It was all but a foregone conclusion, but the Chicago Wolves made it official on Friday night as they clinched their spot in the Calder Cup playoffs with a 4-0 victory over the Iowa Wild.
Ville Husso stopped all 26 shots he faced for the Wolves, and Kenny Agostino added a goal and an assist as the Wolves punched their ticket into the postseason.
After their victory over Iowa, the Wolves are still in second place in the Central Division, but they are just one point behind the Grand Rapid Griffins for the top spot in the race. They are also four points clear of the Milwaukee Admirals with seven games to play in the regular season, and that is crucial because the top two finishers in each division get home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The Wolves have found a ton of success this season thanks to their scoring, which ranks them among the AHL leaders in goals scored. Agostino has been a big part of that push, as the winger has racked up 22 goals and dished out 57 assists to lead the AHL in scoring.
Wade Megan, who scored a goal in Friday’s win, has also been a key contributor, as he’s scored 30 goals in 66 games played for Chicago this season.
Goaltending has been another strong suit for Chicago this season, as they’ve gotten some big performances out of both Husso and Pheonix Copley. Husso has appeared in 18 games for the Wolves, and although he has a 10-6-0 record in those contests, he does have a very solid 2.34 goals against average and a .920 save percentage in those appearances.
With their mix of goaltending and goal scoring, the Wolves are looking to be a dangerous team in the Calder Cup playoffs, as they’ll seek their third Calder Cup in team history and their first since the 2007-08 season.
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The Wolves will hope to keep the momentum going on Saturday night when they return to Allstate Arena to take on the defending Calder Cup champion Cleveland Monsters at 7 p.m.
