Chicago Wolves score sixth win in a row

Alex Lyon ties franchise record with second consecutive shutout

Alex Lyon tied a franchise record with his second consecutive shutout as he stopped 20 shots to lead the Chicago Wolves to a 4-0 victory over the Iowa Wild Sunday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.

Forwards David Cotton, Jack Drury, Stefan Noesen and Josh Leivo scored for the Central Division-leading Wolves (14-4-1-1), who defeated Iowa (9-8-1-0) for the third time in four days and extended their winning streak to a season-high six games.

Lyon pushed his scoreless streak to 159 minutes and 49 seconds while improving his record to 6-1-1 and dropping his goals-against average to 1.47. He joined Wendell Young, Pheonix Copley, Jordan Binnington and Garret Sparks as the only goalies in Wolves history to deliver back-to-back shutouts.

Cotton, who missed the previous nine games due to injury, gave the Wolves the lead at 14:22 of the first period. Josh Jacobs battled to win possession at the red line, then scooted the puck ahead to Dominik Bokk down the right wing. He spied Cotton open across the ice and fed him for a rising wrister from the high slot.

Just 46 seconds later, Drury delivered to give the Wolves a 2-0 lead. Chicago controlled a defensive-zone faceoff and Jamieson Rees lobbed a pass into the offensive zone for Josh Leivo, who spied Drury streaking past an Iowa defenseman down the slot. Drury accepted the pass and flipped home a backhand at 15:08.

Chicago Wolves Hockey. Photo courtesy of the Chicago Wolves

Chicago extended the lead to 3-0 just 51 seconds into the second as the Wolves forced Iowa to turn over the puck in its own zone. Defenseman Cavan Fitzgerald rifled a shot from the point and Noesen redirected it past goaltender Dereck Baribeau.

Thanks in part to Iowa’s Dakota Mermis picking up a unilateral fighting major late in the second period, the Wolves owned a 5-on-3 opportunity early in the third and took advantage with Leivo’s blast from the top of the right circle to make it 4-0 at 1:22.

Baribeau (4-6-0) finished with 39 saves as the Wolves outshot their opponent for the 13th game in a row.

The Wolves resume their five-game road trip with a 7 p.m. game Thursday against the Texas Stars. Chicago returns to Allstate Arena at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 16, to face the Manitoba Moose, then hosts the Milwaukee Admirals at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 18. To find holiday specials on Wolves tickets and merchandise, visit ChicagoWolvesStore.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.

WOLVES 4, WILD 0
Chicago 2 1 1 — 4
Iowa 0 0 0 — 0

First Period—1, Chicago, Cotton 2 (Bokk, Jacobs), 14:22; 2, Chicago, Drury 4 (Leivo, Rees), 15:08.
Penalties—Gervais, Iowa (unsportsmanlike conduct), 6:11; McLeod, Iowa (charging), 18:02.

Second Period—3, Chicago, Noesen 6 (Fitzgerald, Smith), 0:51;
Penalties—Smallman, Chicago (interference), 4:07; Bokk, Chicago (hooking), 14:39; Shaw, Iowa (holding), 17:59; Mermis, Iowa (fighting), 17:59.

Third Period—4, Chicago, Leivo 3 (Drury, Smith), 1:22 pp.
Penalties—Somerby, Iowa (high-sticking), 0:13; McLeod, Iowa (holding), 8:21; Shaw, Iowa (cross-checking major, game misconduct), 12:37; McLeod, Iowa (abuse of officials, 10-minute misconduct), 12:37; Hicketts, Iowa (abuse of officials, 10-minute misconduct), 17:08; Cramarossa, Iowa (slashing), 19:33.

Shots on goal—Chicago 11-14-18—43; Iowa 7-8-5—20. Power plays—Chicago 1-6; Iowa 0-2. Goalies—Chicago, Lyon (20-20); Iowa, Baribeau (39-43). Referees—Mike Campbell and Jarrod Ragusin. Linesmen—Chad Evers and Sam Rankin.

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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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