Pair of Philp Goals Powers Rockford to 3-1 Road Win

Des Moines, Iowa – On the front end of a home-and-home series, the Rockford IceHogs beat the Iowa Wild 3-1 at Wells Fargo Arena on Friday night. Forward Luke Philp registered a two-goal night, and goalie Arvid Soderblom shined in the net for the Hogs with 29 saves to fend off the Wild.

The IceHogs cracked the board first after a scoreless first period and took a 1-0 lead to start the second stanza. Catching a centering pass from forward Dylan Sikura on the left point, Philp fired a wrister from the slot past Iowa goaltender Jesper Wallstedt, scoring his 16th goal of the season at 5:09.

When forward Michal Teply shuttled a pass to Lukas Reichel on the left edge of the crease on the Hogs’ second power play, Reichel directed a quick centering pass to Philp. The winger was waiting on the right side of the net and tapped in a shot to score back-to-back goals and extend Rockford’s lead to 2-0 at 9:00.

Capitalizing on the man advantage for the second time, the IceHogs stretched their lead over the Wild to 3-0 at 6:43 when forward Bobby Lynch netted his seventh goal of the campaign. Defenseman Alex Vlasic dropped off the puck at neutral ice, setting up Lynch’s rush into Iowa’s defensive zone. Shooting around a group of Wild defenders from the slot, Lynch buried a wrist shot behind Wallstedt as the power play came to a close.

Iowa dashed Soderblom’s chance of a shutout late in the final frame. The Hogs had been perfect on the penalty kill, but after seven seconds on the Wild’s fourth man advantage, forward Nick Swaney chipped a pass from forward Steven Fogarty over the shoulder of Soderblom at 13:09.

Soderblom played an impressive night in the net, marking 29 saves on 30 Iowa shots, including a notable pad save to deny Wild forward Sam Hentges and a shoulder save against forward Marco Rossi to keep the first period scoreless. Wallstedt turned away 22 of Rockford’s 25 shots but was stuck with the loss.

Hammy's Birthday Party
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