IceHogs Special Teams Stays Hot in; Wild Grab OT Victory in Preseason Finale

Coralville, IA – The Rockford IceHogs (1-0-1-0) capitalized on a pair of 5-on-3 power plays in the second period and forward Lukas Reichel added two assists, but the Iowa Wild (1-1-0-0) fought back for a 4-3 overtime victory at Xtreme Arena Friday evening to close the preseason schedule for both clubs.

Wild forward Bryce Misley registered the game’s opening marker 8:48 into the first period, knocking in a loose puck on top of the goal crease of IceHogs netminder Arvid Soderblom (13 saves on 14 shots). The IceHogs answers less than two minutes later as forward Michal Teply slipped in a pass from defenseman D.J. King and forward Josiah Slavin. King is the eldest son of IceHogs Head Coach Derek King and joined the club on a preseason tryout agreement.

The IceHogs picked up momentum early in the second period and capitalized on a pair of 5-on-3 power plays to take a 3-1 lead. Defenseman Chad Krys found forward Cam Morrison on top of the crease for a deflection marker at 1:27, beating Wild goalie Andrew Hammond (W, 16 saves on 19 shots). Reichel set up Krys and then found forward Andrei Altybarmakian at 3:03 for the Hogs’ second two-man advantage marker. Midway through the third period, the IceHogs swapped goaltenders as Tom Aubrun (OTL, 19 saves on 22 shots) entered for Soderblom.

The Wild pushed back in the third period, grabbing a pair of goals from former IceHogs forward Joseph Cramarossa to send the contest to overtime. Cramarossa made it a one-goal contest 1:09 into the final frame with his first goal of the preseason and reset the game at 12:57, lifting a shot over the right shoulder of Aubrun off the left-wing faceoff circle.

In the extra skate, the Wild drew holding penalty to go on the power play and forward Dominic Turgeon completed the comeback effort with the game-winning marker at 4:27. The IceHogs finished the game 2-for-5 on the power play while the Wild went 1-for-2.

The Rockford IceHogs open the 2021-22 season on Friday, Oct. 15 against the Grand Rapids Griffins at 6:00 p.m. CT at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan and continue their season-opening, season-long six-game road trip on Saturday, Oct. 16 against the Chicago Wolves at 7:00 p.m. at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. Listen to every game this season on the IceHogs Broadcast Network presented by BMO Harris Bank! Listen from your favorite device, at home or on the road at IceHogs.com and on the IceHogs app!

The IceHogs celebrate Healthcare Workers Appreciation Weekend and Opening Night on Saturday, Nov. 6 vs. Grand Rapids Griffins at 6 p.m. at BMO Harris Bank Center and Sunday, Nov. 7 vs. Manitoba at 4 p.m. Join the IceHogs as they celebrate our Stateline healthcare heroes that have kept our community safe with special promotions and in-game presentations.