IceHogs defenseman Shawn Lalonde and Aeros forward Jason Zucker get ready for a draw. (Photo Credit: Kim Wrona)
The latter part of week 18 ended the IceHogs’ four game road trip and brought them back to the BMO Harris Bank Center for the first time since January 26th. After a big shootout win in Texas earlier in the week, the Hogs looked to add some victories as they try to get right back into the thick of the playoff chase.
Friday, February 8 at Peoria - The IceHogs were back in Illinois on Friday as they found themselves in Peoria to take on the Rivermen for the first time in a long while; the last time they were in P-Town was on October 19th, the third game of the 2012-13 season. The home team got on the board first with Chris Porter’s 4th marker of the year at 10:30 of the opening frame. At 17:16, Jeremy Morin tied the game up for Rockford with his 16th tally of the season. Tyler Shattock gave Peoria the lead back at the 9:51 mark of the second period with an unassisted, shorthanded tally. On the same Rockford power play, 25 seconds after giving up the shorty, Kyle Beach tied it up at 2 with his 11th goal of the season on a feed from Brad Mills.
Jimmy Hayes gave the IceHogs their first lead of the night at 2:36 of the third period with his 15th goal of the season; the assists went to Morin and Terry Broadhurst. With just under five minutes to go in the third period, Beach gave the Hogs some insurance as he scored to make it 4-2 and that’s how the final score would look as the Hogs won their second consecutive game.
-Rockford outshot Peoria 31-28.
-The IceHogs went 1-for-3 on the power play and the Rivs went 1-for-2 on the man advantage.
-The IceHogs were led by Ben Youds and Kyle Beach as they both fired five shots on goal.
-Henrik Karlsson was in net for Rockford.
-The three stars of the game were: 1– Kyle Beach 2 — Jeremy Morin 3 — Jimmy Hayes
-The game didn’t feature any fights until the clock hit the 20 minute mark of the third period when Jeremy Morin and Chris Porter dropped the gloves. That’s the third time that the two have fought each other in professional hockey (twice in the AHL, once in the NHL).
-The scratches were: Ben Smith (injured), Dylan Olsen (injured, according to the radio broadcast), and Wade Brookbank (healthy).
Saturday, February 9 vs. Houston - The action was all over the ice on Saturday night as the IceHogs took on the Aeros in Rockford. The first period almost went scoreless, but the visitors struck with 8 seconds left in the first period. Johan Larsson scored his 13th goal of the season to make it 1-0 Aeros as he got IceHogs netminder Henrik Karlsson down and lifted the puck over him. Houston could have extended their lead by a lot in the second period, but the IceHogs defense did a great job of clearing pucks out of and away from the crease when Karlsson wasn’t able to get to pucks. They kept themselves in the game for the majority of the game, but at 15:12 of the third period, David McIntyre made it 2-0 and the Aeros were able to hang on for the win. The Hogs’ shutout loss was their second time being shutout in five games.
-Rockford outshot Houston 38-34.
-The IceHogs went 0-for-2 on the power play and they killed off all three Aeros man advantages.
-Ryan Stanton, Kyle Beach, Brad Mills, and Martin St. Pierre all fired four shots on goal.
-The three stars of the game were: 1 — Darcy Kuemper 2 — Johan Larsson 3 — Henrik Karlsson
-The IceHogs power play units were:
Kenndal McArdle — Martin St. Pierre — Jimmy Hayes
Mathieu Beaudoin — Adam Clendening
Kyle Beach — Brandon Pirri — Jeremy Morin
Shawn Lalonde — Ben Youds
-Some of the penalty killers that the IceHogs used were: Brad Mills, Kenndal McArdle, Ryan Stanton, and Shawn Lalonde; Brandon Pirri, Jeremy Morin, Ben Youds, and Joe Lavin; Martin St. Pierre, Mathieu Beaudoin, Shawn Lalonde, and Ryan Stanton; Brad Mills, Brandon Svendsen, Klas Dahlbeck, and Joe Lavin; Jimmy Hayes, Jeremy Morin, Ryan Stanton, and Shawn Lalonde.
-IceHogs forward Philippe Paradis left the game in the second period with an apparent injury and never returned.
-The scratches were: Ben Smith, Dylan Olsen (injured), and Wade Brookbank (healthy).
-The lines and D pairs were:
Brandon Svendsen — Brandon Pirri — Kyle Beach
Kenndal McArdle — Martin St. Pierre — Mathieu Beaudoin
Terry Broadhurst — Jimmy Hayes — Jeremy Morin
Rob Flick — Brad Mills — Philippe Paradis
Ryan Stanton — Ben Youds
Klas Dahlbeck — Adam Clendening
Joe Lavin — Shawn Lalonde
Roster Transactions
-Thursday, February 7 – The Blackhawks reassigned center David Gilbert to the Bloomington Blaze of the CHL from the IceHogs.
Tidbits
-Hog Talk is back next Monday at District Bar and Grill in Rockford as one of the coaches and forward Mathieu Beaudoin and defenseman Adam Clendening will be the guests. The taping of the show is from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. and will be shown on Tuesday at 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on channel 23.2 in Rockford.
-Check out IceHogs forward Ben Smith‘s interview on the Stone and Double T show from this morning on WXRX in Rockford.
-The IceHogs now have a record of 22-24-1-1 (46 points) and are currently in a three way tie for third place in the Midwest Division, but are last because they have more games played than Milwaukee (3 more) and Peoria (1 more). In the Western Conference standings, they are in a four way tie for 11th with Milwaukee, Peoria, and San Antonio, but are in 14th. They are 8 points out of the eighth and final playoff spot. **Before Tuesday night’s games had ended.
Upcoming Games
Wednesday, February 13 at Peoria at 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, February 16 vs. Abbotsford at 7:05 p.m.
Sunday, February 17 vs. Lake Erie at 5:05 p.m.
