Rosemont, Ill. – After a scoreless third period, the Rockford IceHogs were shut out 3-0 for the second time in two games by the Chicago Wolves on Saturday night. Wolves netminder Pyotr Kochetkov made 19 stops to keep Rockford scoreless.
For the first time this season, the Hogs didn’t register a shot in 20 minutes of play as the Wolves outshot Rockford 13-0 in the first period.
Chicago jumped out to an early 2-0 lead to begin the game. After a holding minor was called against Rockford at 3:06, Wolves forward Josh Melnick caught a pass from Vasily Ponomarev and netted a wrister behind the IceHogs from the edge of the right circle at 3:32 on Chicago’s first power play of the night.
Almost three minutes later, Chicago forward Jamieson Rees set up defenseman Anttoni Honka’s slapshot from the right point at 6:01, going over the shoulder of Rockford goalie Jaxson Stauber and scoring the Wolves’ second goal of the first period.
The IceHogs fell into a 3-0 hole to start the second frame when Chicago forward Malte Stromwall poked the puck to the right circle, and defenseman Griffin Mendel punched in a shot at 4:28.
After a string of penalties in the Chicago’s zone at 8:11 in the final stanza, the IceHogs successfully fended off four consecutive minutes on a 5-on-3 penalty kill following a five-minute major called on Hunter Drew and back-to-back minors on Zach Jordan and D.J. Busdeker. Along with his five-minute major, Drew was also given a minor penalty and 10-minute misconduct.
The scoreless third period ended with 33 combined penalty minutes, but Rockford was responsible for over half. The I-90 Rivalry remains alive and well as the contest concluded with 18 penalties between the two teams.
Stauber marked 35 saves on 38 Chicago shots and was hit with the loss, and Kochetkov turned away all 19 of Rockford’s shots to earn the win.
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