Heat Too Hot For Chicago Wolves
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- The Abbotsford Heat produced three goals in the third period to send the Chicago Wolves to a 4-1 defeat on Saturday night in front of 10,955 fans at Allstate Arena.
Forward Antoine Roussel knotted the game midway through the second period with a power-play goal for the Wolves, but the Heat's Clay Wilson delivered two goals in the third and Adam Estoclet scored as well to end the Wolves' five-game home stand on a sour note.
"I didn't think we had the emotion to mount another comeback tonight," said Wolves head coach Craig MacTavish. "All hockey teams struggle from time to time and we just need to overcome it tomorrow."
After a moving pregame ceremony and video tribute celebrating Wolves captain Nolan Baumgartner's 1,000th professional game --- then a physical and scoreless first period --- Abbotsford (29-21-3-1) opened the scoring at the 1:45 mark of the second.
Left wing Carter Bancks carried the puck into the zone, chipped it into the corner and chased it down behind the net. He fed it in front to center Dustin Sylvester, who flipped it home from close range.
The Wolves (30-20-1-3) answered with Roussel's power-play goal at 14:08 of the second as they took advantage of a tripping penalty on former Wolves forward Akim Aliu.
Mark Mancari initiated the goal by flicking a shot toward the heavy traffic in front of Abbotsford goaltender Leland Irving. Tim Miller got a piece of the puck and the redirect went to Roussel, who had an open net from just outside the crease. Mancari and Miller earned assists on the play.
Abbotsford regained the lead at the 3:17 mark of the third as Wilson snapped a shot from just inside the blue line past Matt Climie's glove. The Heat bumped the margin to 3-1 at 11:10 when Estoclet carried the puck into the offensive zone and fired a wrister over Climie's glove from above the circle.
Climie (16-8-0) finished with 20 saves. Irving (17-9-0) posted 27 saves for the Heat.
The Wolves play their third game in as many days with a 5 p.m. contest Sunday at Rockford. It's the final Illinois Lottery Cup matchup this season between the Wolves and IceHogs.
-- Chicago Wolves
