ROCKFORD CAN�T BEAT THE HEAT

Rockford, Ill.- The Rockford IceHogs fell behind in the first period once again and were unable to complete a comeback, falling to the Abbotsford 4-2.

After a high-sticking minor was called at 13:28 of the sandwich period on the Heat’s Michael Ferland, Rockford’s power play came on the ice and found the back of the net just 22 seconds into the power play. IceHogs winger Drew LeBlanc tipped an Adam Clendening shot past Heat goaltender Joey MacDonald to bring Rockford back within one at 2-1 with 6:10 left in the second.

With 6:59 left in the final stanza, Ferland found his way between two IceHogs defenders and slid a backhanded shot past the out stretched pad of Kent Simpson to stretch the Heat lead to 3-1.

The IceHogs wouldn’t give up just yet as defenseman Viktor Svedberg took a pass from Alex Broadhurst and fired a blast from the blue line to once again bring the Hogs within one at 3-2 with 8:27 left in regulation.

The comeback fell short for the IceHogs when Brett Olsen netted the empty-netter with 2.7 seconds left to play to secure a 4-2 win for Abbotsford.

The Heat notched the first marker of the game with 5:27 left in the first to make the game 1-0. The Heat power play, ranked 6th in the league, connected on a slap shot by left wing Ben Hanowski. Abbotsford’s leading scorer Blair Jones found Hanowski across the blue line for the primary helper.

Just 1:29 into the second period the Heat added to their tally. Ferland stole the puck in the neutral zone and Simpson stopped the initial break-away shot but Heat centerman Paul Byron was there to tap the rebound home to make it 2-0.

Next Home Game: Wednesday, Nov. 27 vs. Milwaukee Admirals. Game time is 7 p.m. The game will be a WXRX Dollar Day. Fans can purchase hot dogs, soda, beer and companion tickets for $1. Fans can also purchase IceHogs jerseys for half off at Oink Outfitters.