IceHogs Fall to Wild in Overtime After Hard Fought Battle

Des Moines, IA- IceHogs forwards Brett Connolly and Evan Barratt scored twice, while Dylan McLaughlin had two assists in his first game back after missing the past 11 while in concussion protocol, but it was the Iowa Wild (24-25-4-4) who scored in overtime to clinch a 5-4 win over Rockford (27-23-4-1), breaking the IceHogs four-game win streak.

With the game tied 4-4 at the end of regulation, it was Iowa forward Mitchell Chaffee who scored his second goal of the night at 2:16 in overtime to seal the win.

After no scoring through the first 19 minutes of the opening frame, Connolly put the Hogs on the board first when he scored off the right leg pad of Wild goaltender Zane McIntyre at 19:06.

Goals then came in bunches during the second period. Iowa tied the game 1:08 into the middle frame when forward Adam Backman put it past IceHogs netminder Arvid Soderblom to make it a 1-1 game.

Later in the period Iowa forward Mitchell Chaffee scored the first powerplay goal of the night at 7:51 in the second period to give the Wild a 2-1 lead.

Iowa forward Bryce Gervais then extended the Wild’s lead 3-1 when he broke down the right wing side and gained some space to find the back of the net at 11:25 in the second period.

Still in the middle frame, the IceHogs continued to battle. That’s when Barratt scored his first of the night after sneaking one underneath the catching glove of McIntyre to put the IceHogs back within a goal at 13:08 in the period.

But the Wild answered right back and executed on the power play once again when forward Kyle Rau scored his team-leading 17^th goal of the season. The Wild finished the night 2-for-4 on the powerplay while the IceHogs went 0-for-3.

With Iowa taking a 4-2 lead into the third period, Barratt delivered once again when he scored his second goal of the night on a pass from McLaughlin to make it a 4-3 game at 7:01 in the third period. Tonight was McLaughlin’s first game back since Feb. 20 after suffering a concussion.

Later in the period Connolly earned his second marker of the night at 16:56 in the closing frame, while forward Lukas Reichel and McLaughlin picked up the assists. Connolly now has six goals in his last four games and extended his point-streak to five games. Reichel’s two assists in the contest now give him 45 points on the year, which puts him six points back of tying Vince Hinostroza for the all-time IceHogs rookie points mark (51).

That’s where it would end for Rockford though as Chaffee scored his second goal of the night at 2:16 into overtime to seal the win.

The IceHogs immediately return home for a matchup with the Manitoba Moose tomorrow, Saturday, March 26 at 6:00 p.m. at BMO Harris Bank Center. The first 1,000 fans (21+) will receive a stainless steel koozie presented by Bud Light.

Watch and listen to the 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 watch every IceHogs home game and select road games this season on 23.3 Circle TV and every game on AHLTV and listen 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.