TERAVAINEN SPARKS ICEHOGS OFFENSE

Rockford, Ill. – After struggling to score goals during a four-game slump, the Rockford IceHogs offense came back alive on Sunday afternoon in front of a sold-out BMO Harris Bank Center, as the IceHogs knocked off the Chicago Wolves 4-2.

Center Teuvo Teravainen was a large factor in the IceHogs offensive charge as he finished the contest with his first career three-point outing with a goal and two assists.

Already with a one goal advantage, the IceHogs offense had an outburst to start the second led by Teravainen who factored in on all three goals that were scored in a span of 2:13.

The first goal of the frame was Teravainen’s sixth of the season as he buried a rebound to double the lead. Peter Regin fired a shot that Chicago goaltender Jordan Binnington steered right to the stick of Teravainen and the rookie pivot fired it into the open cage.

Less than a minute later Regin and Teravainen were back at it, this time dishing out assists as defensemen Ville Pokka lit the lamp 1:47 into the second period. Center Mark McNeill finished off the scoring frenzy on a power play when he collected a loose puck that squirted away from Binnington and sent it to the back of the net just over three minutes into the stanza to push the score to 4-0.

Chicago wouldn’t go quietly however as the visitors mounted a charge in the game’s final 20 minutes. Former Hogs’ forward Colin Fraser put the Wolves on the board with his seventh of the season at 5:49. Then, just after a Wolves power play, Mathieu Brodeur tipped in a Terry Broadhurst shot at 9:20 in the third to cut the lead in half.

Rockford tightened up defensively the rest of the way and goaltender Scott Darling put an end to any Wolves comeback bid as he stopped 33 of the 35 shots he faced and earned his ninth win on the campaign.

Rockford came out of the gate with fire as they pressured the Wolves early and often, and garnered the game’s first goal for the first time in their last three. After Brandon Mashinter and Adam Clendening each fired pucks at the Chicago net, Pierre-Cedric Labrie continued the assault. Labrie picked up a loose puck, found a shooting lane, and ripped a shot for Dennis Rasmussen to deflect past Binnington to open the scoring at 13:07 in the first period.

The Hogs power play cashed in on one of their two opportunities during the contest while stopping Chicago on all four of their chances.

Next Home Game: Tuesday, Dec. 30 vs. Hamilton Bulldogs. Puck drops at 7 p.m. The IceHogs meet the Bulldogs for the final time this season during Youth Jersey Night at the BMO. The first 1,000 kids (14-and-under) will receive a jersey courtesy of Rockford Orthopedic. It’s also a WXRX Dollar Day, with beers, sodas, hot dogs and companion tickets all available for $1.