ROSEMONT, Ill. – Andrew Agozzino netted a short-handed goal 1:58 into overtime to give the Chicago Wolves a 3-2 Illinois Lottery Cup victory over the Rockford IceHogs Saturday night at Allstate Arena.
Forwards Emerson Clark and Samuel Blais scored during regulation for the Wolves (26-16-3-3) while Ville Husso posted 24 saves. With the win, the Wolves clinched a share of the Illinois Lottery Cup. Chicago hold a 6-4 lead in wins with two games remaining in the series.
“It wasn’t a clean game,” said Wolves coach Craig Berube. “It didn’t have a lot of flow, but Husso played really well. Clark gave us a lot of juice — got the team going.”
The Wolves (26-16-3-3) struck at 14:11 of the opening period. From behind his own net, Conner Bleackley sprung Clark for a chance. Clark picked up the pass, slid behind the Rockford defenders and sent a forehand-backhand shot past goaltender Lars Johansson (8-11-3).
The IceHogs (14-23-7-3) tied the game at 3:04 of the middle frame on a power-play opportunity when Sam Carrick slipped past the Wolves defense and potted a backhand chance.
Just 1 minute, 22 seconds later, Rockford jumped into the lead, 2-1, when the puck caromed off the end boards behind Chicago’s net and directly to Jeremy Langlois standing inside the right circle for an easy goal.
However, the Wolves countered at 7:16 of the frame. Standing at the top of the crease, Blais chipped in a rebound chance from a Vince Dunn point shot to knot the game 2-2.
After a hard-fought third period the score remained tied. Just 21 seconds into the extra frame, center Wade Megan was called for interference. Skating 4-on-3, the Wolves got control of the puck, and Alex Friesen dumped it down the left-side boards into the Rockford zone.
Agozzino chased the play, corralled the puck when it hopped over Johansson’s stick behind the net and slung a shot into the top left corner for the 3-2 win.
Husso (7-5-0) turned aside 24 shots for his seventh victory of the season.
The Wolves play the back end of a home-and-home series with the IceHogs on Tuesday, Feb. 7, at BMO Harris Bank Center. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m., and the game will stream on AHLLive.com.
