Hardman Tallies for Third Straight Game, But Moose Overpower Hogs

Winnipeg, MB- IceHogs forward Mike Hardman scored for the third game in a row, but that was just about all Rockford (22-21-3-1) could muster up against the Manitoba Moose (28-17-2-1) in Thursday night’s 7-2 loss at Canada Life Centre.

The Moose jumped out to an early lead when defenseman Declan Chisholm scored on a one-timer on the third shot of the game at 1:55 in the first period.

Manitoba extended their lead when forward Nick Hutchinson moved it down the right-hand side to get it across to forward Todd Burgess who went upstairs on Rockford netminder Collin Delia to make it a 2-0 game at 9:16 in the opening frame.

But the IceHogs came right back when Hardman ripped in a bouncing puck for his eighth goal in his last 10 games at 9:54 in the period.

Still in the first period, IceHogs captain and forward Garrett Mitchell scored high, short-side glove on Manitoba goaltender Mikhail Berdin to tie the game 2-2 at 12:58.

But with just 48 seconds left in the first period and the Moose on a power play, forward Mikey Eyssimont scored on a rebound to give Manitoba a 3-2 lead heading into the intermission.

From there it was all Manitoba.

In the middle frame the Moose capitalized on the man-advantage to extend their lead. After IceHogs forward Andrei Altybarmakian was called for tripping, Moose forward Greg Meireles scored on a shot from the right-wing circle to give Manitoba a 4-2 lead.

Manitoba then went on to score three more goals in the third period to take a 7-2 win. Moose forward Evan Polei deflected in a shot from Chisholm to make it a 5-2 contest. Then forward David Gustafsson found the back of the net at 11:27 to make it 6-2. The final goal of the night would come off the stick of forward Cole Maier to seal the win. The seven goals are the most the IceHogs have given up this season.

But Rockford has the chance to bounce right back on Saturday. The IceHogs and Moose will turn around and play again on Saturday, March 5 at 2:00 p.m. From there, Rockford will make stops in Milwaukee and Cleveland before returning home to take on Grand Rapids on Saturday, March 19 at 6:00 p.m.

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.