ICEHOGS BLANKED IN CRUCIAL GAME IN PEORIA
Rockford has four-winning streak snapped
Peoria, Ill.- Three straight wins over the Peoria Rivermen weren't in the cards for the Rockford IceHogs on Wednesday as the Hogs were shutout 4-0 in Peoria.
The loss, coupled with a Chicago Wolves win, put Rockford back in a three-way tie with the Milwaukee Admirals and Wolves for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Both Chicago and Milwaukee have two games in hand on Rockford.
The first period went scoreless on Wednesday as Peoria rattled off the first seven shots on goal in the opening frame while Rockford fired the final 12 shots of the period.
In the second period, Peoria snagged the first goal of the game 4:18 into the frame. Andrew Murray fired a shot though traffic past a screened Henrik Karlsson for his 13th goal of the season.
The Peoria lead was extended later in the stanza. Newly acquired winger Nathan Longpre picked up a Tyler Shattock pass and snuck his fifth goal of the season under the arm of Karlsson in transition at 17:12.
A penalty shot goal moved the Rivermen's lead to 3-0 in the third frame. After getting tripped by Ryan Stanton on a breakaway, Murray buried his second goal of the game with a penalty shot marker 3:25 into the third period.
Rockford pulled Karlsson with just over three-minutes to play in regulation in a desperate attempt to get back into the game but Jeff Woywitka fired a shot into the Hogs empty net to seal it at 17:41.
The IceHogs outshot the Rivermen 36-20 in the contest, but it wasn't enough as their four-game winning streak was snapped.
Next Home Game: Friday, April 12 vs. Chicago Wolves at 7:05 p.m. It’s Fan Appreciation Night as Rockford hosts the Chicago Wolves in an Illinois Lottery Cup matchup and for the final home game of the regular season. The first 2,500 fans through the turnstiles will pick up an IceHogs team photo and prizes will be handed out at every whistle.