Rockford, Ill. – After 156 minutes and 11 seconds of scoreless hockey for the Rockford IceHogs at the BMO Harris Bank Center, Brandon Bollig finally broke through with a goal at the 16:13 mark of the third period on Saturday against the Milwaukee Admirals, propelling the IceHogs to an eventual 2-1 shootout win in front of a sellout crowd of 6,170.
Until Bollig’s marker, the last goal Rockford scored on home ice was 1:02 into the middle frame on Feb. 11 when Jimmy Hayes tallied against the Chicago Wolves. Rockford went scoreless for the rest of that contest and were held off the board by the Peoria Rivermen on Feb. 15.
Down by a goal with less than four minutes left in regulation, Bollig fired an off-angle shot that snuck past Atte Engren to tie the game at 1-1. Brandon Svendsen and Brian Fahey earned helpers on the tally.
Then, despite Rockford outshooting the Admirals 6-0 in overtime the game went to a shootout. Brandon Pirri, Rostislav Olesz and Andrew Shaw each netted a goal in the shootout, while Carter Hutton stopped shots from Chris Mueller, Ryan Ellis and Kyle Wilson to give the IceHogs a 2-1 victory.
In the first period, Jani Lajunen put Milwaukee on the board at 15:59. The centerman corralled the puck in the IceHogs zone and fired a shot from the right faceoff circle that beat Hutton glove-side to give the Admirals a 1-0 lead.
Hutton earned his 12th win of the season on 23 saves, while Engren turned away 35 IceHogs shots.
The IceHogs went 0-for-6 on the power play and killed off all six of Milwaukee’s man advantage opportunities.
Next Home Game: Sunday, Feb. 26 vs. Chicago Wolves. The IceHogs conclude the season series with the Chicago Wolves on Sunday at 5:05 p.m. at the BMO Harris Bank Center. Fans can meet and greet Hall of Famer and Blackhawks legend Tony Esposito before the game and during the first intermission. The first 1,500 fans to the game will pick up a goalie replica mask thanks to U.S. Cellular. It’s also the last chance for fans to “Skate with the Hogs” following the game.
For every goal that the Rockford IceHogs score in 2011-12, IceHogs head coach Ted Dent will make a donation to children’s cancer research. BMO Harris Bank will also make a donation for every goal to the “BMO Harris Bank Goals For Grades”