Wolves fall 6-3 at Rockford
ROCKFORD - The Chicago Wolves did not have one more rally in them as they forged a third-period tie before falling 6-3 to Rockford on Sunday in an Illinois Lottery Cup contest at the MetroCentre.
Right wing Ty Rattie scored twice and Michael Davies added a late goal for the Wolves (39-20-5-3), who saw their six-game point streak come to a close. Goaltender Jake Allen (29-16-2) stopped 32 of 36 shots as Chicago's magic number for the playoffs stayed at 3.
Following a scoreless first period, play opened up in the middle period as the teams combined to score 4 goals in 12 minutes, 3 in favor of the IceHogs (33-26-5-4).
A breakaway put Rockford ahead 4:32 into the period as defenseman Adam Clendening chipped a breakout pass up the ice to center Mark McNeill. The forward got behind the Wolves defensemen and released a quick wrist shot over Allen's glove for the 1-0 lead.
The Wolves responded swiftly to knot the score 1-1 on Rattie's team-leading 28th goal of the season. One minute, 18 seconds after Rockford's opening tally, Rattie accepted a cross-slot pass in front of the net from center Alexandre Bolduc to beat Rockford goaltender Kent Simpson.
With a player from each team in the box, the open ice of 4-on-4 hockey benefited the IceHogs as they regained the lead at 6:56. Center Pierre-Marc Bouchard and defenseman Mathieu Brisebois connected to get a shot on net, which Allen steered away. But center Joakim Nordstrom swooped in and roofed the rebound for the go-ahead goal.
Rockford took advantage of a lucky redirect to create a two-goal cushion. Left wing Brandon Mashinter picked up the puck low in the zone at the side of the net and sent a pass up ice through the crease, but it bounced off Wolves defenseman Joel Edmundson's skate for the 3-1 lead at 16:29.
Rattie scored his second of the night on a power play early in the third period to cut the Wolves' deficit in half. Manning the point, the rookie released a laser through a heavy screen that eluded Simpson and pulled the Wolves to 3-2 at 3:02.
Chicago knotted the score at 5:53 as Davies and center Pat Cannone combined for a pretty passing play that ended with Davies slipping the puck five-hole for the tying goal.
The penalty kill sunk the Wolves midway through the final frame as Rockford converted a power-play opportunity. Bouchard sent a pass to center Brad Mills, who scored from a sharp angle for the go-ahead goal at 10:04.
Mashinter added his second of the night as he and center Phillip Danault each scored an empty-net goal in the final 1:20 as Allen was pulled for an extra attacker.
Simpson denied 28 shots to move to 10-14-1.
The Wolves return to the Allstate Arena to face Milwaukee at 7 p.m. Tuesday in an Amtrak Rivalry game.