IHL recaps for March 21, 1998

Sunday, March 22, 1998 | 9:43 a.m.

From Sports Report Service.

Chicago Wolves 3, Grand Rapids Griffins 2 (SO)

GRAND RAPIDS--The Chicago Wolves (47-21-3) needed shootout goals from Alexander Semak and Steve Larouche to take their fourth win in a row, 3-2 over the Grand Rapids Griffins Saturday in front of a sellout crowd of 10,834 at Van Andel Arena. Goalie John LeBlanc, who stopped 27 of 29 shots in regulation, shut out the Griffins (34-27-11) on four shootout attempts. The Wolves came from behind twice in regulation. Larouche's 25th goal of the year, and second since arriving in Chicago from Quebec, made the score 1-1. Alexander Godynyuk scored at 8:25 of the third period to create a 2-2 deadlock and force the tiebreaker. Claude Boivin scored twice for Grand Rapids, at 2:25 and 17:02 of the second period. Michel Picard assisted on both goals. Griffins netminder Ian Gordon faced 32 shots and made 30 saves in regulation.

Milwaukee Admirals 3, Manitoba Moose 2

WINNIPEG--Kelly Fairchild scored at 3:41 of the third period to give the Milwaukee Admirals (37-29-4) a 3-2 win over the Manitoba Moose (33-33-7) Saturday before 9,360 at Winnipeg Arena. Brian Felsner paced the Admirals' attack with one goal and the game-winning assist. Jeff Nelson put Milwaukee on the board 9:39 into the second period. Ralph Intranuovo and Scott Thomas each had a goal and an assist as the Moose dropped their second straight. Danny Lorenz posted the win in goal, with 24 saves on 26 Manitoba shots. Fred Brathwaite stopped 25 of 28 in the losing effort.

Indianapolis Ice 5, Utah Grizzlies 1

INDIANAPOLIS--David Ling scored twice and assisted on a third goal as the Indianapolis Ice (36-33-4) defeated the Utah Grizzlies 5-1 Saturday at Market Square Arena. A crowd of 7,504 saw the Ice snap a two-game losing streak. Ling has four goals in three games with the Ice. Saturday's tallies, including the game-winner at 18:44 of the opening period, came within a 4:15 span. Ling also assisted on Ryan Huska's goal in the final minute of the second period, and Eric Manlow added a shorthanded tally with 20 seconds left in the first, and Todd White capped the win with his team-record 18th power play goal of the season. Utah's Chris Taylor scored the first goal of the game, at 12:28, with assists from Rasto Pavlikovsky and Vladimir Orszagh. Goalie Marc Lamothe faced 34 shots and made 33 saves to post his 17th win of the season. Mark McArthur turned away 29 of 34 as the Grizzlies dropped to 43-22-8.

Michigan K-Wings 3, Cincinnati Cyclones 1

KALAMAZOO, Mich.--The Michigan K-Wings (32-32-7) scored three unanswered goals to take their first win of the season over the Cincinnati Cyclones (35-26-12), 3-1 Saturday before a sellout crowd of 5,413 at Wings Stadium. Derek Smith won the game at 19:41 of the second period, and assisted on an insurance tally by Peter Douris in the third. Marty Flichel opened the K-Wings' scoring at 12:34 of the second. Cincinnati's Don Biggs scored in the first period for his 16th point in his last 11 games. The Cyclones outshot Michigan 39-32. Winning goalie Manny Fernandez made 38 saves, while Cincinnati's Geoff Sarjeant stopped 29.

Detroit Vipers 4, Cleveland Lumberjacks 3 (S0)

AUBURN HILLS, Mich.--Steve Walker scored the deciding shootout goal as the Detroit Vipers (43-16-13) defeated the Cleveland Lumberjacks 4-3 Saturday in front of The Palace's seventh sellout crowd of the season, 20,804. Walker's was the Vipers' third goal of the five-round tiebreaker. Goalie Jeff Reese, who posted his 50th career win in goal, stopped three of the Lumberjacks' five shootout tries. Patrice Tardif led the way for Detroit with goals in regulation and the shootout, as well as an assist on Jeff Whittle's game-opening tally. Clayton Beddoes also scored for the Vipers. All three Cleveland goals, by Lane Lambert in the first period and Joe Dziedzic and Rick Girard in the second, came on power plays. The loss was Cleveland's third straight, and dropped them to 30-33-8. Reese stopped 19 of the Jacks' 22 shots in regulation. Cleveland goalie Tom Draper made 28 saves on 31 Detroit attempts.

Kansas City Blades 5, Orlando Solar Bears 1

KANSAS CITY--Dean Sylvester scored twice and added an assist as the Kansas City Blades (35-27-11) beat the Orlando Solar Bears (35-26-9) 5-1 Saturday in front of a Kemper Arena crowd of 7,134. The Blades opened their attack with goals by Shawn Heins and Sylvester within a seven-second span of the first period. J.F. Quintin chipped in with a power play goal and two assists, and Dave Chyzowski rounded out the Kansas City scoring. Dale Craigwell finished with three assists. Scott Hollis saved Orlando from the shutout with a shorthanded goal 32 seconds into the second period. Pokey Reddick posted the win in goal, with 33 saves on 34 Orlando shots. Orlando's Allan Bester faced a 42-shot attack, making 37 saves.

Houston Aeros 6, San Antonio Dragons 1

SAN ANTONIO--Rob Valicevic scored once in each period to lead the Houston Aeros (45-20-7) past the San Antonio Dragons 6-1 Saturday in front of 9,071 at Freeman Coliseum. Valicevic put Houston on the board just 23 seconds into the game. David Oliver made the score 2-0 at 12:48. Trent Cull and Ken McRae also scored, while Mark Freer and Paul Dyck had two assists apiece. San Antonio's Darren Kimble kept the game close through one period, scoring at 16:47 to cut the Aeros' lead to 2-1. Houston goalie Ryan Bach faced 28 shots and made 22 saves to post his 23rd win of the season. Sergei Zvyagin made 33 saves as the Dragons dropped to 21-42-8.

Long Beach Ice Dogs 6, Las Vegas Thunder 3

LAS VEGAS--John Byce and Patrik Augusta each scored twice as the Long Beach Ice Dogs (48-19-8) beat the Las Vegas Thunder 6-3 Saturday before 9,502 at the Thomas & Mack Center. Byce, who has scored five of his seven goals in the last two games, scored at 12:27 and 18:47 of the second period. His second goal was the game-winner. Augusta now has 33 goals, tying him with Andrei Vasiljev for the team lead. Kevin Todd had a goal and two assists, and Claude Jutras a goal and one assist, to help the Ice Dogs to their fourth straight win and an IHL-leading 104 points. Patrice Lefebvre netted his 22nd goal of the season for Las Vegas, and leads the league in scoring with 103 points. Russ Romaniuk and Rob Pattison pulled the Thunder within a goal with back-to-back power play tallies at 2:52 and 3:11 of the third period. Ice Dogs goalie Mike Buzak picked up his 17th win, with 21 saves on 24 Las Vegas shots. Tim Cheveldae stopped 23 of 29 as the Thunder feel to 29-35-7.