DIDOMENICO�S DOUBLE DRIVES HOGS TO VICTORY IN IOWA
DES MOINES, IOWA – Chris DiDomenico scored twice, Cody Franson picked up a pair of assists and Jeff Glass stopped 31 of 33 pucks to help the Rockford IceHogs to a 5-2 victory over the Iowa Wild at Wells Fargo Arena Monday night. Rockford extended its point streak to a season-high-tying seven games, and is 5-0-1-1 in that span.
Rockford started fast in the contest, notching a trio of first-period tallies to take an early advantage. Graham Knott first found twine just over six minutes into the affair as he deflected Darren Raddysh’s point shot, followed by Luke Johnson rifling the puck home on the power play to double the IceHogs’ advantage. Franson nabbed his first assist after feeding Johnson an earlier pass.
Mitch McLain responded for Iowa with his first professional marker three minutes later, but DiDomenico again stretched Rockford’s lead to two shortly after, ringing a quick shot off the crossbar that found its way to an unsuspecting Wild defenseman who deflected the puck in his own net.
Carrying the momentum into the middle frame, DiDomenico then added another power-play strike for the IceHogs with a bullet over Iowa netminder Niklas Svedberg’s arm, and was assisted by Franson on the play. With his two helpers, Franson has now recorded multi-point efforts in three of his last five games and boasts 10 points in his last nine outings.
Kyle Rau pushed Iowa to within two goals five minutes later, but Glass and the Hogs held strong for the remainder of the contest. Rockford’s Viktor Svedberg added a 200-foot empty-netter to seal the win late in the third period.
Next Home Game: Friday, March 23 | Rockford vs. Milwaukee
The IceHogs host the Milwaukee Admirals at 7 p.m. at the BMO Harris Bank Center. Friday’s contest is Country Night with a live musical performance from local country band, “StateLine,” who will perform both pre and postgame on Friday. The first 2,500 fans in attendance can also complete their “Our Town, Our Team” bobblehead series with a free bobblehead of current Green Bay Packers defensive end and Rockford native, Dean Lowry. Tickets can be purchased at IceHogs.com, by calling (815) 968-5222 or in-person at the BMO Harris Bank Center Box Office.