March 14, 2015 10:23 PM

(Steve Woltmann/Chicago Wolves)

Goaltender Jacob Markstrom parried 27 shots to lead the Utica Comets to a 4-0 victory over the Chicago Wolves on Saturday night at Allstate Arena.

The Wolves (29-23-6-1) came up empty on all six of their power-play chances while former Wolves forwards Alex Friesen and Alexandre Grenier notched 1 goal and 1 assist apiece for the North Division-leading Comets (35-19-6-1).

It doesnt matter what systems you use if you dont work hard, said Wolves head coach John Anderson. If youre not going to compete for loose pucks or get to the puck first, it doesnt matter what you do after that.

Utica broke on top at 8:58 of the first period when Grenier zipped a pass from the right circle to the left circle for open left wing Hunter Shinkaruk, who went top-shelf to beat Wolves goaltender Matt Climie.

The Comets pushed their lead to 2-0 with 1.8 seconds left in the first period as they killed a power play and turned it into a 4-on-1 rush. Cal OReillys backhand pass set up Friesen for a quick flip from just outside the crease.

Utica made it 3-0 on Greniers power-play goal at 7:40 of the second. The Comets kept hammering away at the puck near the crease and the Wolves couldnt clear before Grenier slid it into the net.

Anderson pulled Climie for an extra attacker with more than three minutes to go to generate some offense, but the Comets capitalized with Brendan Gaunces empty-net goal at 18:10 of the third.

Markstrom (18-7-2) earned his fifth shutout of the season while Climie (10-11-3) worked feverishly to stop 31 of 34 shots.

See the article here:

Wolves Go Down Without A Goal Against Comets