Hogs Strike Twice on Power Play But Fall 4-2 to Griffins
December 28, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rockford IceHogs News Release
ROCKFORD, Ill. - Two power-play goals were not enough for the Rockford IceHogs as they fell to the Grand Rapids Griffins 4-2 at the BMO Center on Wednesday night. After an early goal by Grand Rapids, the IceHogs' attack on the power play kept the edge against the Griffins as Colton Dach and Mike Hardman scored on the man-advantage giving Rockford a 2-1 lead in the second period before Grand Rapids tied the game 2-2 later in the second and eventually claimed the lead in the third.
Going into the third period, Grand Rapids scored their only power-play goal of the game to take a 3-2 lead before an empty-net goal doubled the Griffins' lead and solidified the victory.
Drew Commesso finished with 22 saves on the night.
In the first period of play, Grand Rapids struck first. The puck was stolen by Grand Rapids' Elmer Soderblom at center ice towards the Hogs defensive end. Soderblom left the puck for Josiah Dider near the blue line where he sent a wrist shot into the net to give Grand Rapids a 1-0 lead. (5:55)
Grand Rapids recorded the first penalty of the game on a tripping call issued to Wyatt Newport. Rockford made good use of the odd-man advantage. Michal Teply sent a pass to Dach waiting behind Grand Rapid's net. Dach sent a pass to David Gust on the right face-off circle as he staked towards the net. In a quick give-and-go style play, Gust passed to Dach skating from behind the net to the right post where he maneuvered around Sebastian Cossa and scored the power-play equalizer (8:53).
Early in the second period, Grand Rapids recorded another penalty giving Screw City their second power play of the night. With under 20 seconds left in the power play, the IceHogs put on a clinic in tape-to-tape passes. Ryder Rolston sent a shot to the net after the flurry of passes made their way into the slot. The puck was blocked by Cossa and stuck on his right pad as Hardman, who was setting a screen on the initial shot, was able to take the idle puck and flip it into the net for Screw City's second power-play goal of the night (1:59).
With just under five minutes left in the second period, Rockford's attempt to clear the puck from their end was spoiled by Zach Aston-Reese as he stole the puck and sent a backhanded pass to Joel L'Esperance in the slot to score the game-tying goal and his 200th career AHL goal (15:07).
In the final frame of regulation, the Griffins gained the lead on a power-play goal by Carter Mazur (13:03). Grand Rapids would add another goal late in the period on an empty-netter from Elmer Soderblom to make it 4-2 (18:53).
The IceHogs travel to Milwaukee on Saturday for their final road game in 2023 before returning home to Rockford on New Year's Eve. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. on Saturday.
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