Wolves fall 2-1 to Rampage

SAN ANTONIO - In the Chicago Wolves' first trip to Texas this season, the team was given a rude welcome by the San Antonio Rampage and former forward Mark Mancari as the visitors were edged 2-1 Sunday at the AT&T Center.

Right wing Shane Harper scored the goal for the Wolves (13-9-3-0), who dropped their third straight game, all on the road and all by 1 goal. Goalie Matt Climie (7-6-2) made 23 saves in the effort.

The Rampage (14-6-2-0) opened the scoring 2:37 into the game. Left wing Quinton Howden released a shot from the left wall that was tipped in by defenseman Shane O'Brien as he crashed the crease. The puck trickled through Climie's pads to give San Antonio the 1-0 lead.

Harper evened the score at 12:29 of a fast-paced first period that featured a combined 29 shots on goal. The winger buried it on a power play to complete a sequence that saw Dmitrij Jaskin receive a pass from the point and send it to Philip McRae in front of the net, and he blindly passed it to Harper in an empty shooting lane near the faceoff dot.

Chicago again found itself playing catch-up after Mancari put the Rampage back in front in the second period. The former Wolves forward, who spent parts of two seasons (2011-12, 2013-14) with the team, picked up the puck behind the net and sneaked it inside the post on a wraparound five minutes into the period.

San Antonio goaltender Dan Ellis (9-4-1) stopped 31 shots.

The Wolves face off in a rematch against San Antonio on Tuesday before returning to host the Adirondack Flames at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 17, for the team's first School-Day Game of the season.