(chicagowolves.com) — Sergey Andronov recorded his first American Hockey League hat trick as the Chicago Wolves defeated the Lake Erie Monsters 4-0 on Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
Corey Locke (goal, assist), Keith Aucoin (two assists) and Mark Mancari (two assists) also notched multiple-point games as Chicago skated to its fourth consecutive win. Goaltender Jake Allen turned aside all 19 shots by Lake Erie for his third straight win.
Following a scoreless first period, the Wolves (16-12-0-2) drew first blood with a tally 18 seconds into the middle frame. Aucoin sent the puck on net and it trickled through goaltender Sami Aittokallio’s five-hole, hovering in the crease for a net-crashing Andronov to finish.
The Wolves increased their lead at 6:42 of the second period after the Monsters (14-12-0-3) took a penalty. Locke won the opening faceoff of the man-advantage and sent the puck to Mancari at the blue line. Mancari returned the puck to Locke at the side of the net and Locke one-timed it past Aittokallio.
Andronov notched his second marker of the night halfway through the third period. Locke received a drop pass just inside the blue line and released a shot while being heavily defended. Andronov redirected the shot in front of the net to further cushion Chicago’s lead.
The game finished with the final tally of Andronov’s hat trick as the 24-year-old Moscow native took a pass from Aucoin and beat Aittokallio with a quick shot at 18:40.
Allen improved to 13-7-2 with his second shutout of the season. Aittokallio stopped 33 of 37 shots to fall to 7-5-1.
