Warsofsky, Jeannot Lead Wolves Past Wild, 6-2

DES MOINES, IA – David Warsofsky and Tanner Jeannot each scored a goal and added two assists to lead the Chicago Wolves to their fourth straight victory over the Iowa Wild, 6-2. Chicago scored two goals in each of the periods, capitalizing on three of their four power-play opportunities. Jeremy Helvig stopped 29 of 31 shots to earn the victory for the Wolves. Hunter Jones continues to struggle, allowing six goals on 29 shots.
Chicago took a 2-1 lead coming out of the first period, thanks to a pair of power-play goals. The first came at 3:01 when Dominik Bokk scored his third goal of the year. Warsofsky fired a shot from the point that Jones saved. Jeannot gained control of the rebound and tried to stuff a backhander past the Iowa netminder, but Jones came up with a big save once again. However, the puck trickled to the back post where Bokk knocked it into give Chicago a 1-0 lead.
A little over 10 minutes later Damien Giroux tied the score for Iowa. Jarrett Burton battled for the puck behind the net and was able to gain control. He passed it out in front to Giroux who fired a shot that found a crease on the short side for his third goal of the year.
The Wolves continued a theme that was repeated twice the previous evening, scoring just seconds after going on the power-play. The Wild earned a penalty for too many men on the ice with one minute left and Chicago scored 11 seconds later. Tommy Novak passed the puck back to Warsofsky at the point, who blasted a slapshot by Jones for his first goal of the year.
The Wild were looking to gain some momentum and looked like they had a golden opportunity when Phil Tomasino took a penalty just 29 seconds into the second period. However, it would be the Wolves who would come away with a tally, adding there fourth shorthanded goal of the season. Sheldon Rempal battled for the loose puck along the boards and was able to clear it into the neutral zone. Jeannot outraced an Iowa defender, gaining control of the puck and heading in on Jones. He moved in on net, stuffing the puck through the Iowa netminder for his fifth goal of the year.
Three minutes later, the Wolves were back on the board. Chicago came out of their zone with a burst of speed. Spencer Smallman passed to puck to Lukas Craggs, who was positioned just above the right face-off circle. He made a perfect pass across the crease to the back door where Max Lajoie redirected the puck into the net for his second goal of the season.
With 5:30 left in the second, Gerry Mayhew, who returned from Minnesota on Saturday, scored his first goal of the season. Matt Bartkowski, who had also returned from Minnesota, passed the puck to Mayhew just above the left face-off circle. He fired a wrist shot that beat Helvig over the shoulder for his first goal of the year.
Iowa was trailing by two heading into the third period, but they had outshot Chicago through the first two frames, 20-18. They were looking to build some momentum off the Mayhew goal, but that idea quickly evaporated when Josh Healey scored his first goal of the year 2:40 into the third. Just after Iowa killed off a penalty, the Wolves won the draw inside the Iowa zone. Rempel passed the puck back to Healey at the point who fired a wrist shot that hit off the post, but the rebound deflected off Jones’ skate and into the net to make it 5-2.
The Wolves would add one more goal and 9:25. With the man advantage, Chicago moved into the Iowa zone. Warsofsky flipped the puck ahead into the slot where Tomasino outraced two Wild defenders for the puck, flipping a wrist shot over the shoulder of Jones for his fifth goal of the year. That made it 6-2, which would be the final.
Chicago had five players record at least two points. Warsofsky and Jeannot each had three and Lajoie, Tomasino, and Rempal had a pair. Six different Iowa players had one point in the game.
The Wild (3-7-2) look to snap their five-game losing streak when they take on the Rockford IceHogs (4-8-1) on Friday. The puck drops at 6:00 p.m.
By Robert Pannier