Gillam Perfect in First AHL Start as Hogs Beat Moose for Second Time This Week

Rockford, IL-- In his first AHL start, goaltender Mitch Gillam earned a shutout win to lead the IceHogs (28-23-4-1) to a 4-0 victory over the Manitoba Moose (33-19-4-2) Saturday night at BMO Harris Bank Center.

Gillam, who was signed to a professional tryout agreement earlier this week after spending the whole season with the Indy Fuel, blocked all 38 shots he faced, while Manitoba netminder Arvid Holm allowed four goals on 26 shots and suffered the loss.

After a scoreless first period, the IceHogs took the lead when forward DJ Busdeker scored on a one-timer from forward Dylan McLaughlin at 3:19 in the second period. It was Busdeker’s fifth goal of the season and McLaughlin’s third assist in just the last two games after returning from concussion protocol.

The IceHogs extended their lead later in the period when defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk had a great poke check and got it to forward Jakub Pour who fired off a shot and found the back of the net at 13:02 in the middle frame to make it 2-0 IceHogs.

With Holm pulled in the third period, forward Mike Hardman scored on the empty net to give the IceHogs a 3-0 lead at 18:26 in the closing frame.

But the IceHogs weren’t done yet. With 32 seconds left in the game and Holm back in net, defenseman Nicolas Beaudin found Mclaughlin for the assistant captain’s seventh goal of the season and first one since returning from his injury.

Rockford has now won six out of their last eight games. Looking ahead to next week, the IceHogs close out March with the Milwaukee Admirals on Tuesday, March 29 for a 7:00 p.m. puck drop at BMO Harris Bank Center. Rockford will then head out west and play six-straight contests against the Pacific Division: at Tucson Apr. 1-2, at Henderson Apr. 4-5 and return home to play Tucson once again Apr. 9-10.

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.