ROCKFORD CLOSES OUT PRESEASON WITH 5-1 WIN

IceHogs finish preseason 3-0-0-0

Rockford, Ill.- A short preseason schedule came to an end for the Rockford IceHogs on Saturday night. The IceHogs completed the exhibition slate a perfect 3-0-0-0 after a 5-1 win over the Peoria Rivermen at the Rockford MetroCentre.

Nathan Davis and Bracken Kearns led the way for Rockford, each tallying a pair of goals while goalie Joe Fallon turned away 30 Rivermen shots. In three exhibition games the IceHogs outscored the opposition 13-3.

"We’re not going to get outworked and we have a lot of smart guys,” said second-year winger Pete MacArthur. “We’re not the oldest group but we have some experience and everyone is 'all for one' in here. Nobody’s for themselves. It’s all for the team.”

Maxime Tanguay scored Rockford's first goal at 7:00 in the first after almost six minutes of power play time thanks to a Peoria penalty followed by another double minor. Joe Charlebois and Bryan Ewing were credited with the assists.

Davis then found the net off of a feed from MacArthur at 18:50 in the first. Dave Phillips also got a helper. Later in the frame Kearns piled on when Derek Nesbitt dished to him in front of the net at 19:17 to make the score 3-0, his first of the night.

In the second period, MacArthur again found Davis in front of the net at 13:34 on the power play with Akim Aliu also helping. Then Kearns lit the lamp again on a wrap-around open net at 14:44. Nesbitt and Phillips were credited with assists. The goal was Kearns third of the preseason, leading all IceHogs skaters.

“It gives you an idea what type of team we’re going to be,” said MacArthur. “You can’t really distinguish between the first and the fourth line. Everyone has skill, everyone works hard and everyone is smart.

"We’ll have a good week of practice and hopefully get off to a good start in a week in Peoria."

The Rivermen finally broke the shutout when Brendan Bell put the puck past Fallon at 4:49 in the third. Julian Talbot and Chris Porter had the assists.

Hannu Toivonen made 17 saves on 20 shots faced for Peoria after playing 249:29. Danny Battochio turned away 12 of 14 shots. Rockford finished the night 2-for-8 on the power play while holding the Rivermen off the board on five man-advantage opportunities.

Next Regular Season Home Game: Friday, Oct. 16 vs. Chicago Wolves. Game time is 7:05 p.m. After five-straight road tilts to open the 2009-10 regular season the IceHogs return home to face the Wolves. The first 5,000 fans to the game will pick up an IceHogs wall calendar from Maverick Media and 23 WIFR.