Jan. 12, 2022

ROSEMONT, Ill. -Stefan Noesen’s two-goal night helped the Central Division-leading Chicago Wolves to a 4-0 shutout victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins on Wednesday at Allstate Arena. Andrew Poturalski notched two points (1-1—2), adding to his total of 16 in six games against Grand Rapids this season.

The Griffins’ six-game point streak (4-0-2-0) came to an end. Ben Simon appeared in his 200th game as head coach for Grand Rapids and Brian Lashoff is now tied for fifth for the most games played with the same team in AHL history with 534. The Griffins are now winless against Chicago in the past six meetings (0-5-1-0), being shutout twice.

Chicago got off to a fast start in the opening period when it scored at 4:03. Poturalski skated down the left boards and passed the puck behind him to Eric Williams. Williams then took an initial shot but was saved by Calvin Pickard. Noesen, at the high slot, gathered the rebound and sent a one-timer into the net to give the Wolves a 1-0 lead.

During a Chicago power play, Joey Keane ripped a longshot just above the blue line through traffic. With 10:41 remaining, Jack Drury managed to get a tip on the disc that slipped through the legs of Pickard. This goal halted a four-game stretch for the Griffins without giving up a power play tally.

The middle frame was a defensive battle for both teams but the Wolves and netminder Daniel Mannella completely stopped the Grand Rapids offense. The Griffins were held to only four shots, with the first of the period coming from Kyle Criscuolo at the 11:18 mark.

Going into the final stanza, Chicago grew its lead with 18:17 left. During a Grand Rapids line change, Sam Miletic got to the rubber after a bad pass from the Griffins and connected with Poturalski at the left wing. Poturalski sent a laser past the blocker of Pickard, extending the Wolves lead to three.

With little time remaining, the Griffins pulled Pickard out of net for a 6-on-4 power play with 4:02 left. During the two-man advantage, Noesen intercepted a loose puck in the Chicago zone and sent it into the empty net for a shorthanded tally at 17:56.

Notes

• The Griffins are now 1-9-1-1 (0.125) against Chicago and second-place Manitoba this year while the team is 12-2-3-0 (0.794) against the rest of the AHL.

• Jonatan Berggren (0-5—5, 4GP) and Taro Hirose (3-3—6, 4GP) saw their point streaks end.

Box Score
Grand Rapids 0 0 0 - 0
Chicago 2 0 2 - 4

1st Period-1, Chicago, Noesen 14 (Williams, Poturalski), 4:03. 2, Chicago, Drury 9 (Keane, Smith), 9:19 (PP). Penalties-Williams Chi (holding), 0:17; Spezia Gr (high-sticking), 8:16; Berggren Gr (tripping), 15:08; Keane Chi (tripping), 19:06.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-McKenzie Gr (tripping), 3:38.

3rd Period-3, Chicago, Poturalski 16 (Miletic), 1:43. 4, Chicago, Noesen 15 (Keane), 17:56 (SH EN). Penalties-Drury Chi (holding the stick), 6:12; Keane Chi (slashing), 8:32; Serikov Chi (hooking), 15:58.

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 13-4-6-23. Chicago 17-8-9-34.
Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 0 / 5; Chicago 1 / 3.
Goalies-Grand Rapids, Pickard 12-8-3 (33 shots-30 saves). Chicago, Mannella 2-0-0 (23 shots-23 saves).
A-0

Three Stars

1. CHI Poturalski (goal, assist); 2. CHI Mannella (W, SO, 23 saves); 3. CHI Drury (power play goal)

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 13-11-4-1 (31 pts.) / Fri., Jan. 14 vs. Manitoba 7 p.m.
Chicago: 23-5-1-1 (48 pts.) / Fri., Jan. 14 at Iowa 6 p.m.

Photo by Ross Detmann/Chicago Wolves