Rockford IceHogs @ Quad-City Flames ... 12-30

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AHL/Game Stats -
http://stats.theahl.com/stats/text-game-re...game_id=1005257 (http://stats.theahl.com/stats/text-game-report.php?game_id=1005257)

Rockford IceHogs: 1 at Quad City Flames: 3 - Status: Final

Dec 30, 2008 - I Wireless Center

1st Period:
Scoring - 1. Rockford, J. Skille (11) (P. Pelletier, T. Hambly) 3:57 PP
2. Quad City, J. Lundmark (9) (D. Van der Gulik, B. Cole) 11:55
Penalties - T. Brent Rfd (fighting) 2:59, E. Brophey Rfd (roughing) 2:59, G. Baldwin Qc (fighting) 2:59, J. Watt Qc (roughing, roughing) 2:59, P. Pelletier Rfd (instigating, fighting, misconduct - instigating 47.10) 5:32, A. Cracknell Qc (fighting) 5:32, J. Watt Qc (hooking) 7:37, J. Dowell Rfd (fighting) 11:59, A. Cracknell Qc (fighting) 11:59, P. MacArthur Rfd (tripping) 12:21, J. Watt Qc (high-sticking) 14:48, J. Watt Qc (holding) 17:14

2nd Period:
Scoring - 3. Quad City, K. Chucko (13) (C. Germyn) 10:36 PP
Penalties - B. Brown Qc (boarding) 6:14, B. Cole Qc (hooking) 6:42, M. Blunden Rfd (tripping) 10:00, P. Vandermeer Qc (unsportsmanlike conduct) 14:49, P. Vandermeer Qc (unsportsmanlike conduct) 20:00

3rd Period:
Scoring - 4. Quad City, R. Wilson (3) (J. Lundmark, K. Chucko) 6:43 PP
Penalties - C. Crawford Rfd (hooking) 5:47, N. Hjalmarsson Rfd (tripping) 9:44, J. Armstrong Qc (tripping) 11:35, B. Brown Qc (tripping) 20:00

RFD Shots: 11 11 11 TOTAL: 33
QC Shots: 9 6 9 TOTAL: 24

Power Play Conversion:
Rockford IceHogs 1-9
Quad City Flames 2-5

Goaltenders:
Rockford IceHogs -
Crawford 9-5-1 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 57:32 SV: 21 GA: 3 [L]
Quad City Flames -
Irving 7-6-0 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 60:00 SV: 32 GA: 1 [W]

Attendance: 2848

Referee I: Frederic L'Ecuyer (48)
LINESMAN I: Aaron Mills (23)
LINESMAN II: Chris Woodworth (17)

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IceHogs Website -
http://www.icehogs.com/news/index.html?article_id=938

SPECIAL TEAMS HAUNT ROCKFORD AGAIN

12/30/2008

Moline, Ill.- Specials teams continued to hinder the Rockford IceHogs on Tuesday night. The IceHogs fell 3-1 to the Quad City Flames at the i wireless Center in Moline.

Quad City converted on two of their five power play opportunities on the night while the IceHogs scored just once on nine chances. The turning point in the game came in the second period when the Flames snuffed out a Rockford 5-on-3 power play and moments later tallied a power-play goal of their own to take a lead that they would not give up.

With the game tied1-1, Flames winger Kris Chucko flipped his 13th goal of the season over the shoulder of Corey Crawford to finish the momentum swing. Both David Van der Gulik and Brad Cole assisted the goal.

Rockford was first to score on Tuesday when Jack Skille tallied on the power play. Pascal Pelletier drove the net and after Leland Irving denied his attempt, Skille followed up to jam in his 11th goal of the season at 3:57 of the first period.

Quad City responded, however at 11:55. Jamie Lundmark skated out in front of Crawford and flipped his 11 goal of the season over his shoulder to tie the game.

Rockford couldn't solve Irving in the third period either. The Hogs chipped in 11 shots in each of the three frames, but Irving made 32 saves to preserve the win.

The Flames did add some insurance when Ryan Wilson blasted his third goal of the season on a power play past Crawford at 6:43, set up by Lundmark and Chucko.

Crawford finished the night with 21 saves, but it wasn't enough as he was handed his second straight loss after going unbeaten in seven straight. Rockford's struggles on the road continued as the Hogs have now lost five straight away from the Rockford MetroCentre.

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Flames Website -
http://www.qcflames.com/news/fullstory.php?id=429

FLAMES FRY HOGS IN FINAL HOME GAME OF 2008

Date: 12/30/08

The Flames earned a 3-1 win over Rockford in their final home game of 2008 on Tuesday night at the i wireless Center. Leland Irving made 32 saves to earn his seventh victory of the year while Jamie Lundmark, Kris Chucko and Ryan Wilson provided the offense.

An exciting first period featured goals for each side and three fights. Tim Brent and Gord Baldwin opened the festivities with a tilt at 2:59 of the opening frame. Other minors assessed during that scrum resulted in a Rockford power play. The Hogs converted on the man advantage when Pascal Pelletier fed Jack Skille a pass from the left wing wall. Skille buried the biscuit to put the Hogs up by a goal. Quad City tied the game at 11:55 of the first when Jamie Lundmark cruised out from behind the Rockford net and lift a puck past Rockford netminder Corey Crawford for his ninth goal of the season. The first period ended with the teams tied at one. The squads combined for 56 penalty minutes in the opening frame.

In the second period, the Flames used the momentum from a 5-on-3 penalty kill to take a 2-1 lead. Quad City killed off 91 seconds of IceHogs power-play time following minor penalties by Brad Brown and Brad Cole. Once the Rockford power play ended, the Flames drew a penalty of their own when Rockford’s Michael Blunden was sent off for tripping. During the man advantage, Kris Chucko cut wide on the Rockford defense before charging the front of the net. Chucko then flipped a shot over Crawford to put the Flames in front at 2-1. Chucko’s 13th tally stood up as the lone marker of the middle frame, and the Flames began the closing period with a 2-1 lead.

The Flames added an insurance goal at 6:43 of the third period when Ryan Wilson scored on the power play. The rookie defenseman powered home a shot from the left wing point.

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Quad-City Newspaper -
http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2008/12/31...79064929409.txt (http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2008/12/31/sports/hockey/doc495af91550279064929409.txt)

FLAMES START WIN STREAK

By Craig DeVrieze | Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The Quad-City Flames are making a move to get things right before the calendar turns to a new year.

A 3-1 Tuesday win over the Rockford IceHogs at the i wireless Center was the Flames’ second straight in regulation, giving the local Triple-A hockey crew its first actual winning streak since Nov. 21.

Tuesday’s win was built on quality special teams play, with the Flames scoring two of their three goals on the power play while killing eight of Rockford’s nine chances with a man advantage. For added effect, they held the visitors off for more than 2 minutes of 6-on-5 hockey at game’s end.

All in all, an inspired effort in front of a loud crowd of 2,848.

“This is the critical time of the year,” defenseman and penalty killer Brett Palin said after helping his seventh-place crew improve to 12-15-4-2 and scramble to within five standings points of the rival Hogs in the AHL’s West Division standings. “This division is very tight. We want to get in the mix and we want to make a push now.’’

Rookie goaltender Leland Irving, who hasn’t lost in regulation in two months, made 32 saves and was on the backend of the stalwart Q-C kill.

“You have got to give all the credit to the guys in front of me,” he said. “They are blocking shots and keeping pucks in front of them.’’

David Van der Gulik took two in the chest during a clutch 5-on-3 kill early in the second period.

“War wounds,” Van der Gulik said. “Every kill is huge, especially against team like that with a great power play.”

Indeed, Rockford brought the league’s seventh-rated power play into the game, but, after converting on its first opportunity, the IceHogs couldn’t get the puck past Irving and the Flames in eight subsequent chances.

The game turned on the Flames 1:31 of 5-on-3 penalty killing after Brad Cole followed Brad Brown to the penalty box 6:42 into the second.

“It gave the bench a big lift,’’ coach Ryan McGill said. “Guys on the bench see how much the guys on the kill are sacrificing, so they know how important the next shift is.”

Roughly 4 minutes after that key kill, Kris Chucko walked the puck in on Rockford netminder Corey Crawford and scored top shelf with the Flames on the power play. Chucko credited the Flames penalty killers for taking control of the period.

“That’s huge,’’ he said of the 5-on-3 kill that started with Palin, Van der Gulik and Warren Peters on the ice and concluded with Aki Seitsonen on in place of Van der Gulik. “That set us up for the rest of the period. We shut them down and got the momentum.’’

Chucko’s goal gave the hosts a 2-1 lead they took into the third period. They now are 8-1 when leading after two.

Ryan Wilson gave the Flames their second power-play goal and a 3-1 lead with a slap shot from the point 6:43 into the third.

The two teams were tied at 1-1 following a wild first period that featured three fights and 56 combined penalty minutes, with Flames pest J.D. Watt collecting five minors all by himself.

The early action was stirred by a rocking check by Flames forward Adam Cracknell with 2:59 gone.

Lundmark and Chucko each finished with a goal and an assist.

Bring on the breakaways -
Saturday’s breakaway connection between David Van der Gulik and fellow winger Carsen Germyn was a welcome sight. The Flames have had too few of those. “We’re the AHL — players learn every day,’’ coach Ryan McGill said. “When you see something like that you say they are learning.’’

Van der Gulik, who scored the game-sealing goal, credited Germyn for bringing the puck hard off the boards. Van der Gulik got the puck and fed it back in the neutral zone and the two were off to the races, with Germyn completing the play with a nice cross-crease feed.

Germyn still is looking for his third goal of the year. He thinks the recent addition of top scorer Jamie Lundmark to his and Van der Gulik’s line should help.

Busy week suits Flames -
Tuesday’s game opened a busy stretch of four games in five days for the Flames, who travel to Rockford tonight before returning home to host Milwaukee on Friday and San Antonio on Saturday.

“We really like the fact we’re playing lots,’’ McGill said. “We obviously had a long break at Christmas. Playing games (almost) every day, we like that pace, that routine, that rhythm. We like getting into that game-playing rhythm. We’re a team that feeds off of that.’’