The Chicago Wolves wrapped up 2022 with a 6-2 loss to the Rockford IceHogs on Saturday at BMO Center in Rockford.
Malte Stromwall had two goals for the Wolves but Rockford rolled to defeat the defending Calder Cup champions for the second time in two days.
Alec Regula (goal, two assists) and Luke Philp (four assists) led the way offensively for the IceHogs in the seventh meeting of the season between the Central Division rivals.
Late in the opening period, the Wolves were awarded a five-minute power play when Rockford’s Adam Clendening was given a boarding major and game misconduct for an illegal hit on Stelio Mattheos and Stromwall cashed in less than a minute into the man advantage.
Teammate Jack Drury carried the puck deep into the offensive zone, drew two IceHogs defenders and then put a pass on the tape of Stromwall who then wired a shot from the high slot past IceHogs goaltender Mitchell Weeks to the glove side.
Drury and Max Lajoie earned assists on Stromwall’s sixth goal of the season as the Swede became the Wolves’ leading scorer with 21 points.
After killing off more than four minutes of the major penalty to start the second period, the IceHogs used the momentum to turn the game around. Cooper Zech, Roos, Brett Seney and Cole Guttman each scored to give Rockford a 4-1 advantage heading into the third.
Rockford kept coming in the third with Regula and Buddy Robinson scoring to increase the lead to 6-1.
Stromwall capped the scoring with just over a minute remaining when he wheeled around the Rockford goal and snapped a wrist shot into the back of the net.
Cale Morris (15 saves) suffered the loss in goal for the Wolves while Weeks (19 saves) earned the win for the IceHogs.
The Wolves fell to 10-15-3-1 on the season while Rockford improved to 18-10-1-2.
Up next: The Wolves will host the Iowa Wild on Tuesday at Allstate Arena (7 p.m.; AHLTV).
For information on Wolves ticket plans for the 2022-23 season — everything from single-game tickets to Flex Packs to group outings — visit ChicagoWolves.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.
