Chicago Wolves shot down by Peoria Rivermen
The Chicago Wolves fired plenty of shots — a season-high 39 — but only 1 went in during a 3-1 loss to the Peoria Rivermen at Allstate Arena on Wednesday night.
The lone goal for the Wolves (33-24-2-3) was Mark Mancari’s team-high 26th of the season.
Eddie Lack stopped 23 shots for the Wolves, who wore their commemorative St. Patrick’s Day jerseys for the first of three games this month. The jerseys raise thousands of dollars each year for Easter Seals via raffle, silent auction and blind auction.
“I thought we played a real solid game tonight,” said Wolves coach Craig MacTavish. “Everyone laid it on the line tonight, but sometimes you don’t always get what you deserve in the game. We just have to persevere through it.”
The Rivermen (35-26-2-1) vaulted over Charlotte into first place in the AHL’s Midwest Division, though the Checkers hold three games in hand. The Rivermen also claimed the inaugural Illinois Lottery Cup trophy by winning 12 of their 20 games against the Wolves and the Rockfod IceHogs.
The Rivermen led 1-0 after one period. The Wolves pulled even at 7:06 of the second period when Mancari tipped Mark Matheson’s blast from the right point past goaltender Jake Allen. Byron Bitz also picked up an assist.
But Peoria’s Adam Cracknell redirected a shot from Brennan Evans into the net for what proved to be the game-winning goal.