ICEHOGS GO UP IN FLAMES 4-1 AT HOME
Hogs fall to 4-3-0-0 against Quad City in 2008-09
Rockford, Ill.- In their final match-up of 2008-09 in the Rockford MetroCentre, the Quad City Flames cruised to a 4-1 win over the Rockford IceHogs on the back of a strong performance from goaltender Leland Irving.
"We had our chances," said Rockford's newest defenseman Logan Stephenson. "But at the same time, we needed to create more. When a goaltender is playing good, there's only one way to beat him and that's to not let him see the puck. We needed to do more of that."
With eight points in seven games, Quad City's Adam Cracknell has been particularly good against the IceHogs. The winger was responsible for the Flames' first goal, a blast from the center of the Flames' zone on a power play at 4:54 in the first in front of 5,119 fans. Assists came from Justin Bowers and Carsen Germyn.
The IceHogs went down 2-0 thanks to Germyn at 5:39 in the second. The assists went to J.D. Watt and Kyle Greentree.
And then Greentree chased Corey Crawford from the game with a marker at 11:26 in the second. The Quad City winger drove with the puck from the neutral zone, worked around several defenders and poked the puck under Crawford.
The netminder finished with 16 saves in 31:26 of ice time. Joe Fallon held the Flames scoreless in seven shots in relief.
The IceHogs finally got on the board with a goal from defenseman Tim Hambly. Hambly solved Flames netminder Leland Irving at 15:35 in the third off of an Adam Hobson pass. Irving performed well, stopping 27 pucks.
"Obviously this isn't the result I want when I'm trying to get a new start with a new team," Stephenson said. "But we have a lot of games left and I have a lot of chances to prove myself."
Quad City added an empty net goal from John Vigilante at 19:22 in the third with helpers from Anders Eriksson and Greentree.
Rockford's power play was scoreless in two attempts, while Quad City was 1-for-3.
Next Home Game: Wednesday, March 11 vs. Milwaukee Admirals. Game time is 7:05 p.m. In honor of the IceHogs 10th Anniversary season, the team is giving away 10,000 hot dogs on Wednesday! Also, all kids 14-and-under can get into the game for just $5 and Wednesday is another Student Rush Night with WXRX as all students with a valid student ID can receive the best seat in the house for just $10.