Chicago Wolves beat Tucson Roadrunners 3 to 0

Garret Sparks stopped all 32 shots he faced to lead the Chicago Wolves to a 3-0 victory over the Tucson Roadrunners on Wednesday night at Tucson Convention Center Arena.

Rookie forward Lucas Elvenes — the American Hockey League’s scoring leader with 15 points — Reid Duke and Tye McGinn scored for the Wolves (6-3-1-0), who stretched their winning streak to five games.

Sparks (3-2-1), an Elmhurst native, registered the Wolves’ second shutout in the last three games. Chicago has allowed just one goal in the last 180 minutes.

Goalie Garret Sparks of the Chicago Wolves. Courtesy of the Chicago Wolves.

The Wolves ended a scoreless goaltending battle when Elvenes tallied a power-play goal with 12 seconds left in the second period. Gage Quinney moved the puck to the goal line for Curtis McKenzie, who spied Elvenes flying toward the opposite post. McKenzie’s pass went right on Elvenes’ tape and he flicked the puck past goaltender Erik Kallgren.

Tucson (6-3-0-0) pulled Kallgren with 1:40 left in search of the game-tying tally, but Duke made them pay with an empty-net goal from the blue line with 1:16 to go. McGinn added another empty-netter with 22 seconds remaining.

Kallgren (0-1-0) stopped 27 of 28 shots in his first AHL start.

The Wolves continue their five-game road trip Saturday at Milwaukee. The 6 p.m. game will be broadcast on My50. Chicago’s next home game is Saturday, Nov. 9, vs. Manitoba to open Military Appreciation Weekend. To get the best ticket deals, visit ChicagoWolves.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.

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Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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