Connolly, IceHogs Power Past Moose, Riding Four-Game Win Streak

Rockford, IL— A 3-point night for forward Brett Connolly paired with a solid performance from Rockford goaltender Arvid Soderblom helped lead the IceHogs (27-23-3-1) to a 5-3 win over the Manitoba Moose (33-18-3-2) Wednesday night at BMO Harris Bank Center.

The IceHogs found the scoreboard first when forward Michal Teply forced a turnover at the blue line and set up forward Andrei Altybarmakian who scored on the backhand to put Rockford up 1-0 at 18:38. The goal extended Altybarmakian’s point streak to four games.

It was Manitoba though, that struck first in the second period to tie the game 1-1 when forward Bobby Lynch executed a drop pass to forward Nicholas Jones at 3:01 in the middle frame.

But once again the IceHogs made the most of a turnover. Defenseman Alec Regula was able to get it to Connolly who went down the middle and outwaited Manitoba goaltender Arvid Holm to give Rockford a 2-1 lead at 6:54 in the second period.

Later in the period on a power play, it was Connolly once again who delivered. He was able to find the back of the net on a rebound to extend the IceHogs lead to 3-1 at 13:39 in the third period. Regula picked up his second assist of the night while forward Mike Hardman picked up one as well.

But Manitoba continued to try to fight back. 1:56 into the third period, forward Mikey Eyssimont found a lane and tucked it past Soderblom’s left leg to make it a 3-2 game.

The IceHogs, however, continued to keep the pressure on. Forward Lukas Reichel scored on a one-timer after a pass from Connolly for his team-leading 20^th goal of the season. Reichel continues his push to break rookie records. He’s currently trailing forward Vince Hinostroza (2015-16 season, 51 points) for the all-time IceHogs rookie points mark and forward Matthew Highmore (2017-18 season, 24 goals) by four goals to tie the all-time rookie goal mark.

Later in the period forward Josiah Slavin scored on the empty netter to put Rockford up 5-2 at 18:03. Just over 20 seconds later, Jones found the back of the net for his second goal of the game to make it a 5-3 contest. But that’s where it would end for the Moose.

Rockford netminder Arvid Soderblom made 37 saves to earn the win. The victory snapped Manitoba’s 9-game point streak, while the IceHogs skated off with their fourth win in a row.

The IceHogs now travel to Des Moines, IA to take on the Iowa Wild on Friday, March 25 at 7:00 p.m. Rockford will then turn right back around and return home for another matchup with the Moose on Saturday, March 26 at 6:00 p.m. at the BMO Harris Bank Center.

Listen to action on the IceHogs Broadcast Network presented by BMO Harris Bank! Tune in from your favorite device, at home or on the road at IceHogs.com and on the IceHogs app! Fans can also tune in on all of Mid-West Family’s local stations including 104.9 The X, B103, 95.3 The Bull, and Rockford Greatest Hits 100.5 and featured on Rock River Current.