Makiniemi, Chicago Wolves stymie Milwaukee
Rookie goaltender rejects 41 shots in North American debut
In his North American debut, 22-year-old Finland native Eetu Makiniemi stopped 41 shots to lead the Chicago Wolves to a 3-2 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals Friday night at Panther Arena.
Forwards David Cotton and C.J. Smith and defenseman Jalen Chatfield scored for the Wolves (1-1-0-0) while captain Andrew Poturalski dished out two assists in Chicago’s first win of the year.
Cotton opened the scoring with 3:15 left in the first period. David Gust and Ryan Suzuki battled to win the puck in the corner, then Suzuki slid a short pass to Cotton at the bottom of the left circle for a one-timer that whizzed past goaltender Devin Cooley’s head for his first goal of the season.
The Wolves pushed their lead to 2-0 on Chatfield’s tally at 16:26 of the second. Chicago controlled the puck in the offensive zone for nearly a full minute, then Poturalski seized control, skated behind the net and flipped a perfect backhand pass to Chatfield at the right faceoff dot for a one-timer that picked the left corner.
The Wolves earned a crucial insurance goal with a perfect tic-tac-toe from Poturalski to rookie center Jack Drury to Smith for a power-play goal that made it 3-0 with 11:40 remaining.
Milwaukee (1-1-0-0) finally got on the board with 3:01 left in regulation on 20-year-old rookie Egor Afanasyev’s first professional goal in North America — a power-play tally that came after the Admirals pulled their goalie to have a 6-on-4 advantage. Milwaukee’s Matt Tennyson converted another 6-on-4 advantage with 11 seconds to go.
Admirals goaltender Devin Cooley (1-1-0), who made his AHL debut with the Wolves last season, stopped 28 of 31 shots in the loss.
Saturday is Hockey Night in Chicago, which means the Wolves are hosting a rematch with Milwaukee at 7 p.m. Saturday at Allstate Arena. To get the best seats for Breast Cancer Awareness Night benefiting A Silver Lining Foundation, visit ChicagoWolves.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.
WOLVES 3, ADMIRALS 2
Chicago 1 1 1 — 3
Milwaukee 0 0 2 — 2
First Period—1, Chicago, Cotton 1 (Suzuki, Gust), 16:45.
Penalties—Allard, Milwaukee (cross-checking), 3:15; McLain, Milwaukee (hooking), 7:11.
Second Period—2, Chicago, Chatfield 1 (Poturalski, Noesen), 16:26.
Penalties—Mattheos, Chicago (hooking), 0:49; Donovan, Milwaukee (hooking), 9:45.
Third Period—3, Chicago, Smith 2 (Drury, Poturalski), 8:20 pp; 4, Milwaukee, Afanasyev 1 (Farrance), 16:59 pp; 5, Milwaukee, Tennyson 1 (McCarron), 19:49 pp.
Penalties—Sellgren, Chicago (holding), 2:42; McLain, Milwaukee (high-sticking), 5:00; Luff, Milwaukee (tripping), 8:12; Chatfield, Chicago (elbowing), 15:30; Cotton, Chicago (hooking), 18:15.
Shots on goal—Chicago 10-10-11—31; Milwaukee 13-14-14—41. Power plays—Chicago 1-5; Milwaukee 2-4. Goalies—Chicago, Makiniemi (41-43); Milwaukee, Cooley (28-31). Referees—Jordan Samuels-Thomas and Peter Tarnaris. Linesmen—Dan Kovachik and Thomas Lyle.
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Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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