Butler comes up big in Wolves win over Rampage

Defenseman Chris Butler recorded a career-high four points - 2 goals and 2 assists - to help lead the Chicago Wolves to a 7-3 victory over the San Antonio Rampage Friday night at Allstate Arena.

Forwards Brett Sterling, Wade Megan, Ty Loney and Emerson Clark all scored en route to the Wolves win. Relieving Ville Husso just 5:09 into the first frame, Wolves goaltender Pheonix Copley stopped 22 shots for the victory.

San Antonio (21-23-4-0) opened scoring just 43 seconds into the game as the Rampage crashed the net and Gabriel Bourque converted a point-blank chance from the bottom of the left circle.

Newcomer Loney netted his first goal as a Wolves player at 5:23 of the first frame. He dug the puck out of the left offensive corner and fed it back to Butler near the blue line. Butler ripped a shot, Loney wrangled the rebound and chipped it in for the equalizing tally.

Chicago took the 2-1 lead less than five minutes later as Megan toe-dragged and then wired a shot from near the middle of the left circle for his third goal of the season against the Rampage.

Captain Butler pushed the Wolves' lead to 3-1 with just over a minute left to play in the session. Clark and Steven McParland worked to shovel the puck out from behind the San Antonio goal line. Butler floated in from the blue line for a slap shot that trickled between Spencer Martin's pads, bounced off the post and into the back of the net.

Skating with the man advantage to begin the middle frame, Sterling snapped a chance from the outside of the left circle that beat Martin and sent him to the bench for Kent Simpson.

However, less than two minutes later, the Rampage climbed back within 4-2 as Garry Nunn lasered a shot past Copley. San Antonio made it a 4-3 game when Mike Sislo stuffed the puck behind Copley during a net-front scrum at 9:18 of the second.

Butler netted his second tally of the night with just seven seconds left in the second to push Chicago back to a two-goal lead. In the final two minutes of regulation, Megan and Clark collected empty-net tallies for the 7-3 final score.

Copley (12-5-3) stopped 22 shots for the victory while Husso made one save. Martin (15-11-2) stopped 7 of 11 shots and Simpson turned aside 22 shots in relief.