Game 30: Wolves 4, Griffins 0

Both teams shot hard in the first half, with Wolves hitting 17 shots on Griffins goalkeeper Calvin Pickard. Stefan Noesen continued his strong streak of recent games by adding two goals for the team, including the opener.

Joey Keane and Jack Drury teamed up for Wolves’ second goal, Drury redirecting a huge shot from Keane on the blue line.

Goaltender Daniel Mannella, who made his unexpected AHL debut in last weekend’s series of games, had another big hurrah in the league ahead of Alex Lyon‘s return. Facing the Grand Rapids Griffins, Mannella stopped all 23 shots for his first professional shutout.

The victory temporarily gave Wolves the best record in the AHL; they were quickly overtaken again by the Utica Comets, who topped the league’s Eastern Conference.

Scoring: Stefan Noesen, 2G; Andrew Poturalski, 1G, 1A; Jack Drury, 1G; Joey Keane, 2A; CJ Smith, 1A; Eric Williams, 1A; Sam Miletic, 1A

In the net: Daniel Mannella, saved 23 out of 23, 1,000 Sv%

Game 31: Wolves 3, Savage 4

Chicago Wolves, meet Eric Staal. The veteran forward has signed a trial contract with the Iowa Wild for his presumptive role on the Canadian men’s hockey team at the upcoming Olympics. Staal had yet to play professionally this season, so it was the first time he had returned to action since the Montreal Canadiens playoffs. And while Staal may be the oldest statesman on the team, he was the difference maker for the Wild in both games this weekend.

Wolves actually opened the scoring late in the first period thanks to a Max Lajoie snap, but the momentum in the second period belonged to the Wild. Two goals in about 13 seconds tipped the game in favor of Iowa. Staal’s goal, the Wild’s second of the night, was his first AHL goal since the 2004-05 season, when he scored 26 goals with the Lowell Lock Monsters.

Wolves fought back thanks to solid play from their veterans, with CJ Smith scoring on the power play less than a minute after the Wild’s third goal. Captain and leading scorer Andrew Poturalski tied the game in the third period with a shorthanded breakaway goal (on his birthday, even).

The Wild responded with their own shorthanded goal less than 10 minutes later, reclaiming the lead. Wild keeper Zane McIntyre held off a barrage of shots from Wolves in the third, including several good chances in the final minutes. Wolves were ultimately unable to capitalize, handing goaltender Alex Lyon a loss in his first game with the team after being called up to the NHL.

Rating: CJ Smith, 1 B, 1 A; Andrew Poturalski, 1G, 1A; Max Lajoie, 1G; Stefan Noesen, 2A; Jack Drury, 1A

Net: Alex Lyon, saved 25 out of 29, 0.862 Sv%

Game 32: Wolves 2, Savage 3 (OT)

Apparently all Eric Staal does is score for the Wild. This time, he gave the Wild the winner in overtime on a two-on-one game.

Wolves held a one-goal lead in that game for less than 30 seconds. After no Wolves found the back of the net in the first or second half, Stefan Noesen and David Gust scored 86 seconds apart. Both streaks meant long possession time for the visitors, helping Wolves overcome the one-goal deficit.

Marco Rossi, one of the Minnesota Wild’s top prospects, scored quickly afterwards to send the game into overtime, where, well, Eric Staal ended things.

It was the third game in a row where Wolves did not allow a shorthanded goal. Their penalty kill has improved greatly recently; in their last 10 games, they have allowed just four goals on 35 losses. Six of those 10 games Wolves have been perfect shorthanded.

Over the past 10 games, Wolves’ power play is at an 18.9 per cent success rate, barely better than their season average. The penalty kill, however, is an average of 88.6%, which would put them near the top of the league if this continued all season. It’s a drastic improvement from the early days of the season when Wolves’ penalty kill was among the worst in the league.

After this weekend’s action, the Wolves are 4-1-1-0 against the Iowa Wild this season. It is only the third time this season that Wolves have lost consecutive games (they also did so on 13/14 November against Toronto and 19/20 November against Rockford.)

Scoring: Stefan Noesen, 1G; David Gust, 1G; Max Letunov, 1A

In the net: Alex Lyon, saved 26 of 29, 0.897 Sv%