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ICEHOGS COME BACK TO WIN IN SHOOTOUT

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Rockford and Norfolk will meet again on Saturday

Rockford, Ill.- For the second game in a row, the Rockford IceHogs tied the game in the third period to force an overtime and won in the shootout on Friday at the Rockford MetroCentre. The IceHogs beat the Admirals 5-4.

"It's unfortunate that we're in that position that we had to come from behind, but it's a good attribute to have to not quit and to krank it up," Peters said. "We had 16 shots in the third period and for the final 25 minutes of hockey we probably generated 28 shots."

Then in the shootout, Tim Brent, Pascal Pelletier and Nathan Davis solved Karri Ramo while Corey Crawford blocked all but Blair Jones.

For the first time in 2008-09, the IceHogs outshot their opponent thanks to 16 shots in the third and another 12 in five minutes of overtime.

Just down from Chicago, Jack Skille stood out in the overtime by pounding Ramo with six shots. Skille set the IceHogs AHL record with 11 shots in a game thanks in part to his performance in the overtime.

In regulation the IceHogs gave up four straight goals to give the Admirals a 4-3 lead early in the third, Pascal Pelletier put the puck in the back of the net at 10:03 in the third with helpers from Mike Blunden and Danny Groulx.

"We got lulled into a false sense of security," said Peters of giving up a three-goal lead. "We thought maybe they would go away, but they're a professional hockey team. Give them credit for getting back into it."

The Admirals took the lead with a power-play marker from Jamie Heward at 0:24 in the third period with helpers from Andrew Hutchinson.

Rob Klinkhammer spent his rookie year with the Admirals in 2007-08, but on Friday he put the IceHogs up by one early in the first period. After dishing the puck back up to the point, Klinkhammer jumped in front of the net, took a pass from Jake Dowell and worked around the crease until he saw an opening at 1:42. Evan Brophey also had an assist on the goal.

Then J.C. Sawyer doubled the IceHogs score with a goal at 16:18 in the first with helpers from Bryan Bickell and Jack Skille.

In the second period, Tim Brent took advantage of a late penalty in the first to score on the power play at 1:00 when he tipped in a Cam Barker shot. Corey Crawford also assisted on the goal.

But then the Admirals came back with three markers to tie the game in the second frame and another in the third to take the lead.

"This is a team that thrives on turnovers," said Brent. "They like to clog up the middle and then they will capitalize on opportunities."

Radek Smolenak picked up a rebound off of Crawford's pad save and shot it over the goalie's shoulder at 7:31 to cut the lead to two. Former UHL IceHogs skater Brandon Segal and Vladimir Mihalik had the assists.

Brandon Bochenski tacked on another marker at 16:50 in the second with a helper from Smolenak.

Then Jones worked the puck around Crawford and shot it in at 17:54 to tie the game. Juraj Simek and Ty Wishart had the helpers.

The IceHogs finished 1-for-3 on the power play and held Norfolk to 1-for-4 on the advantage. Crawford had 28 saves for the win, while Ramo finished with 39 saves.

Next Home Game: Saturday, Oct. 25: Norfolk Admirals vs. Rockford IceHogs at 7:05 p.m. Lets turn it into the Big Red Box! The Norfolk Admirals return for their second of four meetings with the Rockford IceHogs and final game at the Rockford MetroCentre in the 2008-09 regular season. It’s a red out in the Big Orange Box as the IceHogs are encouraging fans to wear red and will be giving away 3,500 long-sleeve t-shirts, courtesy of Lincoln Rent-All, Rock River Bank, Dental Dimensions, and Guerilla Graffix.