SPECIAL TEAMS SPARK ICEHOGS WIN
Hutton makes 35 saves to earn the win
Rosemont, Ill. – One night after coughing up a 3-0 lead, the Rockford IceHogs turned the trick on the Chicago Wolves, battling back from a 2-0 deficit in a 4-2 win at the Allstate Arena.
Down 2-1 entering the third frame, Rockford’s power play scored twice. Jeremy Morin picked up a feed from Brandon Saad after some dirty work down low and deposited his eighth goal on the season to equalize the score for the IceHogs. Adam Clendening dished out his 10th assist of the season with a secondary helper.
After another Wolves penalty, the Hogs jumped ahead 3-2 when Brett Lebda’s shot from the point was deflected by Ben Smith in the slot and put over the shoulder of Chicago netminder Matt Climie to give Rockford their first lead of the night. Shawn Lalonde contributed to the goal with a secondary assist.
Andrew Shaw’s empty netter sealed the 4-2 victory for the IceHogs, just their seventh all-time on the road at Allstate Arena. Shaw’s lamp lighter was his fifth on the season and extended his goal streak to four consecutive contests.
For the first time in four games the Hogs saw their opponent jump out to a 1-0 lead. A battle along the boards resulted in a puck escaping out in front of Carter Hutton and Zack Kassian was there to slip it by the IceHogs goaltender 1:13 into the game.
The Wolves added to their lead in the second period with a goal just as their power play expired. Brett Sterling sent a cross-ice pass for Jordan Schroeder to slap to the back of the net and make it 2-0 at 13:48.
Rockford responded just over a minute later to cut the lead back to one. Saad setup Martin St. Pierre to fire in his fifth goal of the season into a wide open net.
Next Home Game: Friday, Dec. 7 vs. Milwaukee Admirals: Game time is 7:05 p.m. The Admirals and IceHogs meet for the second time this season, both so far at the BMO Harris Bank Center. The Midwest Division rivals will faceoff a total of 12 times this season, including five times in December.