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Chicago Wolves Noesen wins President’s Award

Chicago’s All-Star forward honored for excellence throughout 2021-22 season

The American Hockey League has honored Chicago Wolves forward Stefan Noesen with the President’s Award for his overall excellence during the 2021-22 season.

Noesen was recognized Thursday night during the AHL’s Awards Gala that capped the Board of Governors’ annual meeting in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

He becomes the first player recognized in this fashion since Wolves captain Andrew Poturalski — then with Charlotte — was honored following the 2018-19 season.

The 29-year-old Plano, Texas, native was one of the primary drivers of the Wolves’ Calder Cup championship team.

Not only did Noesen pace the AHL with 48 regular-season goals — the league’s highest total in 12 years — he led the league in game-winning goals (13), ranked second in plus-minus rating (+35) and finished third in points (85).

During the postseason, Noesen led all players in assists (16) and ranked second in points (25). He tied franchise records for assists and points in a playoff game when he handed out four assists during Game 2 of the Calder Cup Finals against the Springfield Thunderbirds.

Head coach Ryan Warsofsky summed up Noesen’s impact on the Wolves in April — shortly after he became the organization’s first player to crack the 40-goal barrier since Brett Sterling and Darren Haydar in 2007.

“He plays hard,” Warsofsky said.

“He’s a heavy forward. He’s hard to defend. He can tip pucks like the best of them. He’s got a knack, obviously, for scoring goals. He should probably have more than 40. He was a little snake-bitten early in the season, but he (got) hot. He’s a hard matchup for teams. He’s our engine. He makes us go.”

The Carolina Hurricanes recognized Noesen’s remarkable season last week when they signed him to a two-year contract to keep him in the organization. He will play for either the Hurricanes or the Wolves during the 2022-23 season.

The Wolves revealed their 2022-23 regular-season schedule Thursday and tailor-made ticket plans are available now for the Oct. 15 home opener and the other 35 home games at Allstate Arena.

To ensure the best deals on tickets, visit ChicagoWolves.com or contact a team representative at WolvesTix@ChicagoWolves.com.

Wolves Set 2022-2023 Schdule

The Chicago Wolves’ quest to become the American Hockey League’s first back-to-back champion since 2010 begins with a 72-game regular-season schedule that features six Friday nights, 15 Saturday nights and 10 Sunday afternoons at Allstate Arena.

“We were thrilled to share our fifth championship with Chicago just a few weeks ago,” said Wolves general manager Wendell Young. “Now we’re eager to defend our title — and we’ve been working for months to build our team for the 2022-23 season. We’re confident we’ll have a similar roster mix as last season: Several hungry and skilled veterans combined with top Carolina Hurricanes prospects to help everybody reach their full potential.”

(To download the 2022-23 schedule to any device, click HERE.)

Head coach Ryan Warsofsky’s squad starts the chase for a sixth league championship on Saturday, Oct. 15, when the Wolves host the Milwaukee Admirals — one of four teams Chicago defeated in order to earn the Cup. To commemorate the achievement, the Wolves will host a banner-raising ceremony prior to their 29th season opener.

The Wolves, who seek their sixth Central Division crown in seven years as the first step toward becoming the first team to repeat as AHL champs since the 2009-10 Hershey Bears, will have ample opportunities to prove themselves against their divisional rivals.

Chicago’s schedule calls for 12 matchups apiece with the Rockford IceHogs and the Milwaukee Admirals as well as 10 meetings with the Grand Rapids Griffins and Iowa Wild. The Wolves also will face the Cleveland Monsters, Manitoba Moose, Texas Stars and Tucson Roadrunners on multiple occasions. All 32 AHL teams, including the expansion Coachella Valley Firebirds, will play 72 regular-season games.

More details about the upcoming season — including the team’s ambitious promotional schedule — will be released soon.

There are many affordable ways to enjoy Wolves games with family and friends — including Alpha Wolf season-ticket packages, 10-voucher Flex Packs and customized group outings — that are available now. Single-game tickets for each of the 36 home games go on sale Thursday, July 28. To find the best deals on Wolves games, visit ChicagoWolves.com or contact a team representative at WolvesTix@ChicagoWolves.com.

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Ray Hanania

Ray Hanania is an award-winning 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.

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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