The Chicago Wolves continued their four-game road trip and rallied to earn a point with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Stars on Saturday night in Texas.
Riley Barber scored the game-winner in overtime to lift the Stars and hand the defending Calder Cup champion Wolves their fourth loss in a row. The Wolves roared back from a three-goal deficit to pick up a point as they continue to battle for a Central Division postseason berth.
Tuukka Tieksola scored two goals and Mackenzie MacEachern added another as the Wolves dropped to 0-1-1-0 on the road trip.
The Stars came out flying and took a three-goal lead at the first intermission following scores by Curtis McKenzie, Antonio Stranges and Scott Reedy.
Early in the second, Tieksola cut the Wolves’ deficit to 3-1 with his first goal since Feb. 3 after returning from a loan to Karpat of the Finnish League on Friday. Tieksola completed a pretty passing from Ronan Seeley to Ryan Dzingel with Tieksola tucking the puck past Stars goaltender Remi Poirier for his fifth goal of the season.
The Wolves were killing a penalty late in the second when MacEachern sprung through the Stars defense on a breakaway. The veteran forward deked his way to the net and buried a forehand shot past the glove of Poirier for his sixth goal of the season. Vasily Ponomarev and Max Lajoie earned assists on the play. The shorthanded score was the Wolves’ 10th of the season to rank fourth in the league and pulled Chicago to within 3-2 after two periods.
Midway through the third, Tieksola struck again to knot the score at 3-3. The forward pounced on a loose puck in the slot and fired a one-timer by Poirier to the stick side. Cavan Fitzgerald and Joseph LaBate were awarded assists.
Zachary Sawchenko (26 saves) suffered the loss in goal for the Wolves while Poirier (26 saves) earned the win for the Stars.
The Wolves dropped to 26-28-4-3 on the season and Texas improved to 35-17-8-3.
Up next: The Wolves remain in Texas to face the Stars on Sunday (5 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.
