The Chicago Wolves needed extra time, but rookie defenseman Erik Brannstrom’s overtime goal lifted the Wolves over the Iowa Wild 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at Allstate Arena.
After killing off the remaining 28 seconds of a Tye McGinn penalty at the start of the overtime, the Wolves battled hard and were rewarded with Brannstrom’s tally at the 3:35 point of the extra frame.
Brannstrom entered the zone to lead a 3-on-1 and centered the puck to forward Daniel Carr, who snapped a pass back to Brannstrom that the rookie slammed into the net from the right circle.
Forward Brooks Macek tallied the other goal for Chicago (28-17-5-1) while goaltender Max Lagace (11-7-3) saved 31 of 32 shots in the victory.
“Max played great,” said Wolves head coach Rocky Thompson. “Max made some saves that are almost impossible saves in the third period to even just get us a point. We were fortunate tonight. We didn’t deserve that. But because of Max’s performance, we were able to find a way to win a really, really important game.”
The Wolves are one point behind Iowa for second place in the Central Division, but have played one game fewer and therefore boast a better winning percentage.
Forward J.T. Brown scored the lone goal for Iowa (27-16-5-4) while netminder C.J. Motte (1-0-3) saved 11 shots.
The Wolves took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission after Macek broke through at the 7:24 mark. Macek came off the bench and received a pass from center T.J. Tynan as he entered the zone, taking a step before sniping the shot over Motte.
The Wild knotted the game in the second when Brown hit home a pass at the back door 4:30 into the second frame. The game would remain tied through the third period and into the extra session before Brannstrom’s seventh goal of the year and second overtime winner this year.
The Wolves continue their five-game homestand with games against divisional foes at 11 a.m. Thursday, 7 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday.