Wolves rally for shootout victory
The Chicago Wolves earned a crucial victory, rallying to beat the Charlotte Checkers 2-1 in a shootout Saturday night at the Allstate Arena.
Center Jordan Schroeder knotted the game at 1-1 with 5:31 gone in the third period, with an assist by defenseman Yann Sauve.
After a scoreless overtime, forwards Darren Haydar, Brett Sterling and Jon Matsumoto netted shootout goals to give the Wolves (36-27-5-4) their first win this year when trailing after two periods.
The Wolves stayed within 2 points of eighth place, the final spot in the Western Conference playoff race, with four games remaining in the regular season.
“We played hard all night,” said Wolves coach Scott Arniel. “We were finally able to win while coming back in the third and at this point of the year all that matters is finding a way to win.”
After a scoreless first period, the Checkers (40-25-4-4) got on the board when center Brett Sutter’s shot from the slot was knocked into the air by Wolves goaltender Matt Climie. Right wing Matt Beca dove into the crease to poke the puck over the goal line at 17:05 of the second period.
Climie (23-23-3) kicked out 35 shots in regulation and overtime and stopped 4 of 6 shootout attempts.
Checkers goalie Jon Muse (6-7-1) stopped 38 shots in regulation and overtime and 3 of 6 shootout tries.
The Wolves open the final week of the regular season Tuesday with an Amtrak Rivalry contest in Milwaukee against the Admirals at 7 p.m.