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Rockford IceHogs

IceHogs climb back into playoff race with 3-0-1 week

February 9, 2004 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Rockford IceHogs News Release


Despite playing with a team stricken by flu like symptoms (11 players were ill) on Tuesday, the Rockford IceHogs completed Week 16 with a 3-0-1 record. IceHogs goalie Ronnie Vogel had a brilliant week playing in all four games and stopping 172 of the 179 shots (.961 SPCT) to lead Rockford. With the seven out of a possible eight points this week, Rockford has moved back within one-point of the UHL's final playoff spot.

Tuesday, February 3rd: Rockford 1 at Kalamazoo 2 (so): Despite nearly half their active roster suffering from flu-like symptoms, the Rockford IceHogs hung tough, soldiering to a 2-1 shootout loss against the Kalamazoo Wings Tuesday in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The loss was the first for IceHogs goaltender Ronnie Vogel in the extra session this season, as forward Joe Ritson picked up the only shootout goal to give the Wings the 1-0 edge. The only regulation goals of the game came during the second period. First to score was Wings forward Marty Flichel who scored on the game's first power play at 3:55. But the Hogs battled back, as forward Justin Cardwell scored off a fantastic setup from winger Maris Ziedins at 15:20. Vogel finished the the contest with 44 saves.

Wednesday, February 4th: Quad City 1 vs. Rockford 3: The Rockford IceHogs put a halt to their five-game winless streak on Wednesday with a 3-1 win over the Quad City Mallards at the Rockford MetroCentre. The Hogs have now defeated the Mallards in three-straight home games, and set a season high with their third-straight win at home. The Hogs were first on the board, after a near goal by the Mallards that sat idle on the goal-line, defensemen Bob Nardella and Kenzie Homer moved the puck up ice to forward Steve Cygan. Cygan raced in on Mallards goaltender Jeff Reynaert and buried the puck at 11:37 to put the Hogs up 1-0. But the Mallards were quick to get the equalizer at 12:02 when defenseman Matt Libby deflected a Jon Francisco point shot down and past goaltender Ronnie Vogel to knot the score 1-1 before the intermission. After a scoreless second the Hogs quickly found themselves on the power play when forward Jason Goulet was whistled for tripping. Hogs forward Justin Cardwell needed only 14 seconds to capitalize, putting one through Reynaert to give the Hogs the lead. The Hogs then put the icing on the game with an empty net goal from forward Donnie Margettie. Vogel finished the night with 44 saves on 45 shots, while Reynaert made 26 saves. Cardwell is now enjoying his third two-game goal-scoring streak of the season.

Friday, February 6th: Missouri 1 vs. Rockford 5: It took the Rockford IceHogs 46 games, but they finally earned a one-sided victory. The Hogs knocked off the Missouri River Otters 5-1 on Friday night in front of 3,539 fans at the Rockford MetroCentre winning their first game by more than three goals this season. The win was also a season high fourth straight on home ice for the Hogs. After a scoreless first period, Rockford used a rapid strike offense to jump on top 2-0, midway through the second period. Winger Kelly Miller skated in all alone on Otters goalie Duane Derksen after a perfect feed from defenseman Gary Ricciardi and made a pretty deeke move at 12:57 to put the Hogs on top 1-0. Then just 1:09 later, Donnie Margettie was set up perfectly by Nathan Lutz to make the contest 2-0. In the third period the IceHogs would quickly make the game 3-0 as Margettie notched his second marker of the game on a breakaway at 2:50. Missouri would ruin Hogs goalie Ronnie Vogel's shutout bid however, at 9:39 on the power play when Colin Embley buried one past the Hogs puck stopper to make the score 3-1. The IceHogs would pull away however, as winger Dave Paradise made it 4-1 at 11:37 on a two-on-one break with d-man Bob Nardella. Center Steve Cygan later put the game out of reach after he buried a Paradise rebound at 16:33 to make the score 5-1. Vogel finished the night with 35 saves and for the third straight game gave up only one goal to pick up the win. Rockford had four players with multi-point games including Lutz (2a), Miller (1g-1a), Margettie (2g) and Paradise (1g-1a).

Saturday, February 7th: Kalamazoo 4 vs. Rockford 5: The Rockford IceHogs tied a franchise record with their fifth-straight home win, knocking off the Kalamazoo Wings 5-4 before 4,580 at the Rockford MetroCentre. The IceHogs finished Week 16 unbeaten with a 3-0-1 record while defenseman Bob Nardella racked up 1g-3a-4pts. The win streak ties the mark set last season by Rockford from 11/6/02-11/24/02. Despite Kalamazoo controlling the tempo at the beginning of the first period, it was Rockford that capitalized to take the 1-0 lead. Hogs center Steve Cygan picked up a Nardella drop pass only to give it back to the d-man who buried it past Wings goalie Rob Anderson at 3:16. Then at 3:16 of the second period, winger Jeff Ewasko would make the contest 2-0 when he blasted one past Anderson. Kalamazoo responded when forward Tyler Willis snuck one past Hogs goaltender Ronnie Vogel to cut the lead to 2-1. Rockford regained their two-goal cushion with a power play blast from red-hot wingman Justin Cardwell at 10:12 of the middle period. But the Wings sliced into the lead before the end of the frame with a power play marker of their own when forward Pat O'Leary touched one past Vogel at 18:36. The IceHogs would find themselves short-handed once again in the third period but Kelly Miller picked up a blocked shot from rookie center Maris Ziedins and notched a shortie at 2:22 of the third period. The point was Miller's sixth this season while short-handed. The Wings would not go away however, as Joe Ritson made the score 4-3 at 5:59 slipping one past Vogel. O'Leary later notched his second tally of the game at 10:12 to tie the contest at four goals apiece. Rockford would grab the lead back when Dave Paradise knocked in the game winner at 12:35. Vogel finished the game with a team season high 49 saves and finished the week with 172 saves on 179 shots and a 3-0-1 record. Paradise and Cardwell accumulated multi-point games once again and Cardwell has followed up his eight game scoring streak with a five game stretch. Paradise also extended his team season assist steak to five-straight games.

Transactions

The IceHogs signed wingers Jeff Lukasak and Brent Rumble to a 14-Day PTO on Tuesday, February 3rd. Winger Jeff Ewasko was placed on team suspension on Tuesday, February 3rd. Forward Doug Altschul was signed and added to the roster on Tuesday, February 3rd. Defenseman B.J. Adams was placed on the 21-Day Injured Reserve on Wednesday, January 4th. Winger Dave Paradise was activated from the 10-Day Injured Reserve on Wednesday, February 4th. Lukasak and Rumble were released from their 14-Day PTO on Wednesday, February 4th. Altschul was released on Thursday, February 5th. Ewasko was activated from team suspension on Friday, February 6th.

Bacon Bits:

The IceHogs tied a franchise record on Saturday with their fifth-straight home win.

Hogs goalie Ronnie Vogel completed an amazing week with a 5-4 win over the Kalamazoo Wings Saturday and finished the week 3-0-1 with a 1.75 goals against average and a .961 save percentage.

Vogel faced a UHL season high 25 shots on goal in the second period on Saturday and had an IceHogs season high 53 shots fired in on him for the game stopping 49 of them.

IceHogs defenseman Bob Nardella has 5g-25a-30pts in just 32 games this season ranking him sixth among all UHL defenseman in scoring.

IceHogs winger Dave Paradise has a team season high five-game assist streak. With Paradise in the line-up this season, the Hogs are 16-15-1 and without him they are 4-10-2.

Rockford forward Justin Cardwell has a five-game point streak and has registered a point 13 of his last 14 games. During the 14 game stretch, Cardwell has racked up 12g-7a-19pts and is +12.

Despite having 11 players suffering from flu-like symptoms, the IceHogs turned in their top week of the 2003-04 season going 3-0-1 in four games.

Hogs fourth year winger Kelly Miller has already set career highs in goals (11), assists (18), points (29) and penalty minutes (82).

Miller also has six short handed points, one shy of Jason Firth's franchise record of seven accumulated during the 1999-00 season.

Hot Hog: Week 16

Defenseman Bob Nardella: The veteran defenseman had a season high four points (1g-3a) against the Kalamazoo Wings on Saturday and finished the 16th Week of the 2003-04 United Hockey League season with 1g-6a-7pts with a plus/minus rating of +6.

Upcoming Games:

Friday, February 13th vs. Muskegon Fury. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. The Hogs and Fury clash at the MetroCentre once again in another Western Conference showdown. Every fan in attendance will have an opportunity to win a pair of airline tickets courtesy of TMA Airlines plus other great prizes from Dental Dimensions and FOX39.

Saturday, February 14th vs. Adirondack IceHawks. Game time is 7:05 p.m. The IceHawks make their first of three trips to the MetroCentre Saturday. The first 1,000 fans to the game will receive an IceHogs Valentine's Day puck courtesy of Mary Kay cosmetics, Y95 FM and 23WIFR.

All 76 on Y95:

Catch all 76 Regular Season and all Playoff games on the official radio home for the Rockford IceHogs, Y95, 95.3 FM. The broadcast begins with the SBC Pregame Show and make sure to give your opinion during the post game call in show following each home game at (815) 874-3953.

Hog Talk:

Join 104.9 FM, WXRX's Jim Stone and Double T every Monday from 5:00-7:00 p.m. for Budweiser Hog Talk. The show takes place at Hard Hats Bar and Grill and features IceHogs Head Coach Mark Bernard. Also appearing this week are IceHogs winger Dale Junkin and defenseman Kenzie Homer.

Fans can renew their season tickets for the 2004-05 season at any Rockford IceHogs home game or by calling the IceHogs office at (815) 986-6465. If fans pay in full by April 9th, they will receive 10% off of their full season ticket prices and 5% on all 20-game ticket packages for next season. The renewing season ticket holders will receive a commemorative autographed 8x10 photo of the 2003-04 Rockford IceHogs, an exclusive season ticket holders patch, plus they will be entered into a drawing to win a pair of round trip airline tickets courtesy of TMA Airlines.

Season Tickets for 2004-05 Season:

Season tickets for the 2004-05 season are now on sale and fans can receive 10% off of their purchase of new full-season tickets and 5% off of 20-game packages if they pay in full by April 9th. Also, all new ticket purchasers will be enterend into a drawing for a pair of airline tickets courtesy of TMA Airlines. For more information, call the IceHogs office at (815) 986-6465.

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from February 9, 2004


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