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"Game Time" PROSPECT SUNDAY for October 20, 2013

Jake The Snake has made a nest near the top of the AHL's goaltending leaderboard. Wolves' cubs Edmundson and Hakanpää off to solid pro starts. The Kalamazoo Wings start their 2013-14 ECHL season with "Binnasty" on the bench.

Jake "The Snake" Allen is among the AHL's goaltending leaders in the early going. Photo -
Jake "The Snake" Allen is among the AHL's goaltending leaders in the early going. Photo -
Rich Lam

TRANSACTIONS

Date Link Details
STL Logo ... ... None to report this week.

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YOUNG DEFENSEMEN READY FOR THE BIG LEAGUE

Playing professional hockey may not exactly qualify as a “normal” job. But for two of the youngest players on the Chicago Wolves roster, starting their American Hockey League careers has brought about some natural challenges.

Defenseman Joel Edmundson, a second-round draft choice of the St. Louis Blues in the 2011 National Hockey League entry draft, has spent the two years since being drafted playing for the Western Hockey League’s Moose Jaw Warriors and Kamloops Blazers. The 20-year old did a quick stint in NHL training camp in September before landing with the Wolves.
"I think there are expectations that come with being here for sure," he said. "And you want to meet those. But having been in St. Louis for a month and being around the older guys and seeing how fast the game is at this level really helped my confidence a lot. It’s not even necessarily the pace of the game that’s a challenge, but everyone is so skilled. Everyone is the best player in these leagues. It’s different for sure, and there are high expectations, especially with John (Anderson) being here, but I think we all play better with high expectations."
(Edmundson's) counterpart, defenseman Jani Hakanpaa, agrees. The 21-year old, selected by St. Louis in the fourth round of the 2010 draft, skated in 14 contests for the Peoria Rivermen last season after completing his second year with the Blues of the Finnish Elite League. He proved to be a quick study on the American Hockey League stage, at least as far as team bonding goes.
"There are things you pick up that make things go more smoothly," he said. "The biggest thing is when we’re on the ice, we have to talk as much as we can and help each other out. That’s how you get better as a team and you feel like you’re playing as a team. To do that, when we’re off the ice, we want to hang out with each other and get to know each other better so when we’re on the ice you know the guy who is next to you on the ice and you know he’s a good guy and you want to help him out even more and do everything you can for him."

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WOLVES SPLIT PAIR WITH DIVISION FOES THIS WEEKEND

Oct. 18, 2013

Late goals lift Rockford over Wolves

ROSEMONT, IL --- The Chicago Wolves rallied to forge a late tie after spotting Rockford a three-goal lead, but the IceHogs broke the knot with 1:31 to go and added an empty-net goal to claim a 5-3 victory in an Illinois Lottery Cup contest Friday night at Allstate Arena.
Defenseman Evan Oberg paced the Wolves (2-3-0-0) with one goal and two assists while right wing Tyler Shattock and center Alexandre Bolduc added goals for Chicago. Forwards Jimmy Hayes and Jeremy Morin posted one goal and one assist apiece for Rockford (3-2-0-0).

LINK to scoresheet at TheAHL dot com.

Oct. 19, 2013

Mancari, Wolves Top Admirals in Overtime

MILWAUKEE, WI --- The Chicago Wolves began this season’s Amtrak Rivalry series with an overtime win Saturday night, topping the Milwaukee Admirals 3-2 at the Bradley Center.
Right wing Mark Mancari scored twice for Chicago, including the game-winning goal in overtime, to propel the Wolves (3-3-0-0) over the Admirals (2-0-2-0). Chicago goaltender Jake Allen (3-1-0) stopped 30 shots in the contest to earn the win.

LINK to scoresheet at TheAHL dot com.

PAW PRINTS: Allen remains near the top of the AHL's goalie leaderboard with a 1.99 GAA (11th), 94.4 save percentage (144 shots, 136 saves, 8th) and all three of the Wolves' wins (T-4th)... Allen's 240:49 of playing time ranks tenth among AHL netminders ... Dmitrij Jaskin left the ice after a hard hit in the 4-2 home loss to San Antonio last Sunday (Oct. 13), and was scratched for both games this weekend ... Sebastian Wännström and Brett Ponich saw their first game action of the year over the weekend, leaving just winger Cody Beach and defenseman Cade Fairchild as Wolves who have yet to emerge from the den this season.

Chicago

DATE ... OPPONENT TIME VENUE
10-24-13 at IOWA 7:05 PM CDT Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, IA
10-26-13 vs GRAND RAPIDS 7:00 PM CDT Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL

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WING TIPS:

The Blues' ECHL affiliate, the Kalamazoo Wings, began their regular-season schedule this weekend with a 2-0 loss to last year's affiliate, the Evansville (IN) IceMen. Goalie Jordan Binnington is the only Blues' prospect currently on the K-Wings' roster, and he was dressed but did not play in the season opener.

LINK to scoresheet at ECHL dot com.

Kalamazoo

DATE ... OPPONENT TIME VENUE
10-26-13 vs EVANSVILLE 7:30 PM EDT Wings Stadium, Kalamazoo, MI

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COMING UP:

This week's "Trending Up" feature, and the latest "On The Horizon" feature, focusing on the upcoming schedule for all the Blues' prospects, will be posted later this afternoon.