big john

The Wolves opening night was highlighted by a 10th anniversary
presentaion... Players from the past and present were on ice for a video
highlight reel of the 1st 9 years, while the Mayor of Rosemont, Illinois
Donald E. Stevens, presented the Wolves with 2 commemorative plaques...
Also, a moment of silence for our fallen hero was followed by video
highlights of #19 in his years wearing a Wolves sweater...

At least we got a point!!!!

Dear JOHN,

The Wolves kicked off their 10th Anniversary Season with a nail-biting loss
in OT against their
long time rival, the Grand Rapids Griffins. Check out the game story.

CHICAGO---The Chicago Wolves battled back from a two-goal deficit, but fell
short in overtime,
3-2, against the Grand Rapids Griffins at the Allstate Arena.

Chicago (0-0-0-1) won a league-record 11 overtime games last year.

Grand Rapids (1-0-0-0) beat the Wolves for the fifth consecutive time, which
includes four
straight wins in the Western Conference Semifinal in the 2003 Calder Cup
playoffs.

"I thought we had a good physical game, but we just didn't gel until late in
the game," said
Wolves Head Coach John Anderson.

The Griffins tallied the game-winner just over a minute into overtime when
right wing Kevin
Miller threw a shot on net that sailed through traffic past Wolves
goaltender Frederic Cassivi
into the goal for the 3-2 victory at 1:02 of overtime.

Cassivi (0-0-0-1) posted 24 saves in the game.

The Griffins got on the board first, 1-0, late in the first period on a
three-on-one breakaway.
After intercepting a pass at their own blueline, center Hugo Boisvert and
left wing Michel
Picard skated ahead, two-on-one, into the slot. Bosivert found trailer,
Travis Richards, who
duped Cassivi before tapping the puck ahead to Picard for the easy tally
into the empty net at
14:19.

The Griffins took a two-goal lead early in the second period, 2-0, on a
five-on-three power play
when Picard buried his second tally of the night from the right side of the
crease, tucking the
puck behind Cassivi at 5:50 of the second period.

The Wolves got on the board, 2-1, just over halfway through the third period
when left wing
Simon Gamache fished the puck out of the boards and flipped it to nine-time
Wolves captain Steve
Maltais. After being left all alone in the corner, Maltais skated to the
front of the net and
slipped the puck through the legs of Griffins netminder Marc Lamothe at
11:12 of the final
frame.

Lamothe (1-0-0-0) turned aside 34 shots.

Wolves newcomer, left wing Eric Healey, who led the league in goals last
year, tied the game
for Chicago late in the period when he redirected a shot from the corner to
even things up, 2-2,
at 17:21 of the final frame.

The Wolves will host the Manitoba Moose at the Allstate Arena on Thu., Oct.
16, at 7 p.m.


Grand Rapids 1-1-0-1--3
Chicago 0-0-2-0--2

First Period---1, Grand Rapids, Picard 1 (Richards, Boisvert), 14:19.
Penalties---Foster,
Chicago (cross-checking), 0:43; Myrvold, Grand Rapids (hooking), 6:11;
Bootland, Grand Rapids
(hooking), 9:46; Bootland, Grand Rapids (boarding), 13:36; Ustrnul, Chicago
(roughing), 13:36;
Rivers, Grand Rapids (holding), 17:50; Bootland, Grand Rapids (roughing),
17:50; Healey, Chicago
(roughing), 17:50; Boisvert, Grand Rapids (interference), 19:22.

Second Period---2, Grand Rapids, Picard 2 (King, Kronwall), 5:50 pp.
Penalties---Blatny,
Chicago (holding the stick), 4:19; Heins, Chicago (roughing), 4:54; Ellis,
Grand Rapids
(holding), 11:52; Robinson, Grand Rapids (roughing), 14:59; Ustrnul, Chicago
(roughing), 14:59;
DiPenta, Chicago (cross-checking), 14:59; ; Bootland, Grand Rapids
(roughing), 18:50; Heins,
Chicago (double minor, roughing), 18:50.

Third Period---3, Chicago, Maltais 1 (Gamache, Swanson), 11:12; 4, Chicago,
Healey 1 (Heins,
Cassivi), 17:21 pp. Penalties---Foster, Chicago (hooking), 2:30; Rivers,
Grand Rapids
(slashing), 4:11; Boisvert, Grand Rapids (kneeing), 11:41; Miller, Grand
Rapids
(cross-checking), 15:57; Maloney, Chicago (holding the stick), 17:55; Bench,
Chicago (too many
men), 19:42.

Overtime---5, Grand Rapids, Miller (Picard, Kronwall), 1:02 pp.

Penalties---Tapper, Chicago (misconduct), 1:02.

Shots on goal---Grand Rapids: 5-15-6-1--27. Chicago: 12-12-12-0--36.

Power plays---Grand Rapids: 2-8. Chicago: 1-8.

Goalies---Grand Rapids, Lamothe (34-36). Chicago, Cassivi (24-27).
A---10,944.

Referee---Justin St. Pierre. Linesmen---Jay Jacobs and Al Stensland.