year career at the University of New Hampshire. Other candidates looking to work in the PlanetUSA crease include Bridgeport's Rick DiPietro (Winthrop, Mass.), Norfolk's Craig Andersson (Park Ridge, Ill.), Syracuse's Karl Goehring (Apple Valley, Minn.), Rochester's Ryan Miller (East Lansing, Mich.) and Manchester's Cristobal Huet (St. Martin d'Heres, France).

Hershey's Philippe Sauve, Grand Rapids' Marc Lamothe and Hamilton's Mathieu Garon are all making strong bids to earn their first AHL All-Star selections for the Canadian side. Binghamton rookie Ray Emery, San Antonio's Chris Mason, Portland's Maxime Ouellet and Providence's Andrew Raycroft are also worthy of consideration.

The 2003 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic will be held Feb. 2-3 in Portland, Maine. Fan balloting for the starting lineups continues on theahl.com through Dec. 29.

OFF THE ICE ... For every goal he scores this season, Grand Rapids forward/assistant coach Derek King and Dean Foods will each donate $50 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation... Thanks to local public broadcasting station WXXI-TV, the Rochester Americans' Moose and Clifford the Big Red Dog will be teaming up for WXXI Family Day at the Blue Cross Arena on Dec. 22... The Manitoba Moose are holding a three-day Skills Camp for kids 12 and under at Winnipeg Arena; the cost for the camp includes tickets to the Moose's game against St. John's on Dec. 21... Through their official team web site (www.phantomshockey.com), the Philadelphia Phantoms are auctioning off a Zamboni ride between periods of an upcoming game.

ETC. ... The Hamilton Bulldogs, winners of seven in a row and nine straight on the road and 11-0-0-1 in their last 12, lead the AHL in goals for and goals against, outscoring their opponents by nearly a 2:1 margin this season (120-64)... Hamilton's Benoit Gratton has eight game-winning goals this season, matching the AHL's season high for all of last season... Hartford captain Ken Gernander played defense for the first time in his 12-year pro career in the Wolf Pack's 3-1 win over Binghamton on Friday night... Brian Holzinger, a Calder Cup champion with Rochester in 1996, began a conditioning stint in Springfield with two goals and four assists in three games over the weekend... Joe Corvo, the top-scoring defenseman in the AHL this season, made his NHL debut with Los Angeles on Saturday night... Cincinnati's Mike Commodore scored Friday against Chicago for his first goal since Dec. 1, 2000... Wilkes-Barre/Scranton netted four power play goals in the second period of Friday's 6-1 win over Philadelphia... The Penguins' 6-3 win in Syracuse on Saturday snapped an 11-game winless streak at the War Memorial at Oncenter... San Antonio is unbeaten in 11 straight at home (9-0-2-0)... Manchester has eight wins and three overtime losses to show for their 11 one-goal games this season... Hershey has killed off 84 of 90 shorthanded situations (93.3%) on home ice this year.

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