Stars Strike Late for Comeback Win Over IceHogs

Rockford, IL- It looked as if the Rockford IceHogs (22-20-3-1) were going to sweep the weekend series against the Texas Stars (18-19-5-4), until the Stars scored two late goals to go on and win 3-2 Sunday night at BMO Harris Bank Center.

After no scoring action in the first period, the IceHogs struck first when forward Andrei Altybarmakian put one past Texas goaltender Adam Scheel on the odd man rush to make it 1-0 at 6:42 in the second period.

But less than a minute later the Stars struck back when former IceHog, forward Anthony Louis, tied it at 7:38 in the middle frame.

Then at 11:57 forward Mike Hardman was trailing on the play and scored on a beautiful shot from the top of the left circle to give Rockford a 2-1 lead. Hardman now has four goals in his last four games.

But the final half of the third period was all Stars. At 14:18 forward Joel L’Esperance tied it up on a rebound off of the faceoff win. Then at 17:00 minutes, forward Ty Dellandrea snuck one in under the catching glove of Soderblom to give the Stars a 3-2 lead and that’s where it would end.

The IceHogs finished this season 4-4-0 with 8 points against the Stars, but Texas’ 9 points clinched the series for the Stars.

The IceHogs now prepare to start a five-game road trip beginning in Winnipeg, Manitoba when they take on the Manitoba Moose on Thursday, March 2 at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, March 5 at 2:00 p.m. From there, the IceHogs will return to the states with stops in Milwaukee and Cleveland before finally making it back to home ice for a matchup with the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday, March 19 at 6:00 p.m.

Watch and listen to the action on the IceHogs Broadcast Network presented by BMO Harris Bank! Tune in from your favorite device, at home or on the road at IceHogs.com and on the IceHogs app! Fans can also watch every IceHogs home game and select road games this season on 23.3 Circle TV and every game on AHLTV and listen 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.