The Rockford IceHogs opened a five-game road trip with what could be their most inspired play of the season. Rockford picked up back-to-back wins over the two top teams in the Central Division. The weekend sweep came about in thrilling fashion, with furious third-period rallies on Friday in Milwaukee and Saturday in Grand Rapids.
It’s safe to say that the IceHogs entered March like lions.
Rockford (24-21-5-2) has won its last five games and eight of its last ten. The IceHogs snapped a 15-game home win streak by the division-leading Admirals. Then, Rockford stunned the second-place Griffins by coming back from a three-goal deficit. The wins keep the IceHogs just two points behind third-place Texas as the postseason push intensifies.
Sinking The Admirals
Rockford fell behind twice in Milwaukee Friday night on goals by the Admirals Cody Hodgson. Responding both times was former Milwaukee skater Rem Pitlick, who knotted the game with his second goal of the evening midway through the third period.
It appeared that the game would require an overtime session. However, Lukas Reichel jumped on a loose puck at center ice and made a beeline for the Milwaukee zone. Michal Teply received Reichel’s pass at the top of the right circle. The resulting wrist shot beat Admirals goalie Yaroslav Askarov to the twine with 39 seconds remaining.
Brett Seney would seal the game a few seconds later with an empty net goal for the 4-2 win. Milwaukee, whose 19-game win streak was broken by Grand Rapids last week, drops back to back games for the first time since November 2 and 4.
Gut Punching The Griffins
Rockford came out a bit sluggish to open play at Van Andel Arena Saturday. The Griffins led 3-0 before Cole Guttman redirected a Seney shot past Grand Rapids goalie Sebastian Cossa midway through the second period. The IceHogs trailed 3-1 midway through the third before Guttman found Seney in the slot at the 11:35 mark. It was the jolt Rockford needed.
In the next 90 seconds, the IceHogs would take a 4-3 advantage on goals by Jackson Cates and Guttman. The Griffins were able to tie the contest with a Joel L’Esperance tally with 2:41 to play. This sent the game to overtime and extended Grand Rapids point streak to 18 games. However, Reichel would set up the game-winning goal for the second night in a row.
Gaining control of the puck after a defensive zone faceoff, Reichel streaked up the ice with Ethan Del Mastro in tow. Rockford ended the game 3:46 into the extra session when the rookie defenseman buried Reichel’s feed past Cossa and into the Griffins net.
Guttman, who along with Seney and Pitlick formed a formidable scoring line over the weekend, spoke to Rockford broadcaster Mike Folta Saturday night about the comeback and the chemistry.
“I think we started off a bit slow,” Guttman pointed out, “but once we found our legs and got in our groove, we kind of took off from there.”
Guttman (2 G, 1 A), Pitlick (2 G, 3 A), and Seney (2 G, 3 A), along with Reichel’s clutch passing, put a real shine to the weekend for the IceHogs.
“They’re so fun to play with,” Guttman told Folta about Seney and Pitlick. “They’re so crafty and so good all over the ice. It’s great to see the success they’re having as well. I think we’ve been gelling together pretty well and hopefully we can keep it going.”
Road Notes
- Mike Hardman (17 G, 10 A) was injured early in Friday’s game in Milwaukee. On Saturday, the team announced that Hardman has been placed in the league’s concussion protocol.
- Hardman joins some of Rockford’s top scorers (David Gust, Anders Bjork) on the injured list. The fact that players like Pitlick, Seney and Guttman are stepping up are a big reason for the five-game win streak.
- Seney now leads the IceHogs in goals (17, tied with Hartman) and points (43).
- Reichel has yet to find the net in six games since being assigned to Rockford. However, he does have five assists in that span.
- The IceHogs return to Rockford for a week of practice before a quick trip to Rosemont for a single game on Saturday, March 9 against the Chicago Wolves. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. CDT.
