SAN ANTONIO — Center Gage Quinney scored in the first round of the shootout, lifting the Wolves to a 2-1 victory over the Rampage on Saturday for their first victory of the season.
Rookie forward Lucas Elvenes scored in the third period for the Wolves -(1-2-0-0), and Elmhurst native Garret Sparks stopped 32 of 33 shots in regulation and overtime, along with all three shootout attempts by the Rampage (3-0-0-1).
Elvenes, a 20-year-old Angelholm, Sweden, native, scored 6:45 into the third to break a scoreless tie. The Rampage turned over the puck in their own end when Quinney lifted a player’s stick. Elvenes rifled a shot from the slot past Rampage goalie Adam Wilcox to give the Wolves a 1-0 lead.
The Rampage tied it at 10:50 of the third when forward Nick Lappin knocked home a rebound. Former Wolves defenseman Jake Walman wriggled free for a blast from the right circle that Sparks stopped, but Lappin pounced on the puck.
Quinney was the only player to tally in the shootout. Sparks (1-1-0) earned his first win in a Wolves uniform, while Wilcox (0-0-1) finished with 31 saves.
Before the game, the Wolves announced that goaltender Oscar Dansk was recalled on loan by the Vegas Golden Knights. Goalie Dylan Ferguson was reassigned to the Wolves from Fort Wayne (ECHL) by Vegas.
Dansk backstopped the Wolves to the 2019 Calder Cup Finals, handling the net for 19 of the team’s 22 postseason games. The Stockholm native also played a big role in the Wolves’ third consecutive Central Division title, posting a 27-9-4 record with a 2.46 goals-against average during the regular season.