Rockford, Ill.- The Rockford IceHogs jumped out to an early lead but the Chicago Wolves tallied four unanswered goals to take the preseason game, 4-2, at Carlson Arctic Ice Arena on Wednesday night.
Rockford got out in front early with two first period tallies. Scott Freeman fed Harrison Reed in front of the Chicago goal and Reed tapped in the marker at 10:36 to put Rockford on top 1-0.
Then, David Toews found Brandon Svendsen with a cross-ice pass and Svendsen slipped the puck past Chicago's netminder Charlie Effinger to put the Hogs up 2-0. Adam Miller also factored in on the play with an assist.
Chicago came back in the middle frame with three power-play goals to take the lead. Dean Strong beat Carter Hutton and sent the puck to the back of the net at 1:13 to put the Wolves on the board and cut the IceHogs lead to 2-1. Kyle Ostrow and Tim Priamo were credited with the assists.
Then with the Wolves on the power play again, Vincent LoVerde tied the game at 2-2 at 11:52 in the second period. LoVerde was set up by Alex Friesen from behind the IceHogs’ net and he sent it in on Hutton who got a piece of the puck, but not enough to prevent it from crossing the goal line.
Chicago took a 3-2 lead with another power-play goal at 11:28. Michael Davies dished the puck to Patrick Asselin to fire in the go-ahead tally.
The Wolves kept the pressure on to start the third period and added to their lead. Nathan Longpre picked up a loose puck in the slot and backhanded it past Adam Russo to finish the IceHogs off 4-2.
Hutton and Russo split time between the pipes for Rockford. Hutton allowed two goals while making 20 saves. Russo blocked 11 Chicago shots during his stay in net. Effinger and Rob Nolan shared time in goal for Chicago. Nolan picked up the win, stopping all 11 IceHogs chances he faced, while Effinger made 17 saves on 19 Rockford shots.
Next Home Game: Saturday, Oct. 8 vs. Grand Rapids. The IceHogs open the 2011-12 season against the Grand Rapids Griffins at 7:05 p.m. at the BMO Harris Bank Center. Every fan in attendance will get an IceHogs 2011-12 magnet schedule. For tickets call (815) 968-5222 or visit icehogs.com.