Greentree scores late, but comeback falls short
Rockford, Ill.- The San Antonio Rampage posted a goal in the first and second periods and Justin Pogge stopped 34 shots to hand the IceHogs a 2-1 loss on Saturday at the Rockford MetroCentre.
"We battled hard but we should have had more goals tonight," said defenseman Richard Petiot. "It was nice to get one past (Pogge) but we should have had a better result."
Stephan Meyer found the open net over a diving Joe Fallon at 8:03 in the first period off of assists from Stu Bickel and Chad Kolarik.
Then Brett MacLean scored his 12th goal of the season when he picked up a loose puck in front of the net at 3:29 in the second to double the Rampage lead. Matt Watkins and Kevin Porter had the assists. Fallon turned away 24 shots in the losing effort.
The IceHogs finally got on the board when Kyle Greentree slipped one past Pogge with 1:53 remaining in the game. Bracken Kearns and Mark Cullen were credited with the helpers. The Hogs pulled Fallon for the rest of the game but couldn't reach the equalizer.
"We had a lot of opportunities to score," Petiot said. "I think we ran into a hot goalie. They play a weird style, that kind of run-and-gun, but I thought we played really well. Pogge played really well and we got a lot of shots on him. I think if we had gotten some shots high on him, we might have scored more."
Rockford's power play finished 0-for-4 and San Antonio finished 0-for-2 on the advantage..
Next Home Game: Saturday, Dec. 26 vs. Milwaukee Admirals: Game time is 7:05 p.m. The Admirals head south to take on the Hogs at the MetroCentre for the third time this season. The first 2,500 fans into the building will receive an IceHogs winter scarf courtesy of Mega Truck Rental and Q98.5. One lucky fan will also have the chance for the IceHogs to pay their electric bill for the duration of the 2009-10 season.