BIG THIRD PERIOD PROPELS HOGS TO SECOND STRAIGHT WIN

Rockford, Ill. – Once again the Rockford IceHogs found themselves in familiar territory when they were tied with the Lake Erie Monsters after two periods of play on Sunday afternoon.

The Hogs, who have been tied with their opponent heading into the third period now in each of their first seven contests, used three tallies in the final 20 minutes to secure their second win in as many nights at the BMO Harris Bank Center, 5-2 over the Monsters.

In a 2-2 game to start the third period, Matt Carey found the back of the net for his first career AHL goal 2:51 into the third stanza with help from Kyle Cumiskey to make it a 3-2 game.

Then, with time winding down, Ryan Hartman helped end any comeback attempt by the Monsters when he potted his second goal of the season at 13:00. Cumiskey factored in on the tally to earn his third assist of the night. Mark McNeill later added an empty net goal from Carey and Phillip Danault with 55 seconds left in the contest to give Rockford the 5-2 win.

Adam Clendening opened the scoring after receiving a pass just inside the blueline from Cumiskey 5:10 into the first period beating Calvin Pickard high over the glove, giving Rockford a lead that they would carry into the locker room after the first 20 minutes of play.

The IceHogs outshot the Monsters 11-1 during the first 11:59 of the second period but it wasn’t until Dennis Rasmussen gave the Hogs a 2-0 lead with 9:52 left in the middle frame.

The Monsters would not go away quietly as they responded for the games’ next two goals to tie the contest. Trevor Cheek and Karl Stollery setup up Maxim Noreau at the 5:19 mark to bring the Monsters within a goal. Then, Andrew Agozzino forced a turnover near the Rockford net and buried his second goal of the campaign to even the game at 2-2.

Michael Leighton picked up his second win of the season after turning away 21 shots for Rockford, while Pickard stopped 26 shots in a losing effort.

Next Home Game: Tuesday, Nov. 4 vs. Lake Erie Monsters at 7 p.m. It’s a WXRX Dollar Day at the BMO Harris Bank Center as hot dogs, sodas, beers and companion tickets will be available for one dollar each.