Toronto Marlies Snap Chicago Wolves' Six-Game Points Streak With 5-2 Win

Dennis Hildeby stopped 32 shots and Toronto got goals from Marc Johnstone, Benoit-Olivier Groulx, Luke Haymes and an empty-netter from Matt Benning to beat the Chicago Wolves 5-2 at Coca-Cola Coliseum on Sunday, snapping Chicago’s six-game points streak and handing Toronto an important two-point swing in the AHL North/Atlantic standings.

Chicago’s official recap credited Marc Johnstone with the early Marlies lead, but Dominik Badinka responded 1:44 later by pouncing on a rebound of a Justin Robidas shot to level the game; Robidas and Juuso Valimaki drew the assists on Badinka’s sixth goal of the season. Toronto re-established control in the second period when Benoit-Olivier Groulx pushed the Marlies in front by two, then Josiah Slavin pulled Chicago within 3-2 after a Skyler Brind’Amour feed carved the slot and Slavin converted a backhander over Hildeby’s right shoulder. Luke Haymes extended Toronto’s lead late in the second, and Matt Benning sealed the final 5-2 with an empty-net goal in the third.

Goaltending numbers underscored the margin. Hildeby won the start for Toronto with 32 saves; Chicago starter Amir Miftakhov took the loss after stopping 20 shots. The Wolves’ official boxscore lines now read 27-12-6-5 for Chicago, while Toronto sits at 26-18-4-5 following the victory.

The defeat ended a Chicago points run that had pushed the Wolves through six games with at least one point. The loss also arrives at the start of a brutal March for Chicago: the organization noted this game was the first of 14 contests in 29 days. The Wolves’ recap characterized the trip to Toronto as a split of a back-to-back and left the four-game season series deadlocked.

Some secondary accounts contain conflicting play-by-play details that merit verification. Mapleleafshotstove’s writeup credits an early Toronto goal to Matthew Barbolini on a Michael Pezzetta feed and names Cayden Primeau and a string of other players in sequences not reflected in Chicago’s official recap. That source also includes overtime and shootout descriptions and additional goal and turnover attributions that contradict the 5-2 regulation finish shown in the Wolves’ release; the AHL official boxscore and game video should be consulted to reconcile those differences.

Chicago heads next to Milwaukee to face the Admirals on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m., a quick turnaround that begins the stretch of work the Wolves flagged for March. Toronto’s win in Toronto not only halted a streak but tightened the North/Atlantic race by two points and evened the season series between the clubs.