Rockford IceHogs fans saw a very familiar face in net at the BMO Center Wednesday night. However, he wearing a different uniform. Longtime fan favorite Collin Delia spent five years manning the pipes for the IceHogs. He returned to his old stomping grounds for the first time with his current team, the Manitoba Moose.
The IceHogs welcomed Delia back with a quick scoreboard montage in the first period of action. Delia then received a less-hospitable welcome back on the ice. Rockford torched the seven-year veteran for six goals in the first two periods, then cruised to a 6-2 victory over Manitoba.
The win is the third in a row for the IceHogs (8-5-1, 17 points). Rockford got multiple goals from Ryder Rolston and David Gust in the contest on the way to a key Central Division win.
Delia was honored on the BMO Center scoreboard during an early stoppage . Rockford then scored five of its six goals in a fifteen-minute span.
The first two came back to back midway through the first period. Ethan Del Mastro found Cole Guttman driving to the right post, leading to a nice back-door tap in at the 10:03 mark. Subsequently, David Gust hauled in a pass from Josh Maniscalco and fired from the right dot past Delia. This gave Rockford a sudden 2-0 advantage at 10:22 of the first.
Despite the big lead, the IceHogs did not ease up on their former netminder. Ryder Rolston then struck at the 15:52 mark on the power play, set up by Colton Dach and Gutttman. Rockford led 3-0 at the first intermission and would put the game out of reach early in the middle frame.
Gust potted his second goal of the night after pouncing on a rebound of Andrew Perrott’s shot attempt 1:19 into the second period. Just over a minute later, Rolston sent a one-timer from the left dot past Delia for his second of the game at the 2:27 mark.
Brett Seney capped the IceHogs scoring late in the second period. His sixth goal of the season was a back-door tap in off a pass from Perrott at 14: 21. Manitoba got on the scoreboard with a pair of goals from rookie Nikita Chibrikov in the third period. However, the outcome was never in doubt.
Game Notes
- Guttman (1 G, 2 A on the night) was voted the game’s First Star. He was followed by Gust and Rolston, who each had a pair of goals.
- Other IceHogs with multi-point efforts were Dach, Maniscalco, and Perrott. Each contributed two helpers against the Moose.
- Rockford goalie Jaxson Stauber had a strong night. Stauber turned away several early scoring chances in what was a frantic opening twenty minutes. For the game, Stauber denied 27 of Manitoba’s 29 shots.
- For Delia, the six goals allowed was his high total for the season. It also his most since surrendering seven goals for Abbotsford on October 14, 2022.
- Chibrikov continues to impress in his rookie season. He leads the Moose with seven goals and nine assists in fourteen games.
- Both teams are in action on Friday night. Manitoba travels to Grand Rapids, while the IceHogs host Milwaukee at the BMO Center.
