‘Improving’ Chicago Wolves beat division-leading Milwaukee in overtime

Wolves coach Rocky Thompson said he’s not a “standings watcher.” Instead, he’s more concerned about how his team is developing.

Thompson likes what he’s seeing and was especially encouraged by the Wolves’ 3-2 overtime victory Saturday night against the division-leading Milwaukee Admirals.

“I thought it was our best game so far this year,” Thompson said. “I think we’ve been progressively getting better, little pieces at a time, and tonight was an important night for our group.”

The Admirals (20-4-3-2) entered the game 8-1-1 in their last 10, but the Wolves (12-15-2-0) took a 2-0 lead on a pair of Brandon Pirri goals and won 75 seconds into the extra session on Nicolas Roy’s goal. The victory was the Wolves’ third in their last five games and another positive step after a 3-10-1 November.

“We’ve been better game after game,” Roy said. “We can see that we’re going forward.”

That the Wolves squandered the 2-0 lead didn’t bother Thompson too much. Instead, he was happy with their response.

“It was a great test,” Thompson said. “We thought we played pretty well [Friday] night but didn’t get the results. I thought we played even better tonight.”

If the Wolves keep winning, their division could give them an opening despite their tough start.

The Wolves are in sixth place in the eight-team Central Division. But that isn’t as dire as it sounds because the Wolves (26 points) are only four points behind the second-place Iowa Wild (30), with the Rockford IceHogs (29), San Antonio Rampage and Manitoba Moose (both 28) in between. The top four teams make the playoffs.

“It’s a long season,” Thompson said. “What I think is the most important thing is our team game and is it improving or is it getting worse. It’s improving. It’s going in the right direction. We’ve played good hockey the last 2½ weeks or three weeks, I’d say. Winning starts to take care of itself when you play the game the right way.”

The Wolves also are starting to get healthier, getting back two important players who add different but valuable skills.

On Friday, Gage Quinney and Keegan Kolesar returned from upper-body injuries. Quinney, one of the Wolves’ best two-way centers, hadn’t played since Nov. 27. Kolesar, a physical presence who also scored 20 goals last season, had been sidelined since Nov. 7

“Every game is important. It’s a tight race,” said Kolesar, who assisted on Pirri’s second goal. “A good weekend here can put you in the playoffs. A bad weekend can put you out of the playoffs. Whoever can get on a roll here and stick to their game and find their identity the rest of the way is going to come out on top of the standings.”

There are indications the Wolves could be capable of getting on that roll.

“We’re getting better. Guys are getting more confident,” Pirri said. “It’s showing.”

NOTES: The Nashville Predators assigned Daniel Carr to the Admirals before the game. Carr was the 2018-19 AHL MVP with the Wolves, totaling 30 goals and 41 assists in 52 games.

• The final 23:26 was played with three officials after linesman Shaun Morgan was hit in the face with the puck when Wolves defenseman Jimmy Schuldt tried to wrap it around the boards.