Wolves, Eddie Lack recover after early mistake, beat IceHogs

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Updated: March 5, 2012 8:10AM

Wolves goalie Eddie Lack has been notorious for giving up first-period goals, but just as notable has been his ability to battle back from early setbacks.

So when visiting the Rockford IceHogs beat Lack stick-side 86 seconds into Friday night’s game at Allstate Arena, the Wolves didn’t panic. It was the only mistake Lack made in a 4-2 victory.

“He really shut the door after the first one went in and they got to us early,” coach Craig MacTavish said. “The first 10 minutes of the game, we were a little lethargic and a little rusty from the [All-Star] break.”

Lack has given up 25 of his 63 goals in the first period, but he has managed to play his best when the Wolves need him most. The visitors played target practice with Lack, outshooting the Wolves 32-18. More importantly, Lack bottled up those shots and rarely gave the IceHogs a rebound opportunity.

“I’ve been thinking a lot [about the early goals] but I haven’t come to any conclusion yet,” Lack said. “So hopefully, it will be better at the end.

“Starting the game good and having a solid first period is always something that you want to do. That’s something I’ve got to work on.”

Wolves forward Tim Miller erased Lack’s mistake with a goal at 19:23 in the first period that tied the game at 1. Miller, who scored points in four of the last five games leading up to the All-Star break, didn’t let the layoff disrupt his momentum.

Miller scored twice in a physical game. Enforcer Matt Clackson was a healthy scratch, but the Wolves rallied to pick up the slack in the toughness department.

“We stayed pretty team-tough,” MacTavish said. “We were a little outmanned in the toughness department against these guys, and we’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again.”