Wolves win first of the season in Rockford 3:2

Last night the Wolves packed up their gear and headed down route 90 to meet their rivals the Rockford Icehogs. Coach Don Granato must have been on a roll all the way because the Wolves came out fighting, The two new acquisitions Brett Skinner and Clay Wilson played aggressive game, not missing a beat with their new teams. Robert Gherson in net for the night well, with a bolstered defense in front of him, he played with confidence. Dare I say it...hours before tonights game against the Quad Cities, the light at the end of the tunnel may not be a train, but the winter turn around for the Wolves. Last night there was a team playing on the ice not just a bunch of guys in Wolves uniforms. We can hope the same group come out fighting tonight against the Calgary prospects.

On the other side of the rink the Icehogs looked fierce despite having suffered several key injuries. During last nights post game show, Voice of the Hogs ,Mike Peck confirmed that Jack Skille has joined the walking wounded. Sustaining a concussion and has been placed on a “day to day “ list. The strength of the Hogs historically has been is that they have always played as a team. The intense effort to drive the game into overtime after being revived by Jimmy Sparrow's goal at 17:23 was evidence of this. The effort was incredible on the Hogs part, several times it looked as if we were going to head into OT. However, to sustain a lead under such pressure has to be a confidence builder for the Wolves going into tonights game.

The Wolves are 2 and 1 against Quad Cities we shall se how this new found chutzpah will hold up.





Powderhornhockey

Tale of Three Goalies Episode II

January 10th, Ondrej Pavelec is rumored to have a knee injury and is being evaluated for possible surgery. Brent Krahn is said to be down with the flu, presently making the rounds in the Wolves locker room felling players right and left. Our Rockford reporters are telling us the Wolves scratched 8 players last night, ouch! Time to line up the boys give them all flu shots then lay in a supply of Tamaflu for those that slip through the net.

Robert Gherson has been recalled from his Utah sojourn. If he wanted or needed ice time he is certainly getting it now. During last nights 3:1 loss to the Icehogs he faced 33 SOG turning way 30. I've always maintained you could measure the emotional state of a team by the expression of it's goalies eyes. In this photo Gherson does look a bit overwhelmed, or could it be the flu?

Wolves Split Weekend series in Iowa, Tale of Three Goalies.

Halloween night the Wolves found themselves deep in the Iowa cornfields facing the rechristened Iowa Chops, the jokes about there name quickly stopped as the farm boys beat the Wolves 2: 1 in their first meeting of the season. Basic stats for the game are SOG for each team 28, PIMs Iowa 6 min/4 inf, Chicago 12 min/6 inf.


Saturday morning the Wolves woke with wishes for a change in fortune, they got what they wanted, goalie Ondrej Pavelec was called up to Atlanta to back strengthen the bench while Kari Lethenon recovers from a rumored "illness". Chicago's back up goalie Dan Turple would be between the pipes in Iowa for the night.

The bottom line is that in his first outing as a Wolves goalie Dan Turple did well, turning away 21 SOG, good enough for a 3:1 victory. Tonight back home in Rosemont the decision will be by Coach Granato to start Robert Gherson , last years back up or stick with Turple's hot hand.

Dan Turple has been with the Atlanta system for three years spending most of his time as the primary goalie with the Wolves farm team in Georgia. His previous service with the Wolves was as a back up to Fred Brathwaite in 2007 for the Hamilton series where although dressed did not see ice time.

Robert Gherson was a diamond in the rough that seemed to come out of nowhere last year in most fans eyes. He played a few games, always dressed and was a consistent positive force on the team. You could see him on the bench talking to other players. At the end of each game Gherson was shaking hands and high fiveing each player at the tunnel. Although not often on the ice his value on the team seemed to be else where and obvious. It will be interesting to see how his star rises with Pavelec out of town.
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Old time rivals, even without Coach Claude Noel, those Ads are TOUGH!

I'll just say it outright the Wolves lost 5:3 last night to their oldest rivals the Milwaukee Admirals. The game was closer than the score, easy to say but actually true, in the last two minutes of the game Wolves fans came close to seeing a heart attack last minute rally that almost put the game into OT. Not to be, Milwaukee's new coach this year Lane Lambert, has followed the tradition of scrappy teams that have a consistent check combined with a tough attitude. Every year it seems the Wolves have a healthy lead and then you check the standings and like a semi in your rear view the Admirals are coming for you in the first or second round of the playoffs. The silly season of posturing and running for the playoffs has started, what fun!




Powderhornhockey

Manitoba Moose blow into town...

Tonight at the AllState Arena the Chicago Wolves hosted the Manitoba Moose for their sole regular season appereance. It was to become a memorable night for Wolves Goalie Robert Gherson, who gathered his first AHL shut out, winning 2:0. As per usual I will refer readers to my partner Patrick Kissane and his blog @ http:/ciachort.blogspot.com for a full report of the game. In the mean time here are a few images of the game to whet your hockey appitites.



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On a personal note, a good friend returnd to the AA after too long an absence. Welcome back, Princess!