Wolves win third straight

The Chicago Wolves used a pair of shorthanded goals in the third period and a 32-save performance by goaltender Ondrej Pavelec to collect their third straight win, 3-1, over the San Antonio Rampage at the Allstate Arena Tuesday night.

Pavelec (3-2-0) came within 5:52 of posting his second shutout in three games before Rampage center Greg Classen found the back of the net to ruin the bid. The 21-year-old Pavelec, who helped Chicago to the Calder Cup Championship in his rookie campaign last year, has allowed just seven goals in five games to start this season.

Pavelec ranks fifth in the American Hockey League with a 1.39 goals-against average, having appeared in nearly twice as many games as the goaltenders ahead of him, and fourth with a .953 save percentage.

Right wing Spencer Machacek opened scoring for the Wolves (3-1-1-0) with the first goal of his professional career, 7:51 into the game. Center Matt Anderson drove toward the net and fired a shot, which deflected off goaltender Al Montoya's pads and straight onto the stick of Machacek, who knocked it into the back of the net.

Right wing Joey Crabb made the Wolves lead two with a shorthanded tally, 31 seconds into the third period when he broke out alone toward Montoya, who had come out to the face-off circle to play the puck after a turnover near the Wolves blue line. The goaltender fumbled the puck and Crabb took a reaching swing at it as he skidded by, angling the puck just past the far post of the empty net.

Left wing Jordan LaVallee cranked home his second tally of the season - an unassisted, shorthanded shot - at 10:11 of the third period to give Chicago a 3-0 lead. The left wing stripped a San Antonio (1-4-0-0) player of the puck and went in alone on Montoya, before flipping it into the back of the net.

Montoya (0-3-0) turned aside 35 Wolves shots for San Antonio.

The Wolves travel to Wisconsin for a matchup with the Milwaukee Admirals at the Bradley Center on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.