Rampage rallies past Wolves

The Chicago Wolves opened a 2-goal lead midway through the second period, but San Antonio rallied to claim a 5-4 shootout victory on Sunday at Allstate Arena.

Stefan Schneieder, Nathan Longpre, Devin DiDiomete and Michael Davies scored for the Wolves, but San Antonio center Zach Hamill and right wing Jon Rheault notched the only goals in the shootout to lift the Rampage to the win.

“Both teams seemed a bit worn down today,” said Wolves coach Scott Arniel. “We made a few too many mental mistakes in our zone and it cost us.”

Wolves goalie Matt Climie (12-13-2) stopped 34 shots.

The Wolves (24-16-4-3) opened the scoring with Schneider’s power-play goal at 11:12 of the first period. Mark Matheson’s cross-ice pass set up a quick wrist shot by Davies from the left circle. San Antonio goaltender Jacob Markstrom (16-15-2, 28 saves) stopped Davies’ try, but Schneider waited just outside the crease for an easy tap-in of the rebound.

San Antonio (23-23-1-4) evened the score with 36 seconds left in the first period when Rheault converted the rebound after Climie stopped Rheault’s first point-blank try.

The Rampage seized a 2-1 lead on defenseman Brendon Nash’s power-play goal at 4:36 of the second. Nash’s slap shot from the point eluded the screened Climie.

The Wolves retaliated with a pair of goals in a 32-second stretch. Longpre evened the score at 5:31 of the second as he banked a shot from the goal line off a San Antonio skate. Matheson picked up the assist on Longpre’s first goal since Oct. 19.

DiDiomete gave the Wolves a 3-2 lead at 6:03 with his first goal in a Wolves uniform. While fighting his way across the slot, he swatted Connauton’s deflected pass out of the air and past Markstrom. Center Alex Mallet earned his first AHL point with an assist on the play.

Davies pushed the Wolves’ margin to 4-2 with a power-play goal at 9:58. Connauton and Schneider set up Davies’ close-range goal that went through Markstrom’s legs.

San Antonio pulled within 4-3 at 17:01 when center Scott Timmons flipped home a rebound of Rheault’s shot from the right circle. The Rampage made it 4-4 when center Jared Gomes claimed a loose puck just inside the blue line, raced down the slot and snapped a shot past Climie’s stick-side at 3:24 of the third.

The Wolves return to the Allstate Arena ice at 7 p.m. Wednesday to host Abbotsford. For tickets, call 1-800-THE-WOLVES or visit ChicagoWolves.com.