ROSEMONT, Ill. – Iowa Wild forward Zack Mitchell delivered a breakaway goal 2:18 into overtime to hand the Chicago Wolves a 3-2 loss on Thursday night at Allstate Arena.
Forwards Ty Rattie and Jeremy Welsh scored in the first period for the Wolves (23-22-3-2), who played two men short most of the way.
“Our bench got short,” said Wolves head coach John Anderson. “At one point, we had two defensemen in the penalty box and that left us with three defensemen to kill four minutes in penalties. Our guys played hard. I’m proud of how hard we played in the third period.”
The Wolves opened the scoring at 1:26 of the first on the game’s first shot. Defenseman Scooter Vaughan controlled the puck at the right point, winged it toward the net and Rattie tipped it into the top right corner of the net.
Welsh gave the Wolves a 2-0 lead at 9:31 of the first with a rising slap shot from the left circle that tore through the net and required a video review to confirm. Left wing Dmitrij Jaskin, playing in his first Wolves game since Dec. 17, 2014, earned the assist.
Iowa (16-30-3-3) sliced the margin to 2-1 just 44 seconds later as the Wild took advantage of an odd-man rush. Grayson Downing’s centering pass was tipped and the puck banked off an onrushing Wolves defenseman into the net.
The Wild utilized another fortuitous bounce to make it 2-2 at 4:58 of the second. Former Wolves forward Rob Bordson camped outside the crease, reached to grab a loose puck and banked it off a Chicago forward’s stick for a power-play goal.
Iowa capped its comeback in overtime when defenseman Maxime Fortunus fed the puck ahead to Mitchell, who raced in down the right side and scored his 19th goal of the season.
Wolves goaltender Pheonix Copley (11-11-2) posted 29 saves while Iowa’s Leland Irving (8-15-3) notched 23 saves.
The Wolves continue their home stand at 7 p.m. Saturday when they host the Rockford IceHogs for an Illinois Lottery Cup game that also serves as the final time the Wolves wear their Military Appreciation Jerseys, presented by Sears Home Services. To find the best ticket specials, visit ChicagoWolves.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.
WILD 3, WOLVES 2 (OT)
Iowa 1 1 0 1 — 3
Chicago 2 0 0 0 — 2
First Period—1, Chicago, Rattie 10 (Vaughan), 1:26; 2, Chicago, Welsh 12 (Jaskin), 9:31; 3, Iowa, Downing 15 (Schroeder, Strachan), 10:15. Penalties—Hayes, Chicago (boarding, fighting), 8:42; Dalpe, Iowa (roughing, fighting), 8:42; Vaughan, Chicago (hooking), 16:39.
Second Period—4, Iowa, Bordson 6 (Strachan, Mitchell), 4:58 pp. Penalties—Butler, Chicago (interference), 1:11; Jaskin, Chicago (hooking), 3:18; Nightingale, Chicago (fighting), 10:45; Strachan, Iowa (fighting), 10:45; Veilleux, Chicago (tripping), 15:15; Welsh, Chicago (delay of game), 16:53; Vaughan, Chicago (hooking), 18:47.
Third Period—None. Penalties—Bordson, Iowa (hooking), 5:17; Labbe, Iowa (hooking), 10:38.
Overtime—5, Iowa, Mitchell 19 (Fortunus), 2:18. Penalties—None.
Shots on goal—Iowa 15-10-5-2–32; Chicago 4-6-13-2—25. Power plays—Iowa 1-6; Chicago 0-2. Goalies—Iowa, Irving (23-25); Chicago, Copley (29-32). Referees—Mark Lemelin and Ben Moser. Linesmen—Ryan Daisy and Ian McCambridge.
