Climie Backstops Wolves Back Into First Place, 1-0

CLEVELAND, Ohio --- The Chicago Wolves opened a three-game road trip with a 1-0 shutout win over Lake Erie Saturday night at Quicken Loans Arena, moving into a first-place tie in the AHL's Midwest Division in the process.

The Wolves allowed a season-low 19 shots as goaltender Matt Climie (17-9-0) posted his first shutout of the season, snapping the team's two-game losing streak and propelling Chicago (34-24-2-3) into a tie for the division lead with Peoria at 73 points. The Wolves hold a game in hand over the Rivermen.

In his first start in six games, Climie stopped all of the Monsters attempts, including eight in the final period. The Leduc, Alberta, native has posted a 2.25 goals-against average and .923 save percentage in 12 games (8-4-0) since the calendar turned to 2012.

Following a scoreless first period Wolves scored the lone goal of the game shorthanded midway through the second period. Chicago forward Tim Miller intercepted a pass at the Wolves blueline and streaked down the ice on a two-on-one with center Steven Reinprecht, who caught a pass and snuck a backhander past Monsters goaltender Cedrick Desjardins (12-8-2) for his third shorthanded goal of the season.

After tying their season-high with 39 shots against Peoria on Wednesday, the Wolves fired a season-high 42 shots Saturday at Lake Erie. Goaltender Cedrick Desjardins (12-8-2) posted 41 saves in the loss.

The last two Wolves shutouts have been of the 1-0 variety. Fellow Chicago netminder Eddie Lack posted a 1-0 shootout win over Charlotte on Feb. 18.

The Wolves take the ice again at 2 p.m. Sunday at Toronto's Ricoh Coliseum for their final matchup of the season with the Toronto Marlies. They return to Allstate Arena on Saturday, March 24, at 7 p.m. to take on the Hamilton Bulldogs.

(The Chicago Wolves)