ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Lake Erie Monsters scored 3 goals in the third period to register a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Wolves on Saturday night at Allstate Arena. Left wing Jordan Caron’s power-play goal in the second period gave the Wolves (30-33-5-3) a 1-1 tie, but the Monsters took control in the final period to extend their winning streak to five games.
“We have so many injuries and so many things go against us,” said Wolves head coach John Anderson. “It’s hard to be consistent. We make any mistake and it ends up in our net.”
Lake Erie’s Steve Eminger opened the scoring at 7:11 of the first period with a wrister from the right circle that threaded through heavy traffic.
The Wolves pulled even at 8:41 of the second on Caron’s unassisted power-play goal. He found open space down the left side and rifled home a shot split seconds before Chicago’s power play concluded.
The Monsters (39-21-5-5) regained the lead on Michael Chaput’s redirect 5:00 into the third period. Daniel Zaar intercepted a Wolves clearing attempt along the right boards and centered a pass just above the crease to Chaput, who used his reach to tip the puck past Wolves goaltender Pheonix Copley.
Lake Erie pushed its margin to 3-1 at 9:12 as Copley turned away Kerby Rychel’s blast on a 2-on-1 rush, but T.J. Tynan came down the slot to clean up the rebound. Josh Anderson’s breakaway goal at 13:38 gave Lake Erie a 4-1 advantage.
Monsters goaltender Brad Thiessen (12-4-4) posted 25 saves for the win while Copley (13-16-3) stopped 26 shots.
The Wolves travel to Grand Rapids at 6 p.m. Friday before playing host to the Griffins at 7 p.m. Saturday for Faith and Fellowship Night, which features a postgame concert from Consumed By Fire. To find the best ticket deals, visit ChicagoWolves.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.
MONSTERS 4, WOLVES 1
Lake Erie 1 0 3 — 4
Chicago 0 1 0 — 1
First Period—1, Lake Erie, Eminger 5 (Hannikainen, Anderson), 7:11. Penalties—Benoit, Chicago (holding), 15:41.
Second Period—2, Chicago, Caron 15 (unassisted), 8:41 pp. Penalties—Ramage, Lake Erie (interference), 6:41; Falk, Lake Erie (tripping), 14:15.
Third Period—3, Lake Erie, Chaput 15 (Zaar), 5:00; 4, Lake Erie, Tynan 6 (Rychel, Falk), 9:12; 5, Lake Erie, Anderson 18 (Ramage), 13:38. Penalties—None.
Shots on goal—Lake Erie 12-11-8—31; Chicago 9-13-4—26. Power plays—Lake Erie 0-1; Chicago 1-2. Goalies—Lake Erie, Thiessen (25-26); Chicago, Copley (27-31). Referee—Dave Lewis. Linesmen—Ryan Daisy and Ian McCambridge.
