ROCKFORD FALLS 3-1 TO ADS FOR THIRD STRAIGHT GAME

IceHogs down 3-0 after three games against Milwaukee

Rockford, Ill.-The Rockford IceHogs are on the ropes after their third straight 3-1 loss to the Milwaukee Admirals at the Rockford MetroCentre on Sunday. The Admirals lead the IceHogs 3-0 in the best-of-seven West Division Semifinal Series.

"It's a (seven-game) series and you have to win four," said Rockford's lone goal scorer Tyler Mosienko. "We have a good group of guys and we've had to fight all year long to make it to the playoffs. We're not going down easy."

After a scoreless first frame, Milwaukee broke open the scoring early in the second on the power play.

"I thought we played a really good first period but after that we couldn't find the net," Mosienko said. "Penalties killed us in the second period and in the third, they had the lead and just shut us down."

Andreas Thuresson tallied at 2:07 in the second from Cal O'Reilly and Robert Dietrich. Milwaukee capitalized on two of their seven power plays, while Rockford was 1-for-4 on the man advantage.

"It was a little bit looser tonight than it was in the first two games," Mosienko said of the number of penalties in Game 3. "Obviously things didn't work out the way we wanted to today in that sense."

The IceHogs found themselves down 2-0 just a few minutes later as a loose puck found the back of the net.

Antti Niemi made a glove save but as he hit the ice, the puck popped loose in front of Triston Grant. The winger nailed home his first postseason goal at 6:36 in the second. The assists went to Kelsey Wilson and Oren Eizenman.

Then Ryan Jones put the Ads up 3-0 when he shoved a goal over Niemi's shoulder on a rebound off of a Mike Santorelli shot at 3:18 in the third. O'Reilly also recorded his sixth postseason point in three games on the lamp-lighter.

The Hogs finally solved Drew MacIntyre at 17:49 in the third, when Mosienko tipped in a Danny Groulx shot to avoid the shut out. Bryan Bickell also earned an assist.

MacIntyre finished with 25 saves, while Niemi had 27 saves in his AHL postseason debut.

Next Home Game: The Rockford IceHogs and Milwaukee Admirals return to the Rockford MetroCentre for Game 4 of the West Division Semifinals. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. Register during the game for a chance to win airline vouchers to St. Petersburg, Fla. courtesy of Allegiant Air.

Playoff Tickets Are On Sale: The Rockford IceHogs are in the 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs. Pick up tickets for games 3, 4 and 6 by calling (815) 968-5222, stop by the Rockford MetroCentre Box Office or Hogs Headquarters at Cherryvale Mall or visit metrocentre.com.