Preview: An Afternoon Rumble in Rosemont
Cleveland Monsters at Chicago Wolves
Wednesday, February 22nd at Noon EST
Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois
Radio: 99x(99.1); 99x Online
Twitter: @Chicago_Wolves , #ChicagoWolves
@MonstersHockey , #CLEMonsters
Cleveland Monsters, 224-21-2-4; 54 points; 5th Central; 9th West
vs
Chicago Wolves, 30-17-4-3; 67 points; 3rd Central; 6th West
The last time the Chicago Wolves and Cleveland Monsters met the game ended with a nine round shootout. Most of the series this season has been decided in the last minutes of the game and have proven to be very aggressive.
Brett Gallant is back in the fold this afternoon. Which means Jacob Graves will more than likely be back in his normal role of defender. Having Gallant back for what is always an aggressive game will be nice for the Monsters.
The Blue Jackets sent Joonas Korpisalo down to the Monsters on Sunday in an attempt to allow him more playing time during the Jackets bye week. I would expect to see him play today.
The Wolves are on a three-game point streak and have won six of their last ten games. Wolves' newcomer, James Wisniewski has been quite the acquisition for the Wolves scoring three points in his first three games with the team.
You can read about where Wisniewski has been playing and how he plans to get back to the NHL here.
Ty Rattie is back with the Wolves after being picked up on waivers. While on paper he doesn't look like the best player, Rattie is an incredible playmaker who should never be left alone with the puck.
The Wolves finally have their top scorer, Wade Megan, back on the team after a stint in St. Louis. The Monsters will need to shut him down as much as possible while keeping an eye on guys like Rattie, Wisniewski, and Paajarvi.
The Monsters lead the series, 4-2.
| Wolves | Monsters | |
| 18-2-0-3 | Leading After 1 | 8-2-0-2 |
| 19-0-0-1 | Leading After 2 | 12-2-0-2 |
| 8-5-1-0 | Tied After 1 | 11-8-2-1 |
| 11-4-3-2 | Tied After 2 | 9-4-2-0 |
| 4-10-3-0 | Trailing After 1 | 5-11-0-1 |
| 0-13-1-0 | Trailing After 2 | 3-15-0-2 |
| 13-4-2-0 | Outshooting Opponent | 11-8-1-2 |
| 14-13-2-3 | Outshot by Opponent | 13-13-1-1 |
Season Series
10/30/2016 – Monsters (2) @ Wolves (4) = L – recap
11/11/2016 -Wolves (1) @ Monsters (2) = W – recap
11/12/2016 – Wolves (2) @ Monsters (4) = W – recap
12/17/2016 – Monsters (2) @ Wolves (1) = W (OT) – recap
01/26/2017 – Wolves (4) @ Monsters (2) = L – recap
01/28/2017 – Wolves (2) @ Monsters (3) = W – recap
02/22/2017
03/04/2017
03/09/2017
03/21/2017
03/22/2017
04/01/2017
Stats Matchup
| Wolves | Monsters | |
| 3.35 (6) | GPG | 2.37 (29) |
| 2.72 (8) | GAPG | 2.63 (6) |
| 19.8% (8) | PP% | 15.0% (24) |
| 84.1% (6) | PK% | 85.0% (4) |
| Wade Megan, 23 | G Leader | Oliver Bjorkstrand, 14 |
| Kenny Agostino, 42 | A Leader | T.J. Tynan, 21 |
| Kenny Agostino, 60 | P Leader | T.J. Tynan, 27 |
| Reid McNeill, 52 | PIM Leader | Brett Gallant, 89 |
| 17-6-1-1 | Road/Home | 11-12-0-2 |
| 6-2-1-1 | Last 10 | 4-4-1-1 |
| 2-0-1-0 | Streaks | 0-1-0-0 |