Not even one minute into last night's game, Gulls defenseman Olen Zellweger fired a shot from the point which Ben King screened Jaxson Stauber, who probably had no chance on the shot, making the score 1-0 Gulls. Zelleweger was named the CHL Defenseman of the year last season. As Coach Sorensen said prior to the game, "we need to win the game in the first five minutes," crediting the Gulls for fast starts in previous games vs Rockford. That proved true, as that was the only goal through 1. Shots were 9-7 in favor of the Gulls heading into the 2nd.
The second period brought us some early action with Luypen and Tracey dropping the gloves at 03:57 into the period. While the Icehogs pushed for more offense, shots came but goals did not. On the opposite side, it was Stauber who had some noteworthy stops, including the one below. The shots going into the final frame were 20-14 in favor of the Hogs.
In the final frame of last night's game, it was Jackson Cates from Colton Dach to finally open the scoring for the Icehogs. A feed from the corner, Dach up to Cates beat goaltender Calle Clang 1:37 into the period. However, the Gulls talented 8th best power play in the league, had a chance to regain the lead, and they did just that. With 6:03 left in the third, it was Trevor Carrik who launched a shot from the point that made it's way to the back of the net, past Jaxson Stauber. David Gust got handed a cross checking penalty just minutes later, which not help the Hogs push for a late, game-tying goal. The Icehogs eventually killed that one. With :55 seconds left in the game, Rockford called Stauber to the bench for the extra attacker. That did not do too much and the Icehogs just fell 2-1 to San Diego. The game ended with the shots in favor of the Icehogs, 29-22.
While it was a solid all around performance by the Icehogs, they fell just short of bringing this game to extra time. The Rockford Icehogs are back at it Friday night, against San Diego again. Puck drop is at 9:00 PM. Stay tuned for our Gameday Preview Friday morning. For Icehogs News Network, I'm Anthony Pellegrino bringing you daily stories and updates for all things Icehogs.
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