Soderblom Holds Moose at Bay with 43 Saves in Shootout Win

Winnipeg, Manitoba – Despite a game-tying goal from the Manitoba Moose with 10 seconds left to play in regulation, the IceHogs rallied for a 4-3 shootout victory Wednesday night at Canada Life Centre.

After denying Dominic Toninato’s penalty shot in overtime, IceHogs goaltender Arvid Soderblom went on to go a perfect 3-3 in the shootout, and Hogs leading scorer Rocco Grimaldi netted the only goal of the shootout to seal the win for Rockford.

It was a back and forth contest all night starting with a lead for the Moose. In the middle of the first period, the Moose capitalized on an IceHogs turnover at the Rockford line, and forward Jansen Harkins found the back of the net for the fourth time in four straight games to give the Moose a 1-0 lead at 15:26 in the opening frame.

Three minutes later, the IceHogs tied the game 1-1 when forward Luke Philp scored on the backhand off a setup from Michal Teply and David Gust at 18:25 for Philp’s career-high 22nd goal of the season.

Late in the second period it was once again the line of Teply, Philp and Gust that struck. This time Philp fed Gust who went high blocker side on Manitoba goaltender Oskari Salminen to give the IceHogs a 2-1 lead at 16:07 in the period.

On an aggressive forecheck late in the middle frame, forward Zach Jordan was whistled for tripping, and Manitoba rolled out the AHL’s fifth-best power play. 35 seconds later, Isaak Phillips was booked for cross-checking in front of the Rockford net to set the Moose on a 5-on-3. After Soderblom scrambled to make several saves on the penalty kill, Manitoba’s Ville Heinola picked the top left corner of the net just after Jordan escaped from the penalty box to tie the game at 2-2 with 29 seconds left in the second.

At 14:34 in the third, Grimaldi netted his 29th goal of the season to give Rockford a 3-2 lead. Defenseman Alex Vlasic kept the play alive for Rockford at the blue line and then fed the puck across to Grimaldi for the rookie’s second assist of the night.

From there it looked as if the IceHogs would go on to seal just their second regulation win of 2023 but with 10 seconds left to play, Harkins capitalized on a Moose power play and tied the game with his second goal of the night after his shot glanced off a stick and redirected past into the Rockford net.

Soderblom went on to stop 43 of 46 shots to earn the win for the Hogs, while Salminen was slated with the loss after stopping 33 of 36 shots.

The Hogs and Moose will meet once again in Manitoba on Friday, Mar. 24 at 7 p.m.

NEXT HOME GAME

The next home game for the IceHogs is Friday, Mar. 31 against the Laval Rocket at 7 p.m. It’s another $2 Beer Friday! $2 Beers can be purchased at most concession stands on the concourse throughout the end of the second intermission.

Watch and listen to every game this season on the IceHogs Broadcast Network presented by BMO! Listen from your favorite device, at home, or on the road at IceHogs.com and on the IceHogs app and watch LIVE on AHLTV and selected games on 23.3 Circle TV! Fans can also tune in on all of Mid-West Family’s local stations including 104.9 The X, B103, 95.3 The Bull, and Rockford Greatest Hits 100.5 and featured on Rock River Current, the Stateline’s premiere source for local events, news and culture.