Soderblom Shines Again; IceHogs Close Road Trip with 4-3 Win at Texas

Cedar Park, TX – Goaltender Arvid Soderblom made 45 saves including 21 in the second period to help the Rockford IceHogs (2-4-0-0) defeat the Texas Stars (3-3-0-0) 4-3 at H-E-B Center Saturday evening to close a season-opening, six-game road trip.

IceHogs forward Alex Nylander kicked off the scoring 4:52 into the contest, ripping a shot past Stars netminder Jake Oettinger (L, 15 saves on 19 shots) eight seconds into a power play. Defenseman Nicolas Beaudin and forward Brett Connolly added assists. Moments later, forward Lukas Reichel made it a 2-0 IceHogs lead, banking a shot off a Stars defenseman for his third goal of the season at 13:12. Beaudin added his second assist of the night along with defenseman Ian Mitchell.

In the second period, the IceHogs were tested defensively, giving up four power-play opportunities to the Stars, but Soderblom provided key stops and registered 21 saves in the stanza. The Stars would sneak a shot past the IceHogs’ gatekeeper at 12:34 off the stick of defenseman Andreas Borgman. After weathering another attack from the Stars late in the period, the IceHogs countered and reclaimed their two-goal lead thanks to forward Dylan McLaughlin with 57 seconds to play. Connolly and forward Garrett Mitchell added assists.

Forward Josiah Slavin extended the IceHogs’ lead to 4-1 2:09 into the third period, finishing a crafty passing play with forwards D.J. Busdeker and Carson Gicewicz. The Stars pushed back into the game with a pair of markers to pull within one late. Forward Jacob Peterson swung the momentum back on the Stars’ side of the ice at 5:02 with his first goal of the season and created a one-score game on the 6-on-5 attack with Oettinger pulled for the extra skater at 17:16. The IceHogs defense sealed up the rest of the game to preserve the victory.

The IceHogs finished the game 1-for-5 on the power play while the Stars went 0-for-6.

The IceHogs celebrate Healthcare Workers Appreciation Weekend and Opening Night on Saturday, Nov. 6 vs. Grand Rapids Griffins at 6 p.m. at BMO Harris Bank Center and Sunday, Nov. 7 vs. Manitoba at 4 p.m. Join the IceHogs as they celebrate our Stateline healthcare heroes that have kept our community safe with special promotions and in-game presentations. Buy Opening Weekend Tickets

Listen to every game this season on the IceHogs Broadcast Network presented by BMO Harris Bank! Listen from your favorite device, at home or on the road at IceHogs.com and on the IceHogs app! 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 premier source for local events, news and culture.