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Cleveland
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Defenseman Dylan Coghlan scored at 4:29 of overtime to lift the Chicago Wolves to a 3-2 victory over the Cleveland Monsters on Sunday afternoon at Allstate Arena.
Forward Curtis McKenzie and Coghlan scored in regulation for the Wolves (25-22-3-2), who took two out of three games over a four-day stretch. Brandon Pirri set up Coghlan alone in the slot for his game-winner.
The Wolves trailed 2-0 before McKenzie scored at 14:17 of the second period to set the comeback in motion. To that point, the players were trying to rally each other on the bench – but couldn’t find a spark.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Wolves head coach Rocky Thompson. “Sometimes you need to score a goal. You need to feel good about yourself. Not, like, get a chance. You’ve got to actually bury one. Then it can really be uplifting for the guys.”
(23-25-3-2) opened the scoring at 3:35 of the second period. Forward Branden Troock blasted a slapshot from the right faceoff circle that goaltender Garret Sparks rejected, but center Calvin Thurkauf flew down the slot to swat home the rebound.
Thurkauf repaid the favor at 12:17 of the second when he raced down the left wing and centered a pass to Troock, who shoveled it home for his first AHL goal since the 2016-17 season.
The Wolves answered with McKenzie’s 14th goal of the season. Tye McGinn collected the puck, carried it into the offensive zone and spied McKenzie cutting toward the top of the crease. McGinn put the pass right on McKenzie’s stick and he redirected it past Cleveland goaltender Veini Vehvilainen at 14:17.
Coghlan knotted the game with 9:00 remaining in regulation. The Monsters tried to clear the puck out of their zone, but the puck slid directly to Coghlan waiting at the right point. He unleashed a one-timer that wiggled past Vehvilainen’s glove to make it 2-2.
Sparks (6-14-3) delivered 29 saves in the win while Vehvilainen (10-14-3) posted 34 stops.
The Wolves return to action when they host the Grand Rapids Griffins at 11 a.m. Thursday, then the Rockford IceHogs come to town for an Illinois Lottery Cup showdown at 3 p.m. Sunday. For tickets, visit ChicagoWolves.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.
