Wolves Fall To Rockford 3-2 In Shootout
October 26, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Chicago Wolves News Release
ROSEMONT, Ill.---Chicago Wolves goaltender Ondrej Pavelec stopped five of seven Rockford IceHogs attempts in the shootout and notched 29 saves in regulation and overtime, but Rockford center Tim Brent's shootout score gave the IceHogs an eventual 3-2 win over the Wolves at the Allstate Arena Sunday night.
Right wing Junior Lessard was the only Wolves skater to convert during the shootout, while right wing Jack Skille netted the other shootout goal for Rockford.
Skille and Wolves right wing Joe Motzko combined for the four regulation goals in the contest, with each netting a pair of tallies in the first two periods. Pavelec (4-2-1) denied 29 Rockford attempts in regulation, the fifth time in seven games this season he has allowed two or fewer goals. The 21-year-old netminder has allowed just 12 goals in seven straight starts for Chicago and ranks fifth in the American Hockey League with a .941 save percentage and sixth with a 1.69 goals-against average.
"It was a tough game and a hard fought game," said Wolves Head Coach Don Granato. "You compete to win but sometimes that's not the way it goes, but you still want to see the level of intensity and effort level is there, and I was happy with that tonight."
Motzko needed just 2:05 to collect his second goal of the season and first of the game to stake Chicago (4-1-1-1) to an early one-goal lead. Center Matt Anderson gathered the puck along the boards and sent a cross-ice pass to defenseman Grant Lewis near the blue line. Lewis knocked a quick pass back across and down to Motzko, camped out to the right of the goal, and he banged a shot by Rockford netminder Antti Niemi.
Niemi (4-1-0) turned aside 34 shots for the IceHogs.
Skille brought Rockford (7-1-0-0) even, 1-1, at 14:12 of the first period when he blasted the puck up under the crossbar after a give-and-go with center Petri Kontiola.
Chicago pulled ahead, 2-1, with a second marker from Motzko, 1:56 into the second frame. After a flurry of Wolves shots at Niemi, Motzko pulled back from the scrum, hesitated then flicked a quick shot to the back corner of the net.
Skille answered with his second of the night just over eight minutes later. The right wing took a pass from Mike Brennan and one-timed a blast through Pavelec to knot the score, 2-2, midway through the second frame.
After a two-day respite, the Wolves will host the Providence Bruins at the Allstate Arena on Wed., Oct. 29 at 7 p.m.
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