Hardman, Morris Lead Hogs Over Wolves as Rockford Looks to Punch Ticket to Playoffs Tomorrow Night
IceHogs Highlights: IceHogs vs Wolves 4/19/22
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Sunday, December 22
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Rosemont, IL- Mike Hardman’s two tally night, including a goal in the last minute of play, paired with a career-high 43-save night from goaltender Cale Morris gave the Rockford IceHogs (35-36-4-1) a 4-3 win over the Chicago Wolves (46-15-5-5) Tuesday night at Allstate Arena.
The IceHogs magic number has now gone down to two, so a win tomorrow when they host the Grand Rapids Griffins at 7:00 p.m. at BMO Harris Bank Center would punch their ticket to the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs.
The IceHogs took their first lead of the night when defenseman Isaak Phillips was able to just get the puck across the goal line on a drop pass from forward Lukas Reichel at 5:09 in the opening frame.
Later in the period Rockford extended their lead when forward Mike Hardman fired a slap shot from the left circle at 14:18 for his 16th goal of the season.
But Chicago answered in the second period when forward Vasily Ponomarev put one past Morris at 17:22.
But with just seconds remaining in the middle frame, defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk got it to forward Andrei Altybarmakian who fired off a one-timer with less than a second left to give the IceHogs a 3-1 lead.
The Wolves however continued to battle back in the third period. Forward Spencer Smallman netted his 9th and 10th goals of the season five minutes apart in the closing frame to tie the game 3-3.
But with 46 seconds left in the game, forward Evan Barratt stole it from behind the net on a dump in and got it to Hardman who fired the game-winning shot. Barratt finished the night with two assists.
Watch and listen to the 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 watch every IceHogs home game and select road games this season on 23.3 Circle TV and every game on AHLTV and listen 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.