IceHogs win shootout thriller over Missouri
November 23, 2005 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Rockford IceHogs News Release
Rockford, Ill.- The Rockford IceHogs (13-2-1) fought from behind in regulation and in the shootout on Wednesday night to knock off the Missouri River Otters (2-11-2) 5-4 in a shootout at the Rockford MetroCentre. The shootout went 9 rounds before IceHogs center Olivier Proulx settled it with the game-winning goal.
The IceHogs fought back from a 4-2 second period deficit send the game to a shootout. Hogs winger Billy Tibbetts began the comeback with a breakaway goal at 17:30 of the second frame, beating Missouri goalie Kevin Reiter after being set up perfectly by Jason Notermann and Greg Barber. Hogs defenseman Bob Nardella later tied the contest in the third period when he blew a slap shot past Reiter at 2:48.
In the shootout, Rockford took a 1-0 advantage in round with Nardella goal, but Missouri center Jimmy Callahan tied it before Jim Murphy gave the Otters the lead. Robin Big Snake netted the equalizer in round 6 before Proulx ended it in round 9.
Missouri grabbed the 1-0 advantage 1:17 into the contest when Frank Littlejohn blasted his fifth marker of the season past Ronnie Vogel. Rockford bounced back to tie the contest and eventually take the lead. Tibbetts netted his first tally of the night at 7:10 before Barber knocked in his ninth goal of the campaign 26 seconds into the second period.
The River Otters would go on to score three unanswered goals to take the 4-2 advantage. Lars Petterson began the attack at 5:57 of the middle frame. Tim O'Connell (6:18) and Mark Odut (16:21) then put the Otters on top by a pair before Rockford's comeback.
Vogel finished the night with 24 saves to pick up the win while Reiter was saddled with the loss after turning away 35 Rockford shots. The Hogs were 0-for-10 on the power play and held the Otters to 0-for-5. Rockford extended their club best home unbeaten streak to 10 games (9-0-1).
Next Home Game: Friday, November 24 vs. Kalamazoo Wings. The IceHogs and Wings mix it up for the third time this season. The first 2,000 fans will receive an IceHogs T-shirt from Blackhawk Communication, Smith's Electrical Contracting, Avon, Lena Sign Shop, Fox39 and 95.3 FM.
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