Wolves let up late goal, fall to Monsters
ROSEMONT - Steve Eminger's power-play goal with 1:50 to play gave the Lake Erie Monsters a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Wolves on Friday night at Allstate Arena.
The Monsters had a 5-on-3 advantage thanks to a pair of high-sticking penalties when they took their third and final lead of the night.
"You've got to be absolutely sure when you make that second call with three minutes left," said Wolves head coach John Anderson. "You can argue all you want with them, but they're not going to change it."
Ty Rattie scored 1 goal and handed out 2 assists for the Wolves (30-32-5-3), who also received goals from defenseman Jared Nightingale and rookie forward Bryce Gervais.
The Wolves took the lead at 8:19 of the first period on Nightingale's wrister from the right point. He steered the puck off a Monsters defender in the slot and over goaltender Anton Forsberg's shoulder.
The Monsters answered with Eminger's first power-play goal at 10:47 of the first. Ryan Craig accepted a pass just outside the crease and delivered a no-look backhand pass to Eminger coming down the left circle for a one-timer.
Lake Erie took its first lead at 16:15 on Josh Anderson's quick wrister from the slot. Markus Hannikainen raced the puck down the left side on a 2-on-1 rush and found Anderson for the open shot.
The Wolves pulled even at 11:40 of the second period on Gervais' second goal since joining the Wolves one week ago. Scooter Vaughan dropped the puck down the right boards to Ty Rattie, who carried the puck below the goal line and found Gervais set up in front of the crease for a quick redirect and a power-play tally.
The Monsters regained the lead at 9:12 of the third on John Ramage's one-time blast from the right faceoff dot, but the Wolves' Rattie retaliated just 17 seconds later to make it 3-3. Jeremy Welsh battled to gain control along the left boards, then authored a shot that Forsberg stopped. The rebound caromed directly to Rattie rushing through the slot and he lifted it home.
Eminger's game-winning power-play goal came with nine seconds left on the Monsters' 5-on-3 advantage. He rifled home a shot from the left circle.
Wolves goaltender Jordan Binnington (16-16-5) stopped 25 of 29 shots while Forsberg (21-10-4) stopped 25 of 28 to pick up the win.
The Wolves host Lake Erie at 7 p.m. Saturday.