Pirri’s hat trick tops Rockford

Behind a hat trick from forward Brandon Pirri and a shutout from goaltender Oscar Dansk, the Chicago Wolves toppled the Rockford IceHogs 4-0 in Illinois Lottery Cup action on Saturday night at the BMO Harris Bank Center.

Defenseman Nic Hague also scored for Chicago (13-9-2-1) while Dansk (7-4-2) saved all 32 shots Rockford threw at him for the team’s first shutout of the year.

Goaltender Collin Delia (5-5-4) stopped 35 of 39 shots on the night for Rockford (11-10-1-4).

Pirri, who leads all AHL players with 34 points, helped the Wolves record the fourth game in franchise history with both a hat trick and a shutout — and the first since Oct. 7, 2006.

Pirri tallied the first goal of the game at the 2:47 mark of the first period on a 2-on-1 opportunity with forward Curtis McKenzie. Pirri looked to make a pass, which faked out the goaltender before sniping the shot under Delia’s glove.

Pirri struck again at the 14:04 point when he capitalized on the second shot of the Wolves’ power play, extending the team’s streak to five consecutive games with a power-play tally. Forward Daniel Carr received a stretch pass at the left boards from defenseman Erik Brannstrom, then set up Pirri in the slot to slam the puck under Delia.

Hague tallied his fourth goal in four days at 15:57 of the first, faking a shot in the high slot and forcing the IceHogs defender to commit to a block before skating in on Delia and slotting the puck behind his left pad.

Pirri closed out the scoring and sealed his hat trick in the second period, scoring off his own rebound at the 16:28 mark. Delia made the initial save but was unable to control the rebound, which landed right in front of Pirri for an easy tap-in.

The Wolves return to Allstate Arena at 7 p.m. Saturday for the Salvation Army Red Kettle Game against the Tucson Roadrunners.