Monsters No Match for Reichel

Cleveland, OH— Rockford IceHogs rookie forward Lukas Reichel sealed the Hogs first overtime win of the season when he scored his second goal of the night on a break away at 3:46 in overtime to give Rockford a 4-3 win over the Cleveland Monsters Tuesday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

It was the IceHogs who jumped out to an early lead when captain Garrett Mitchell unleashed a slapshot between the dots 2:03 into the game for his fifth goal of the season.

But the Monsters tied the game 1-1 when forward Justin Scott forced a turnover as Rockford tried to go defenseman to defenseman and scored on the breakaway at 6:33 in the first period.

The IceHogs, however, continued to keep the pressure on and Rockford regained the lead when forward Lukas Reichel scored his team-leading 17^th goal of the season at 13:06. The overtime goal would go on to mark his 18^th tally and 40^th point of the season.

Later in the period, defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk, from the middle of the ice, took a shot from the blue line to score a power play goal to extend the IceHogs’ lead 3-1 at 17:56 in the opening frame.

Cleveland fought back in the second period as forward Robbie Payne scored off of the rebound to put the Monsters within one at 14:13

After no scoring through the first 19 minutes of the third period, with Cleveland goalie Jet Greaves pulled, former IceHog captain Tyler Sikura scored a shorthanded goal to tie the game with 36.4 seconds left.

It was Sikura’s third goal against Rockford this week but it wasn’t enough as Reichel delivered in overtime and the IceHogs split the season series with the Monsters.

The IceHogs now return home for contests against the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday, March 19 at 6:00 p.m. and the Milwaukee Admirals on Sunday, March 20 at 4:00 p.m. Both games will be filled with family fun as Saturday is Isaak Phillips Hat Giveaway and Thank a Farmer Night! The first 1,500 fans in the building will receive the exclusive hat designed by Phillips himself!

If you can’t make it Saturday, be sure to join us for Family Sunday! Enter code SUNDAY before selecting your seats on Ticketmaster to unlock a special offer to get a voucher for a hot dog or brat, bag of chips and a soda for an additional $5 per upper-level ticket for these remaining Sunday home games: 3/20, 4/10, 4/24. The offer is only available in advance and will not be honored on day of game.

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.