ROCKFORD, Ill.—The Chicago Wolves fell to the Rockford IceHogs 2-1 on Saturday night at the BMO Center.
Cory Conacher scored for the Wolves but the IceHogs’ Mike Hardman notched two goals—including the game-winner in the third period—to hand Chicago its third loss in a row. It marked Rockford’s first win over the Wolves in five meetings this season.
“That’s a bit of a tough loss,” Wolves forward Josh Melnick said. “Coming in here you knew it would a good atmosphere and a good challenge for us. We started off the game well and we just had some mental lapses and maybe we let off the gas a little bit and it came back to bite us.”
After a scoreless opening period, the teams exchanged shorthanded goals in the second. Hardman’s score off a breakaway put the IceHogs out in front but Conacher answered for the Wolves a short time later.
The veteran forward’s redirection of a shot from Rocco Grimaldi trickled past Rockford goaltender Jaxson Stauber for Conacher’s fourth goal of the season.
Hardman’s goal early in the third put the IceHogs out in front 2-1 and closed the scoring.
“We need to be simpler and get pucks deep and possess a little more in the offensive zone,” Melnick said. “We’ve gotten away from that a little bit. If we do that, we can hem teams in their own end.”
Adam Scheel (33 saves) suffered the loss in goal for the Wolves while Stauber (15 saves) earned the win for the IceHogs.
The Wolves, who are in the midst of a season-long, six-game road trip, dropped to 16-21-3-2 on the season while Rockford is now 17-19-5-2.
Next up: The Wolves travel to Milwaukee to face the Admirals on Tuesday (6:30 p.m.).
For information on Wolves ticket plans for the 2023-24 season—everything from single-game tickets to Flex Packs to group outings—visit chicagowolves.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.
