ROSEMONT, Ill. – San Antonio scored three times in the third period to snap a tie and claim a 4-1 win over the Chicago Wolves on Saturday night at Allstate Arena. Forward Jacob Doty scored for the Wolves (9-5-1-1), who have managed 5 goals in the last four games.
“I liked our lineup tonight,” said Wolves head coach John Anderson. “I thought we played well. Good enough to win, but also good enough to lose. The guys who aren’t scoring are going to have to figure out ways to do it. Get to the net. Put more shots on net. Whatever it takes.”
The Wolves opened the scoring 5:12 into the game as Doty planted himself in front of San Antonio goaltender Calvin Pickard and whacked home the rebound after Pickard blocked Chris Butler’s blast from the left point. Cody Beach also earned an assist on the play.
San Antonio (10-3-6-0) evened the score on defenseman Maxim Noreau’s power-play goal at 14:52 of the first. Noreau launched a rising rocket from the point that screened Wolves goaltender Pheonix Copley never saw.
The Rampage took a 2-1 lead at 6:14 of the third as center Marc-Andre Cliché dropped a pass back to right wing Dennis Everberg. He built momentum to the left faceoff dot and snapped a shot past Copley’s glove.
San Antonio pushed the margin to 3-1 at 9:18 as the visitors enjoyed an odd-man rush that turned into Trevor Cheek’s one-timer from the right circle off a feed from Borna Rendulic.
Center Colin Smith slammed home an empty-net goal with 24 seconds left to provide the final tally.
Pickard (6-1-4) stopped 24 of 25 shots to earn the win. Copley (3-2-1) rejected 19 of 22 tries.
The Wolves host San Antonio at 3 p.m. Sunday, Manitoba at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Milwaukee at 7 p.m. Saturday for an Amtrak Rivalry clash. To get a Howliday pack that features 12 ticket vouchers, a commemorative puck, a Wolves hat, a Wolves scarf and more, visit ChicagoWolves.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.
RAMPAGE 4, WOLVES 1
San Antonio 1 0 3 — 4
Chicago 1 0 0 — 1
First Period—1, Chicago, Doty 3 (Butler, Beach), 5:12; 2, San Antonio, Noreau 5 (Rantanen, Zadorov), 14:52 pp. Penalties—Siemens, San Antonio (holding), 1:33; Labrie, San Antonio (hooking), 7:17; Doty, Chicago (holding), 11:15; Lindbohm, Chicago (high-sticking), 13:58.
Second Period—None. Penalties—None.
Third Period—3, San Antonio, Everberg 4 (Cliche, Zadorov), 6:14; 4, San Antonio, Cheek 2 (Rendulic, Clark), 9:18; 5, San Antonio, Smith 7 (Clark, Cliché), 19:36 en.
Penalties—Siemens, San Antonio (fighting), 12:15; Beach, Chicago (fighting), 12:15;
Shots on goal—San Antonio 5-12-6—23; Chicago 11-10-4—25. Power plays—San Antonio 1-2; Chicago 0-2. Goalies—San Antonio, Pickard (24-25); Chicago, Copley (19-22). Referee—Tim Mayer. Linesmen—William Hancock and Al Stensland.
