IHL ALL STAR GAME AT CHICAGO UPDATE IHL ALL-STARS 0 CHICAGO 4 FINAL
Box Score----------------------------- Ihl All-stars 0 0 0--0 Chicago 1 1 2--4 -----------------------------
FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Chicago, Maltais 1 (S Larouche, Petrovicky), 18:01. Penalties: None.
SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 2, Chicago, G Larose 1 (Brown), 16:31. Penalties: None.
THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Chicago, Brown 1 (S Larouche), 4:52. 4, Chicago, S Larouche 1 (Maltais), 11:30. Penalties: None.
Shots on goal: --------------------------------- Ihl All-stars 18 10 6--34 Chicago 18 9 12--39 ---------------------------------
Power-play Conversions: Ihl - 0 of 0, Chi - 0 of 0. Goalies: Ihl All-stars, Fountain (18 shots, 17 saves; record: 1-0-0), F Chabot (start of 2nd, 9, 8), Hedberg (start of 3rd, 12, 10). Chicago, Young (9, 9; record: 1-0-0), Dipietro (start of 2nd, 10, 10), Shulmistra (start of 3rd, 15, 15). A:11,131. Referee: Hoberg. Linesmen: Jacobs, Lord.
Game StoryROSEMONT, Illinois (Ticker) -- The Chicago Wolves looked like anything but defending Turner Cup champions for the first half of the IHL, occupying last place in the Western Conference with a 15-21-3 record.
But the Wolves turned in one of their better performances of the season in a 4-0 shutout of the IHL All-Stars, the first blanking in the history of the IHL All-Star Game.
"The game was a buildup from last week," said Chicago coach John Anderson. "We had a good road trip and this is just a continuation. It's good morale for the team."
Steve Maltais opened the scoring at 18:01 of the first period when he drilled home a slap shot from the right point for his sixth career All-Star goal. He tied Stan Drulia's record with his 11th career All-Star point.
"It was nice," said Maltais. "I hadn't played in awhile. Stevie (Larouche) put it right on the tape and I hit it pretty hard."
The Wolves were silenced for nearly 20 minutes until Rob Brown picked up loose puck in his own zone and fed Guy Larose for a breakaway goal at 16:31 of the second period.
That was all the offense Chicago needed. Wendell Young, the IHL's oldest player at 38, stopped nine shots before being replaced by Rich Shulmistra in the middle of the first period. Shulmistra stopped six shots to close out the session and was relieved by Rick DiPietro, the top overall pick in the 2000 draft.
With New York Islanders general manager Mike Milbury looking on, DiPietro played a sparkling second period, making several sensational saves.
"I intended to play him for two periods," Anderson said of DiPietro, who struggled in the pregame skills competition. "But he had a hamstring problem. It was probably because he stood on his head for most of the (second) period."
Shulmistra returned for the third and made nine saves to finish with 15.
The Wolves iced it in the final period on goals by Brown and Larouche. Maltais assisted on the last tally, breaking Drulia's record. Larouche finished with a goal and two assists to earn MVP honors, while Brown had two assists.
There were few positives for the All-Stars, who were outshot, 39-34. Grand Rapids Griffins goaltender Mike Fountain, who leads the league with a 2.03 goals-against average, stopped 17 of 18 shots in a busy first period.
"We had lots of opportunities," said All-Star coach Randy Carlyle of the Manitoba Moose. "We really had our fair share, but we just didn't score."
Milwaukee Admirals defenseman Bubba Berenzweig, who returned to his hometown for his first pro All-Star Game, enjoyed the experience but was a bit critical of the format.
"Part of the problem is that it's not as wide open because we haven't played together," he said. "It was a little awkward yesterday because I didn't talk to anyone. But today I met a bunch of new guys who I had never said two words to before. So that was good."
The crowd of 11,131 was the largest for an IHL All-Star Game in four years.
As is typical of any All-Star Game, no penalties were called.
During the skills competition, the Wolves won the puck control relay before the All-Stars captured the fastest skater and breakaway events. The Stars took the overall competition, 12-7. Chicago winger Niklas Andersson was the fastest skater with a time of 13.56 seconds.