Hogs take Wings to school
Published on February 21, 2007 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Rockford IceHogs News Release
Kalamazoo, Mich.- In front of thousands of school kids at Wings Stadium, the Rockford IceHogs topped the Kalamazoo Wings 5-2 in a rare morning game on Wednesday. Rockford ended the Wings club-record shutout streak and center Kevin Ulanski led the way for Rockford, collecting a pair of goals and a assist in the win.
Kalamazoo hopped on the board early when winger Jason Lawmaster slipped a wrist shot past Hogs goalie Frederic Cloutier in traffic at 2:44. Rockford got the goal back, ending Ryan Nie's shutout streak when centerman Bryce Cockburn shelved his seventh goal of the season past Nie off of a set-up pass from Jason Ralph at 10:21. Nie's streak ended at 214 minutes, just 34:31 shy of Kevin St. Pierre's league record set in 2005-06.
The second period was dominated by Rockford, but the Hogs only managed one goal on the Wings late in the period. Rookie winger Kaleb Betts led a 2-on-1 breakaway and flipped a pass to Jason Notermann who deflected in his ninth goal of the season past Nie at 18:01. Rockford outshot Kalamazoo 17-7 in the frame.
Hogs defenseman Nathan Lutz extended the IceHogs lead to 3-1 in the opening minute of the third period. Lutz followed up a Ulanski 2-on-1 breakaway shot and buried his seventh goal of the season past Nie at :56 of the third frame. The Wings reduced the deficit with a power-play goal from Nick Bootland. Bootland sniped home his 31st goal of the season, sneaking the shot under the cross bar at 13:34.
That's as close as the Wings would get as the Hogs broke the contest open with a pair of empty-net goals from Ulanski. Ulanski's first empty-netter came at 18:45 while short-handed. The Hogs leading point scorer then added his second marker at 19:37.
Cloutier out-dueled Nie making 28 saves while the Wings puck-stopper made 36 in the loss. The win extended the Hogs unbeaten to10-straight games (9-0-1).
Next Homestand: Friday, March 2 vs. Port Huron Flags. Game time is 7:30 p.m. The Flags and Hogs hook up for the final time this season when they meet at the MetroCentre. The first 1,000 fans to the game will receive IceHogs Poster #6 from Pepsi, Medicine Man, Johnson Press and the Rockford Register Star.
Saturday, March 3 vs. Quad City Mallards. The puck is slated to drop at 7:05 p.m. The IceHogs host its Eighth Annual Jersey Auction for charity as the archrival Mallards return to Rockford. The Hogs will don commemorative jersey's that will get auctioned off immediately following the game. The first 1,000 fans to the game will pick-up an IceHogs T-shirt featuring Hammysaurus Rex courtesy of Axberg Heating, Saturn of Rockford, Ameriprise Financial and Dental Dimensions.
Also, before both games, the IceHogs will host a United States Hockey League game between the Chicago Steel and Sioux City Musketeers. The game on Friday, March 2 starts at 3:30 p.m. and the contest on Saturday, March 3 will begin at 3 p.m. Tickets purchased for either game is good for both the IceHogs and Steel contests.
International Hockey League 2 Stories from February 21, 2007
- Gaustad helps PrairieThunder win in shootout over Chicago - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- Drevitch Plays 1,200th Pro Game, Jackals Struggle On Long Road Trip - Elmira Jackals
- Exciting Hockey Action In Elmira This Week - Elmira Jackals
- Hogs take Wings to school - Rockford IceHogs
- Chicago Hounds Celebrate New Owner - Chicago Hounds
- San Antonio Rampage Call Up Frank Littlejohn - Elmira Jackals
- UHL concludes semi-annual meeting - IHL 2
- 2007 UHL All-Star Classic items available in online auction - IHL 2
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