Offense Comes Alive As Wolves Bury Rampage 6-2
SAN ANTONIO, Texas --- The Chicago Wolves rallied twice and potted five unanswered goals to snap a three-game losing streak and take down the San Antonio Rampage 6-2 on Tuesday night at the AT&T Center.
Six players recorded multiple-point games for the Wolves (14-9-3-0), with right wing Ty Rattie leading the charge with one goal and two assists. Dmitrij Jaskin (G, A), Jani Hakanpaa, Terry Broadhurst (G, A), Philip McRae, and Pat Cannone (G, A) rounded out scoring for Chicago. Jeremy Welsh and Mathieu Brodeur added two assists apiece.
The Rampage (14-7-2-0) once again opened scoring as the home team took the lead late in the first period. Center Drew Shore put San Antonio on the board at 15:12 as he accepted a drop pass and blasted a shot from the point that evaded goaltender Jordan Binnington's glove.
Rattie tied it up 2:03 into the second period as he notched his league-leading 14th goal of the season. From the corner, the forward sent the puck on net but it hit traffic and bounced back out to him. With the defensemen and goaltender Dan Ellis tied up, Rattie took advantage of the gaping net to open the floodgates for the Wolves.
While San Antonio briefly retook the lead on defenseman Blake Parlett's successful wraparound at 3:26, Chicago tallied the next three to round out a four-goal middle frame. The flurry tied the team's season-high for goals in a period.
The equalizer came on the power play off the stick of Jaskin. Defenseman Jake Chelios' shot from the blue line was blocked out front by teammate Jeremy Welsh, who sent a pass to the boards for a one-timer by Jaskin at 7:16.
Hakanpaa registered his opening goal of 2014-5 to give the team the lead, the first time they have not been tied or trailing since early in the game on Dec. 3. The defenseman fired home a pass from Rob Bordson at the faceoff circle to put Chicago up 3-2.
The offensive display continued as Broadhurst notched a power-play tally at 13:07 to round out the period. Defenseman Brodeur set him up with a cross-ice pass that Broadhurst buried top-shelf.
The scoring did not stop in the final frame as the Wolves continued to pile on the goals. McRae potted the team's third power-play marker of the game 1:38 into the period and Cannone followed it up just 1:21 later to stay atop the team leaderboard with 18 points.
Binnington (7-3-1) kicked out 28 of 30 shots to earn the win. Ellis (9-4-1) stopped 17 of 23 before being relieved at the 42:56 mark by Michael Houser, who made one save.
Following a seven-day hiatus, the Wolves return to Allstate Arena to host the Adirondack Flames at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 17, for the team's first School-Day Game of the season. To pick up the holiday season's best deal -- the Howliday Pack that includes a knit hat, scarf, commemorative puck and Gameworks play card – call 1-800-THE-WOLVES or visit ChicagoWolves.com.
-Chicago Wolves
