Wolves 6, IceHogs 3
The first time the Chicago Wolves met the Rockford IceHogs this season, the game remained scoreless until a shootout finally decided a winner.
The second time, eight total goals were tallied.
So when the Wolves traveled to BMO Harris Bank Center in Rockford, Ill., Friday night, it was anyone's guess as to what kind of game would be played. Turns out, it was more of the latter, as Chicago upended Rockford 6-3 in an AHL contest.
Wolves' goaltender Eddie Lack stopped 29 shots for his fifth win of the season. Chicago is now 3-0 against Rockford in their Illinois Lottery Cup series.
The Wolves (6-2-1-0) opened the scoring 4:34 into the game when right wing Andrew Gordon stood in the slot and rifled a puck past IceHogs goaltender Carter Hutton. Rockford responded at 16:28 with a slap shot through traffic from left wing Kyle Beach that beat Lack and tied the game at one.
Late in the first, the Wolves started to pull away. Left wing Brett Sterling netted just the third Wolves power play goal this season on a play he started in the neutral zone and finished on Hutton's doorstep.
At 2:46 into the second frame, Jordan Schroeder tallied his third of the year off a set-up by Tim Miller, who earned his first point of the year, to make it 3-1 Wolves. Then it was defenseman Peter Andersson being the set-up man, putting Bill Sweatt in perfect position on the power play to score off a pad rebound by Hutton.
Down 4-1 midway through the second frame, the IceHogs (4-4-0-1) pulled Hutton and replaced him with Alec Richards. The change sparked a quick power play goal from center Brandon Pirri, bringing Rockford within two.
The Wolves tried slamming the door on a Rockford comeback when defenseman Chris Tanev took a pass from Zack Kassian at 10:31 in the third period and did something he hadn't done in the AHL since 2010 - score. The goal gave the Wolves a commanding 5-2 advantage, but Beach put a dent in it with his second score of the game at 15:58.
Up by a pair, Chicago iced its victory with a goal by center Andrew Ebbett, carrying the 6-3 lead to the final buzzer.
