KING GETS FIRST VICTORY, HOGS WIN FOURTH STRAIGHT ON ROAD

Rockford, Ill. - Joni Tuulola scored his first North American goal late in the third period and Anton Forsberg stopped 19 of 20 shots, lifting Rockford to a 2-1 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals Friday night at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

IceHogs interim head coach Derek King earned his first win as an AHL head coach in his second game since replacing Jeremy Colliton, who was named head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.

Tuulola’s game-winning marker came with just 4:01 remaining in the third frame. The rookie Finnish defenseman wired a shot to the glove side of Milwaukee goaltender Tom McCollum after corralling a pass from forward Graham Knott.

Two goals were all the IceHogs needed to secure a victory thanks to another strong performance from Forsberg. The 25-year-old goaltender now has wins in three consecutive contests and an AHL-best 1.75 Goals Allowed Average.

Justin Auger netted his first goal as an IceHog in his team debut to open the scoring at the 14:42 mark of the second period. Defenseman Lucas Carlsson found Auger open in the high slot, and the veteran forward fired the puck past McCollum’s blocker.

Colin Blackwell answered for Milwaukee just 46 seconds later, speeding into the offensive zone and beating Forsberg high to the glove side. This was the only time the Admirals were able to solve Forsberg, however, making Tuulola’s goal the game-deciding tally.