IHL recaps for Dec. 21, 1997

Monday, Dec. 22, 1997 | 11:17 a.m.

Chicago Wolves 5, Manitoba Moose 4

WINNIPEG--Steve Maltais scored twice to lead the Chicago Wolves (24-7-2) past the Manitoba Moose (11-18-3) 5-4 Sunday in front of 5,616 at Winnipeg Arena. The Wolves, who have won four straight, played Manitoba to a 1-1 tie in the first period, then took command in the second with unanswered tallies by Maltais, Scott Pearson and Tim Bergland. Maltais iced the win with a power play tally in the final period. Ralph Intranuovo paced the Moose with a goal and assists on tallies by Scott Arneil in the first period and Doug Purdie in the third. Jimmy Roy also scored for manitoba, in the third period. Wolves goalie Wendell Young snared 21 of Manitoba's 25 shots to post his league-leading 19th win of the season. Fred Brathwaite suffered the loss with 22 saves on 27 shots.

Detroit Vipers 2, Michigan K-Wings 1

AUBURN HILLS, Mich.--First period goals by Stan Drulia and Steve Walker gave the Detroit Vipers (18-9-6) a 2-1 win over the Michigan K-Wings (14-11-6) Sunday in front of 10,314 at The Palace. Dan Kesa, who scored twice against the K-Wings on Saturday, assisted on both Detroit goals. Marty Flichel scored the lone goal for Michigan, who had won three straight coming into Sunday's game. Jeff Reese faced 23 shots and made 22 saves to help Detroit to the win. Michigan's Jordan Willis stopped 28 of 30.

Houston Aeros 4, Kansas City Blades 1

HOUSTON--The Houston Aeros (21-10-3) took over first place in the IHL Southwest Division with Sunday's 4-1 win over the Kansas City Blades (14-17-3). The win, before 6,129 at the Compaq Center, gives the Aeros a one-point lead over the Utah Grizzlies. Jason Cirone gave the Blades their only lead of the game with a goal 7:38 into the game. Mark Freer equalized for Houston at 12:20, and Brian Wiseman and Mike Maurice put the game out of reach with second-period scores. Mike Yeo padded the win with an empty-netter at 18:18 of the third period. The Blades outshot Houston 32-29. Winning goalie Ryan Bach made 31 saves, while Jeff Salajko stopped 24 for Kansas City.

Long Beach Ice Dogs 6, San Antonio Dragons 3

LONG BEACH, Calif.--Patrik Augusta and Victor Ignatjev scored two goals apiece as the Long Beach Ice Dogs (20-12-4) beat the San Antonio Dragons 6-3 Sunday at Long Beach Arena. Goalie Mike Buzak made 39 saves to help the Ice Dogs move into a tie with Utah for second place in the Southwest Division. Augusta jump-started the Ice Dogs' attack just 50 seconds into the game, then made the score 2-1 at the 9:11 mark. Ignatjev also scored in the opening period, and in the second. Vitali Yachmenev scored his sixth of the season at 3:20 of the second period, and Mike Josephson picked up his second 2:26 before the intermission. The Dragons scored once in each period: Brad Miller in the first, Micah Alvazoff in the second and Mark DeSantis in the third. Pokey Reddick started in goal for the Dragons, stopping nine of 13 shots before being replaced by Scott Bailey at 3:20 of the second period. Bailey finished with 14 saves on 16 chances.