HOGS STUMBLE AT HOME TO ADMIRALS

Teravainen marks first goal but IceHogs fall 4-1

Rockford, Ill. – Home ice was not the cure on Friday night as the Rockford IceHogs (33-30-5-4) fell to the Milwaukee Admirals (36-23-6-7) by a score of 4-1, clinching their trip to the playoffs. The loss was the IceHogs fourth-straight game without a point as they fight for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Down 2-0 midway through the third period, the IceHogs got on the board with 10:16 left in regulation when Teuvo Teravainen, in his first career AHL game, put the puck into the back of the net unassisted. Milwaukee misplayed a puck in front of Marek Mazanec where Teravainen took advantage to bring the IceHogs within one at 2-1.

The IceHogs then killed a 5-on-3 power play for the Admirals with 8:40 left in the contest. The first penalty expired as Theo Peckham took the puck from Milwaukee and raced down the ice on a breakaway but couldn’t sneak the equalizer past Mazanec.

With 5:40 left in regulation, the Admirals went ahead by two for the second time. Scott Valentine skated the puck into the zone and fired a hard wrister under Jason LaBarbera from the right face-off circle to set the scoreboard at 3-1.

The nail in the coffin came with 59.1 seconds left with LaBarbera on the bench for the extra-attacker. Filip Forsberg was credited with his 14th goal of the campaign and the 4-1 marker.

The first power play of the night resulted in the first Admirals goal seven seconds into their advantage at 3:52 of the first period. Forsberg had the puck fed to him across the zone by Miikka Salomaki and fired it past LaBarbera.

After crashing the net, the Admirals made it a two-goal game with just 1:19 left in the sandwich frame. Austin Watson got his 18th marker of the season after getting the last touch on the puck before it hit the back of the Rockford net.

LaBarbera made 25 saves for Rockford but was saddled with the loss as Mazanec stopped 26-of-27 shots he faced to earn the win for Milwaukee.

Next Home Game: Saturday, April 12 against the Iowa Wild. The puck drops at 7 p.m. where the first 2,500 fans through the gates will receive an Andrew Shaw bobblehead courtesy of Vienna Beef. Shaw’s bobble head is the last in the set of championship series bobbleheads this season.