[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Wolves ended their nine-game road trip Friday night with a 3-2 overtime loss against the Milwaukee Admirals at the Bradley Center.
Defensemen Petteri Lindbohm and Brent Regner each added a third-period goal to give the Wolves (10-4-3-0) a chance to win in overtime, but Milwaukee forward Pontus Aberg scored the game-winning goal during 3-on-3 action with 1:39 remaining in overtime.
Matt Climie (5-2-2) stopped 19 of 22 shots between regulation and overtime for Chicago. It was a solid road trip for the Wolves, who went 5-3-1-0 during the 20-day trip.
Milwaukee’s Austin Watson started the scoring at 8:58 of the first period when center Mark Van Guilder’s no-look pass went through the crease to Watson, who was able to knock the puck in before Climie was able to slide back from the right post.
The Admirals (11-3-0-0) were able to take a 2-0 lead with 1:02 left in the second period when Viktor Arvidsson drove the puck in from the top of the left circle over Climie’s blocker.
The Wolves answered back with Lindbohm’s power play goal at 8:16 of the third period. After Phillip McRae’s slap shot hit off the post, Lindbohm knocked in the rebound for his fourth goal of the year.
Regner tied the game with 2:32 left in the third period when he sent a long-range slap shot past Hellberg. Forward Terry Broadhurst brought the puck into the offensive zone and waited for Regner. His shot benefiting from Jeremy Welsh’s screen near the edge of the crease.
Chicago had several chances in overtime, but Aberg ended the game by bringing the puck from his own blue line toward the right face-off dot before putting a shot past a Wolves defensemen and Climie for the game-winning goal.
Hellberg blocked 31 of 33 shots and assisted on Aberg’s goal as he improved his record to 6-0-0.
Wolves return home with a win
Forward Phillip McRae’s goal with 3:48 left in the third period proved to be the game winner, as the Chicago Wolves defeated the Iowa Wild by a final score of 3-2 at Allstate Arena.
Forwards Benn Ferriero and Ty Rattie also scored for the Wolves (11-4-3-0), who had to rally back from a 2-0 deficit in their first home game since Nov. 1. Goalie Jordan Binnington (6-2-1) stopped 26 shots for the win.
“It was almost identical to (Friday at Milwaukee),” said Wolves head coach John Anderson. “Our starts have not been good as of late. I think I know a couple of reasons why. Hopefully we can remedy it tomorrow because we don’t have time to fool around because we turn around and play Rockford.”
Iowa (4-12-1-0) scored first when center Zach Phillips scored a power-play goal 2:40 into the game. Michael Keranen handled the puck below the goal line before sliding a pass into the slot for Phillips who made a defenseman miss before flipping the puck into the net.
The Wild took a 2-0 advantage with another power-play goal 6:48 into the first. Much like the first goal, Tyler Graovac held the puck below the goal line before snapping a pass to Jonathon Blum for a quick shot from the bottom of the left circle.
Chicago narrowed the deficit with 2:29 left in the first period on Ferriero’s first goal with the Wolves. McRae hit the puck out from behind the Iowa net for Ferriero, who wrapped around the net before putting the puck just inside of the right post.
The Wolves tied the score at 2-2 with 8:39 of the second on Rattie’s AHL-best 11th goal of the season. Pat Cannone secured the puck along the end wall, cleared it along the right boards and hit Rattie for a quick wrist shot.
Dmitrij Jaskin and David Shields set up the game-winning goal for McRae at 16:12 of the third period. Jaskin handled the puck behind Iowa’s net and sent it to Shields at the top of the right circle. Iowa’s goalie Johan Gustafsson was able to stop Shields’ shot, but the rebound went straight to McRae who hit a backhander into the open net.
Gustafsson (4-8-1) had 34 saves in 37 shots in the loss.
The Wolves host the Rockford IceHogs at 4 p.m. Sunday in an Illinois Lottery Cup matchup.
