Wolves win seventh straight at home
The Chicago Wolves rallied to earn their seventh consecutive home victory, skating to a 4-3 shootout win over Rockford in an Illinois Lottery Cup game Sunday at the Allstate Arena.
Centers Alexandre Bolduc and Pat Cannone and left wing Sergey Andronov scored for the Wolves (19-13-1-2) in regulation, and Chicago tallied on three of five chances in the shootout.
Rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington (1-0-0) made 31 saves and stopped three of four in the shootout to notch his first American Hockey League win against the Wolves’ Midwest Division rival.
“We played really well for it being our third game in three days,” Wolves coach John Anderson said. “Both goalies were excellent in the game and the shootout, and I’m happy we were able to grab that second point.”
Both teams exchanged power-play goals late in the first period. Rockford (16-16-3-2) struck first, scoring the opening goal at 18:09.
After a battle in the corner, the puck made it to the blue line and defenseman Adam Clendening. He whipped a shot on goal that was tipped on its way to the net by left wing Brad Winchester.
Just 1:20 later, the Wolves responded with a goal of their own to knot the score at 1-1. Chicago fed the puck to the top of the zone and right wing Mark Mancari after a faceoff win. Mancari sent the puck to the front of the net and Bolduc beat Rockford goaltender Jason LaBarbera to finish the play.
Two minutes into the second period, the IceHogs regained the lead. Center Drew LeBlanc found left wing Pat Mullane on Binnington’s glove-side for a goal from the doorstep.
The Wolves roared back with 2 goals in seven seconds, the fastest consecutive Chicago goals of the season and just one second shy of the franchise record.
The first, a power-play score, saw defenseman Evan Oberg catch a clearing attempt at the point and feed a pass to the middle of the ice for Andronov. He moved in on net patiently and fired a shot that grazed LaBarbera’s arm and slid in.
On the ensuing play, Mancari released a shot that caught LaBarbera up high. The goalie bobbled the puck and Cannone tapped in the rebound at 6:47 for the Wolves’ first lead.
The IceHogs tied the game with 47 seconds left while on a power play and with LaBarbera pulled for an extra attacker. Center Mark McNeill picked up the goal to force the extra time. Centers Keith Aucoin and Corey Locke and left wing Dmitrij Jaskin were successful in the shootout to seal the win for the Wolves.
LaBarbera (1-1-2) kicked out 33 shots through regulation and overtime.
Left wing Garrett Ross was the only successful shooter for Rockford. Binnington shut down center Joakim Nordstrom, right wing Maxim Shalunov, and left wing Terry Broadhurst.
The Wolves play at Milwaukee on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Amtrak Rivalry series. The Wolves return to the Allstate Arena on Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m. against Toronto.