Harper, Wolves power past IceHogs

ROCKFORD - Right wing Shane Harper scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and assisted on the next tally to lead the Chicago Wolves to a 4-1 victory over Rockford on Monday afternoon in an lllinois Lottery Cup game at the MetroCentre.

Forwards Philip McRae, Pat Cannone and Colin Fraser also scored for the Wolves (20-15-4-1). Goaltender Jordan Binnington (11-6-3), who earned his first win since Dec. 26, stopped 29 shots.

"I thought we again played very, very well all around," said Wolves coach John Anderson. "Good decisions, finished our checks, played hard. I think they're feeling good about themselves and getting rewarded here makes them understand that's how they have to play every night."

The Wolves capitalized on a 5-on-3 power play to open the scoring at 16:24 of the first period. Ty Rattie lined up a slap shot from the right point, but his stick broke on impact with the ice. The slow-moving puck deflected off an IceHogs skate and went to McRae beneath the right circle for a quick wrister that beat goaltender Scott Darling on the short side.

The IceHogs (23-13-4-2) evened the score on Pierre-Cedric Labrie's shorthanded goal 46 seconds into the second period. Labrie intercepted a Wolves defenseman's pass at the blue line, raced in unimpeded and flipped a shot past Binnington.

The Wolves built a 2-1 margin on Harper's power-play goal at 4:43 of the third period. Defenseman Petteri Lindbohm fired a shot from the top of the left circle that Darling blocked, but Harper pounced on the rebound just outside the crease and flipped home a backhand shot for his 15th goal of the season.

The Wolves increased their lead to 3-1 at 9:04 on Cannone's goal from close range. Harper carried the puck below the goal line just to the right of the net, fed a short pass to Cannone outside the crease and he steered it past Darling.

The IceHogs pulled Darling (10-6-3, 26 saves) for an extra attacker with nearly four minutes to go and Fraser capitalized by scoring an empty-net goal with 1:43 to play.

The Wolves continue their five-game road trip Wednesday at p.m. in Grand Rapids. They return to Allstate Arena on Saturday to hoste the IceHogs.