Early onslaught by Stars forces Arniel to pull Climie
Generally, if the Wolves outplay a team over three periods, they like their chances of winning
But despite being the better team for most of Friday’s game against the Texas Stars at Allstate Arena, the Wolves played so poorly in the early minutes that they created a deficit they couldn’t overcome.
In a 6-4 loss to the Stars, the Wolves allowed four goals in the first 13:57 of the first period. The visitors’ first two goals, which came off the sticks of wings Alex Chiasson and Austin Smith, were scored within 12 seconds of one another.
The loss ends a four-game winning streak for the Wolves.
After allowing the four goals, goalie Matt Climie, who otherwise has had an outstanding season, was pulled by coach Scott Arniel.
Though Climie was only partially at fault for those goals, many of them resulting from defensive breakdowns, the move proved to spark the Wolves (18-13-3-2).
“Our strength the last four or five games has been our work ethic,” Arniel said. “It wasn’t very good early on in that game.”
Backup goalie Joe Cannata was solid in his two-plus periods of play, allowing only two goals.
Immediately after being put in the game, Wolves forwards Andrew Gordon scored on a power play at 15:23 in the first period and Michael Davies found the net at 1:21 in the second period to bring the game within two.
Twice after the Stars (23-12-3-2) extended their lead back to three, Wolves captain Darren Haydar answered with a goal. Haydar’s first goal came at 16:52 in the second period and 9:34 in the third period. With two goals and two assists, Haydar has 23 points in 21 games. His four points is the best single-game total for a Wolves player this season.