ROCKFORD RIDES FOUR-GOAL SECOND PERIOD TO 6-3 WIN OVER IOWA
Feb 24, 2024ROCKFORD, Ill. – The Rockford IceHogs rode a four-goal second period to defeat the Iowa Wild by a 6-3 score at BMO Center on Saturday night.
Brett Seney opened the scoring for Rockford when he tipped a backdoor feed past Zane McIntyre (28 saves) 5:44 into a back-and-forth first period.
Simon Johansson responded for the Wild at 10:15 of the first. Johansson stole a puck at the Iowa blue line and snapped a wrister under the glove of Jaxson Stauber (30 saves).
Mike Hardman put the IceHogs back on top 2:25 later with a power-play one-timer from the left hash marks.
Iowa knotted the score at 2-2 with 5:50 remaining in the opening frame. Adam Raska forced a turnover in the Rockford zone and found Kevin Conley in the left circle for a short side shot over Stauber.
The Wild and IceHogs entered the first intermission tied at 2-2. Iowa outshot Rockford 12-11 in the opening 20 minutes.
Anders Bjork put Rockford ahead for good at 4:33 of the second when he finished off a centering feed from Michal Teply on the power play.
Nolan Allan widened the IceHogs advantage to 4-2 just 57 seconds later with a one-timer from the top of the right circle.
Cole Guttman slashed through the Iowa defense and chipped a shot over McIntyre at 16:44 of the middle frame.
Rem Pitlick scored Rockford’s fourth goal of the middle frame with 11 seconds to play off a centering pass from Seney.
Rockford carried a 6-2 lead into the second intermission. The Wild outshot the IceHogs 26-25 through 40 minutes.
Iowa’s power play broke through with 7:03 remaining when Caedan Bankier set up Daemon Hunt for a point shot that bounced in off Adam Beckman.
Rockford outshot Iowa 34-33. The Wild were 1-for-5 with the man advantage while the IceHogs went 2-for-4 on the power play.
Iowa visits Allstate Arena to take on the Chicago Wolves on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 3 p.m.
For more information on Iowa Wild hockey, please visit www.iowawild.com. Fans can purchase single-game tickets through the team’s website at www.iowawild.com. Group tickets (10 or more), suites, Wild 365 memberships or premium tickets can be purchased by contacting the Iowa Wild Ticket Department at 515-564-8700 or tickets@iowawild.com. Season tickets for 2023-24 are on sale now. Fans can purchase season tickets for the upcoming season at https://www.iowawild.com/wild-365.
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