With a depleted lineup (as much as possible for a team with a shared affiliation), the Wolves hosted the Cleveland Monsters twice this week, losing both times—once in a shootout and once in regulation.
With injuries piling up in Nashville, expect Chicago to continue giving opportunities to some newer faces as they travel to Des Moines for two games against the Iowa Wild this weekend.
Weekly Stats
Explore: Nashville’s AHL/ECHL Prospects
Game Recaps
March 5 v. Cleveland Monsters
After recording the game’s first 11 shots on goal, Chicago gave up the opening goal to Cleveland’s Tyler Angle as he darted through Josh Healey and Cavan Fitzgerald. Cleveland added two more bookended by Max Lajoie and Frederic Allard goals. After finishing overtime still tied at three, Justin Scott was the lone scorer in the shootout, giving Cleveland the extra point.
March 6 v. Cleveland Monsters
Despite back-and-forth play, Cleveland got off to another quick start, scoring twice in the opening frame. Sean Malone set up the Wolves’ only goal with a beautiful set of moves in the second, but Chicago ultimately dropped their second game against the Monsters 3-1.
Players of the Week
Frederic Allard: There’s not much to nitpick about Allard’s game right now. Since returning from Austria, he’s playing a mature, defensively responsible style, making few mistakes, but is also chipping in offensively. He won’t move the puck with the pace Jeremy Davies does, but he’s a necessity for the Wolves right now. Allard added two points this past weekend (one goal, one assist), recording six shots on net; The 23-year old has eight points in seven games. [RK]
Lukas Craggs: Craggs has been quiet in the AHL this season. He’s now skated in six games this year and added his first AHL point of the year with a secondary assist on Saturday; He also added seven shots on net this weekend. More importantly, Craggs (#42) was skating important penalty kill minutes against Cleveland, looking strong on the puck, and capitalizing on chances like the one below. [ED]
Notes and Quotes
- Tucson Roadrunners: Tucson lost three times to Texas last week, extending their losing streak to four. Michael Carcone was held without a point in all three games but recorded 13 shots on goal. Josh Wilkins returned to the lineup for the final two games, going scoreless with four shots on goal.
- Cleveland Monsters: Brandon Fortunato was scratched on Friday night against the Wolves but rejoined the lineup on Saturday on the team’s third pair.
- Patrick Harper recorded his first AHL point on Friday: A primary assist on the Wolves’ final goal—courtesy of Ryan Suzuki.
- With Tyler Lewington still out and Jeremy Davies playing in Nashville, Chicago is down to just to Preds’ defenders in their lineup, and Frederic Allard—as noted above—is making the most of it.
- Josh Wilkins has just one assist in seven games for Tucson this season and has been scratched multiple times. It will hard to glean a lot development-wise from this unusual COVID season, but hopes that he could improve on his rough freshman season in the AHL are fading.
- Not quite Wolves related, but our colleague Shaun spoke with Admirals’ head coach Karl Taylor about how time in Milwaukee has helped prepare Eeli Tolvanen and Mathieu Olivier for the NHL: Check it out.
- The Wolves’ Mark Stencel did some excellent research last weekend on the team’s scoring this season: As of March 6, 22 Wolves’ goals this season were scored by a Nashville prospect, and 15 total goals have been assisted by Nashville prospects only.
- Sean Malone has looked excellent for Chicago in his first three games this season. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky noted recently how critical his experience has been in the middle of the ice, and he displayed some nifty hands over the weekend.
- Like Rachel recently suggested, the Hurricanes locked up goalie Beck Warm to a two-year entry-level contract. He’s posted a 0.935 save percentage in five appearances./
All statistics are courtesy of eliteprospects.com, theahl.com, or hand-tracked myself.