IceHogs End Three-Game Weekend with Loss to Wolves

ROCKFORD, Ill. - Nick Moutrey notched his fifth goal of the season, but the Rockford IceHogs fell 5-1 to the Chicago Wolves at Allstate Arena on Sunday.

Down 4-0 in the third period, Moutrey raced into the offensive zone to pin a Wolves defender against the boards and dig out a loose puck that he sent to Brandon Hagel. Hagel took a shot at Garrett Sparks and Moutrey pounced on the rebound and snuck it home to pull the IceHogs within three goals.

Chicago opened scoring 4:31 into the first period when former IceHog, Brandon Pirri, put the puck in the back of the net after a scrum in front of Rockford netminder, Collin Delia. About seven minutes later, Paul Cotter chased the puck into the Wolves’ offensive zone and took a wrister from the high slot to beat Delia. With the first period coming to a close, Brandon Pirri found the back of the net again to make the score 3-0 before the first intermission.

In the second frame, the IceHogs held strong until Jacob Nilsson cross-checked a Wolves skater to put Chicago on the man-advantage. On the power play, Dylan Coghlan blasted a slap-shot from the blue line that sailed past Delia to put the Wolves up 4-0.

Moutrey tallied 7:03 into the third before Cotter picked up his second goal of the night to make it 5-1 and send the IceHogs back to Rockford with the loss.

GAME NOTES

• Nick Moutrey ended a 30-game goal drought tonight with his goal in the third period...His last goal came on Dec. 15 in a 4-2 win at Toronto.
• Brandon Hagel dished his second assist in as many games tonight and has now moved into a tie for 15th in the AHL in rookie point scoring with 29 on the season.
• The IceHogs fell to the Chicago Wolves Sunday after being down 3-0 heading into the first intermission...Rockford boasts a record of 10-3-1-0 this season when leading after the opening frame but is just 9-11-0-2 when tied after one and 7-14-0-0 when trailing after one for a combined 16-24-0-2 when entering the first intermission tied or trailing.