[dropcap]G[/dropcap]oaltender Matt Climie stopped 18 shots to help the Chicago Wolves ride to a 4-0 shutout victory over the Lake Erie Monsters, Climie’s eighth career shutout in a Chicago uniform.
Forwards Yannick Veilleux, Ty Rattie, Rob Bordson and Pat Cannone tallied goals in the outing to lift the goals to a 2-1-0-0 record in the early part of the season.
“It’s a little bit puck possession,” said Wolves head coach John Anderson. “We’re trying not to let them have it, but we blocked some shots too. I know it was a 4-0 score, but I thought the game was closer than that. That team came hard and they pressured us everywhere, so we’re going to have to bring our ‘A’ game (Saturday).”
The Wolves notched their first goal at the 3:45 mark of the opening period when defenseman Petteri Lindbohm carried the puck out of the defensive zone and fed it to Colin Fraser. Fraser passed to Veilleux who fired the puck past Roman Will’s glove.
Chicago would score again at the 9:37 mark of the second for Rattie’s first goal of the season, which also doubled as the team’s first power play goal. Rattie rocketed a shot from the slot that went wide right. After receiving a pass from Jaskin in the low slow, Rattie one-timed the shot to extend the lead, 2-0.
At 11:44 of the third, Bordson tallied his first goal with the Wolves. With pressure beginning thanks to Rattie, Bordson was able to sneak the puck home from just beyond the right post.
With 1:11 left, Chicago tallied it’s final goal of the night as Veilleux fired a pass from their own zone to Cody Beach, who the tipped the puck to Cannone at the blue line. Driving to the net, Cannone put the puck home with a slick move for his first of the season.
Climie posted his second win of the year while notching his first shutout since April 6, 2013. The Monsters and Wolves will meet again at 7 p.m. tonight at the Allstate Arena.
WOLVES 4, MONSTERS 0
Lake Erie 0 0 0 — 0
Chicago 1 1 2 — 4
First Period—1, Chicago, Veilleux 1 (Fraser, Lindbohm), 3:45. Penalties—Beach, Chicago (hooking), 13:45; Lake Erie (too many men on ice, served by Lauridsen), 14:54; Lauridsen, Lake Erie (delay of game), 18:33.
Second Period—2, Chicago, Rattie 1 (Jaskin, Butler), 9:37 pp. Penalties—Regner, Chicago (interference), 3:06; Moreau, Lake Erie (tripping), 8:18; Hishon, Lake Erie (hooking), 16:09.
Third Period—3, Chicago, Bordson 1 (Rattie, Shields) 11:44; 4, Chicago, Cannone 1 (Beach, Veilleux), 18:49. Penalties—Hishon, Lake Erie (hooking), 0:46; McCarthy, Chicago (interference), 6:59.
Shots on goal—Lake Erie 4-7-7—18; Chicago 11-5-15—31. Power plays—Lake Erie 0-3; Chicago 1-5. Goalies—Lake Erie, Will (27-31); Chicago, Climie (18-18). A—2,622. Referee—Pierre Lambert. Linesmen—Trent Knorr and Jim Scarpace.
