ICEHOGS COMEBACK FALLS SHORT, ADMIRALS WIN 3-2 IN OVERTIME

Rockford, Ill. – The Rockford IceHogs fought back in the third period to force overtime and extend their point streak before Trevor Murphy and the Milwaukee Admirals took Saturday night’s showdown in overtime in front of a crowd of 5,775 at the BMO Harris Bank Center.

Despite the loss, Rockford has earned a standings point in eight-straight games (6-0-1-1) dating back to Oct. 21.

With the IceHogs down 2-1 in the third period, Ville Pokka forced overtime with his first goal of the year at 8:50 of the third. Bryan Bickell took a pass from Ryan Hartman and spun a blind cross-ice feed to the defenseman, who slid the puck through the five hole of Marek Mazanec.

Rockford couldn’t keep up the momentum in the overtime period. Hartman hit the crossbar before the IceHogs took a too-many-men penalty with 1:01 left. Murphy blasted a one-timer under left pad of Mark Visentin off a feed from Taylor Aronson to end the game with 24 seconds to play in overtime.

Brandon Mashinter opened the scoring at 7:54 of the first period after a goalmouth scramble. His centering pass got caught up in traffic, and the IceHogs captain poked the loose puck home for his fourth goal of the season. Pokka and Vince Hinostroza earned their sixth and second assists on the goal, respectively.

Jamie Devane evened the scoring for the Admirals with his first goal of the season six minutes later. The left winger took a pass from Stevie Moses on a 3-on-2 before beating Visentin short side.

The Admirals broke the deadlock halfway though the middle frame when Adam Payerl scored his second goal of the season on a pass from Pontus Aberg. Aberg drove down the left wing on the power play and tucked a backhand pass into the goalmouth, where Payerl had an empty net to put the puck into at 10:45. The goal broke a streak of 17 consecutive penalty kills for the IceHogs, who had turned in perfect performances in four straight matches.

Visentin stopped 37 shots in the loss while Mazanec turned aside 35 chances. Rockford was 0-for-4 on the power play while Milwaukee went 2-for-8 on the man advantage.

Next Home Game: Sunday, Nov. 22 vs. Lake Erie at 4 p.m.: The IceHogs face Lake Erie for the first time all season on Stanley Cup Night at the BMO Harris Bank Center. Rockford will celebrate its alumni and the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks by displaying the Cup for fans in attendance. Hub Printing will give away 2,500 posters celebrating the Blackhawks championships.