Milwaukee, Wis. – The Rockford IceHogs suffered a 2-1 shootout loss to the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday night. The Hogs picked a point for the fifth game in a row thanks to another solid performance from goaltender Arvid Soderblom’s 30 saves.
Despite Rockford’s strong defensive start with two kills early in the first period, the Admirals struck first to take a 1-0 lead. Waiting in the crease, forward Cole Schneider chipped in a loose puck from Ads rookie Luke Evangelista’s wrister from the high slot at 8:36, scoring the only goal of the initial frame.
The IceHogs evened the score 1-1 with the lone tally in the second stanza after a flashy play from rookie forward Cole Guttman. Stealing the puck from Evangelista in the high slot and skating up the ice on a clean breakaway, Guttman faked out the diving Milwaukee all-star goaltender Yaroslav Askarov and poked in a backhanded shot at 14:29.
After a scoreless third period, Rockford played its fifth overtime in five games. A late inference penalty in the third period on Milwaukee forward Zach Sandford put the Hogs on a 4-on-3 powerplay to start the overtime period, but Rockford couldn’t capitalize on their seventh power play, falling to 0-7 on the night.
With 26 seconds left in overtime, Rockford all-star forward Lukas Reichel was charged with a tripping minor, and the Admirals went on their fourth powerplay of the contest. Soderblom made a stunning glove save to deny Schneider and send the match to a shootout.
Netting the first goal of the shootout, Evangelista started off with a stutter step and knocked the puck between the pads of Soderblom. IceHogs forward Dylan Sikura shot wide of the post on Rockford’s first attempt. Milwaukee forward Phil Tomasino punched his shot in and took a 2-0 lead. In the Hogs’ last chance, Guttman missed wide of the net, and the Admirals held off Rockford for a 2-1 win.
Soderblom earned the game’s Second Star after an impressive night in the net but was tagged with the loss, marking 30 saves on 31 shots. Askarov put on a clinic for the Admirals and stopped 45 of Rockford’s 46 shots.
Next Home Game
The Screw City IceHogs return on Saturday, Feb. 11 against the Milwaukee Admirals. Fans can also preorder a Screw City IceHogs replica jersey online now. It’s also Adam Clendening designed hat giveaway for the first 1,500 fans, courtesy of BMO Bank. TICKETS
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