ROSEMONT, Ill.—The Wolves’ woes continued as they fell to the Rockford IceHogs 4-2 on Saturday night at Allstate Arena.
Rockford netminder Drew Commesso made 36 saves—allowing only third-period goals to Noel Gunler and Josiah Slavin—to help hand the Wolves their third loss in a row and seventh in their last eight games. Chase Dafoe scored twice for the IceHogs in the 11th of 12 meetings between the Central Division rivals this season.
“It’s tough—we gave up a couple of goals early and then we were chasing the rest of the game,” Slavin said. “Analytically, we probably dominated the game but we just have to bear down on some chances and make sure the puck goes in the net a little earlier to open the floodgates.”
The IceHogs took a 2-0 advantage into the first intermission on a pair of goals from Dafoe, who was making his professional debut after signing with Rockford on March 13 following his career at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.
After a scoreless second period, Brett Seney’s tally 19 seconds into the third staked the IceHogs to a 3-0 lead.
With 7:18 remaining, Gunler cut into the deficit with the Wolves skating on the power play. The forward crashed the net and cleaned up a loose puck in the crease for his 13th goal of the season. Justin Robidas and Felix Unger Sorum recorded assists.
Rem Pitlick’s empty-netter gave Rockford another three-goal advantage before Slavin capped the scoring for the Wolves with a shorthanded marker. The captain raced into the IceHogs zone on a breakaway and solved Commesso for Slavin’s sixth score of the season. Skyler Brind’Amour had an assist.
Cayden Primeau (18 saves) suffered the loss in goal for the Wolves while Commesso earned the win for the IceHogs.
Chicago fell to 29-18-6-6 on the season while Rockford stands at 23-33-3-2.
“Analytically, we’ve dominated the last couple of games so our process is definitely working,” Slavin said. “We need to just stick with the process and the results will come.”
Up next: The Wolves host the Iowa Wild on Sunday at Allstate Arena (5 p.m.).
For information on Wolves ticket plans for the 2025-26 season—everything from single-game tickets to Flex Packs to group outings—visit chicagowolves.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.
