Wolves fall 3-0 to Rockford

Rockford left wing Garret Ross scored the first 2 goals and the Chicago Wolves could not find the net during a 3-0 loss in Illinois Lottery Cup action Sunday before 11,431 at the Allstate Arena.

IceHogs goaltender Mac Carruth earned his first American Hockey League shutout as he notched 23 saves in a battle of the Midwest Division's best teams. Goaltender Matt Climie stopped 23 of 25 shots for the Wolves (11-5-3-0) as both teams played their third game in 48 hours.

"I think both teams were trying, but sometimes you hit the wall a little bit," said Wolves coach John Anderson. "Your thought process goes. You don't see the ice as well. You panic with the puck a little bit - all those things that (don't happen) when you're fresh."

Rockford (14-4-0-1), which leads the AHL with 29 points, opened the scoring at 8:25 of the second period shortly after killing a penalty.

Viktor Svedberg's long lob pass from his own goal line set up Brandon Mashinter for a breakaway. Mashinter pulled up just short of Climie and dropped a pass back into the slot for Ross, who roofed home a shot while Mashinter screened Climie.

Ross notched his second goal at 9:25 of the third immediately after the Wolves killed a penalty. Klas Dahlbeck fired a shot from the left point as the Wolves' fifth skater raced out of the penalty box, but Ross corralled the rebound just outside the crease and flipped it into an open net before Chicago could get back to even strength.

Mashinter added an empty-net goal with 51.1 seconds to play to provide the final margin. Carruth (1-0-0) earned the win in his first AHL appearance this season, while Climie dropped to 5-3-2.

The Wolves travel to Milwaukee on Wednesday and Rockford on Friday before hosting the IceHogs at 7 p.m. Saturday in an Illinois Lottery Cup clash.