Chicago Wolves sweep AH regular season awards
Poturalski, Noesen, Lyon honored to highlight league’s best team. The American Hockey League announced Sunday that Chicago Wolves forwards Andrew Poturalski and Stefan Noesen and goaltender Alex Lyon earned prestigious honors while helping the Wolves claim the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as the league’s regular-season champions.
The American Hockey League announced Sunday that Chicago Wolves forwards Andrew Poturalski and Stefan Noesen and goaltender Alex Lyon earned prestigious honors while helping the Wolves claim the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as the league’s regular-season champions.
Poturalski, the team captain, became the first AHL player to crack the 100-point barrier since 2009-10 as he recorded two assists in Saturday’s regular-season finale to finish with 101 points (28G, 73A).
The 28-year-old Williamsville, New York, native earned the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the league’s top point-producer — and became the first player since Philadelphia’s Peter White in 1997-98 to win the scoring crown in back-to-back seasons.
Poturalski joins the list of Wolves’ Sollenberger winners that includes Steve Maltais (2001-02), Darren Haydar (2006-07), Jason Krog (2007-08) and Kenny Agostino (2016-17).
Noesen racked up 48 goals in 70 games for the Wolves — more than doubling his previous career-high in a professional season — to claim the Willie Marshall Award that goes to the AHL’s leading goal-scorer and finish with the league’s highest goal total since 2009-10. Noesen also paced the AHL in game-winning goals (13) and first goals (13) while finishing second in plus-minus rating (+35).
The 29-year-old alternate captain from Plano, Texas, joins Brett Sterling (2006-07), Krog (2007-08) and Wade Megan (2016-17) as Wolves’ winners of the Marshall Award.
Lyon earns acclaim as the winner of the Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award that goes to all goaltenders who played at least 25 games for the team that finishes with the lowest goals-against average. The 29-year-old Baudette, Minnesota, native produced an 18-7-3 record in 30 appearances for the Wolves and his 2.16 GAA ranked second in the league.
The Wolves posted a 2.55 goals-against average during their 76 games as they utilized a franchise-record eight goaltenders — Pyotr Kochetkov, Jack LaFontaine, Michael Lackey, Lyon, Eetu Makiniemi, Daniel Mannella, Beck Warm and Dylan Wells — to weather injuries, illnesses and National Hockey League loan recalls.
The Wolves, who set a franchise record with their league-leading .724 points percentage (50-16-5-5), will hold home-ice advantage throughout the Calder Cup Playoffs. As the Central Division’s top seed, they have earned a first-round bye and await the winner of the best-of-3 series between fourth-seeded Rockford and fifth-seeded Texas that begins Wednesday.
The winner of that series takes on the Wolves in the best-of-5 Central Division Semifinals that begin the second week of May. At the minimum, the Wolves are guaranteed to host a home game at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 14, at Allstate Arena. To purchase tickets for that date, click here. For the latest information about playoff tickets, times and dates, visit ChicagoWolves.com/playoffs or contact a team representative at WolvesTix@ChicagoWolves.com.
Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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.
Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.
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