Wolves fall to IceHogs

The Chicago Wolves scored too little -- and much too late.

The Rockford IceHogs hammered out a pair of goals in the second period and kept the Wolves off the scoreboard for almost 59 minutes.

The IceHogs went on to earn a 3-1 victory in Game 3 of the West Division final at the Rockford MetroCentre on Sunday night.

The Wolves lead the best-of-seven series 2-1. The IceHogs host Game 4 Wednesday at 7 p.m.

"They just wanted it more than us," said Wolves coach John Anderson. "They came out more determined, that's what it came down to today.

"We had a lot of quality chances that were blocked. We have a couple of days to regroup from this and get back at it."

Rookie center Bryan Little notched the Wolves' only goal with 1:16 remaining, his second goal in as many games and third of the postseason.

After a scoreless opening period, the IceHogs took their first lead of the series on a goal from Kris Versteeg at 8:24 of the second period.

Just 11 seconds after a man-advantage chance for Rockford expired, Versteeg connected on his fourth goal of the playoffs through a scrum in front of the Wolves net.

Derek Nesbitt put Rockford up 2-0 when he converted a rebound past Wolves goalie Ondrej Pavelec at 15:47 of the second period.

Pavelec, who has not allowed a first-period goal in five straight games, stopped 40 shots while suffering his first loss since April 23.

A 5-on-3 advantage for Rockford early in the third period led to the IceHogs taking a 3-0 lead.

Pavelec made several diving stops, but the the IceHogs persisted until Petri Kontiola scored at 3:08.

IceHogs goalie Corey Crawford stopped 27 shots after allowing the Wolves 7 goals in Game 2 the night before.