Hogs drop final game of 2011
Peoria, Ill.-Playing their third game in three nights, the Rockford IceHogs ran out of steam on Saturday, falling 3-2 to the Peoria Rivermen at Carver Arena on New Year’s Eve.
Rockford has now dropped four-straight games (0-3-0-1) and Saturday’s game began a season-long seven-game road swing.
Peoria grabbed a 1-0 first period lead with a short-handed goal. Cade Fairchild led a two-on-one break and fed Brett Sonne who buried his fifth goal of the season past Alec Richards at 7:40 of the first frame.
The IceHogs came out firing in the second period, peppering Ben Bishop with 12 shots in the frame’s first four minutes. One of those shots found the back of the net when Brandon Segal poked home his 13th goal of the season while on the power play at 4:17 of the middle stanza.
Rockford finished the frame with 20 shots, but with just that lone goal. Peoria reclaimed the lead with a power-play marker at 14:19. Fairchild’s cross-ice pass from the right wing deflected off of IceHogs defenseman Dylan Olsen’s skate and into the Rockford goal to make it 2-1 Rivermen.
In the third period, it took Rockford 30-seconds to tie the game at 2-2. Center Brandon Pirri sniped his 14th goal of the season over the right shoulder short-side on Bishop to tie the game.
But a five-on-three power play goal put Peoria back on top. Phil McRae one-time at a Jay Barriball pass past Richards at 11:24 of the final frame for his 15th goal of the season.
With Richards on the bench for the final minute of regulation, Rockford couldn’t get the equalizer past Bishop and Peoria held on for the win. Richards made 23 saves in the loss while Bishop turned away 35 Rockford shots to earn the win.
Next Home Game: Monday, Jan. 16 vs. Texas Stars. Game time is 1:05 p.m. The IceHogs return home for the first time in more than two weeks for the annual Martin Luther King Jr. matinee game to take on the Stars for the second and final time at the BMO Harris Bank Center. The first 1,500 kids 14 and under will pick up an IceHogs Drawstring Bag courtesy of Frito Lay.
For every goal that the Rockford IceHogs score in 2011-12, IceHogs head coach Ted Dent will make a donation to children’s cancer research. BMO Harris Bank will also make a donation for every goal to the “BMO Harris Bank Goals For Grades”