Rockford's season ends with 3-1 loss
May 10, 2006 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Rockford IceHogs News Release
Rockford, Ill.- The best season in the Rockford IceHogs seven season history came to an end on Wednesday night, as the club fell to the Kalamazoo Wings 3-1 in Game Four of the Colonial Cup Semifinals at the Rockford MetroCentre. The Wings swept the Hogs 4-0 in the best-of-seven series to advance to its first ever Colonial Cup Finals.
Center Tyler Rennette led the way for Kalamazoo in only his second postseason game. Rockford, however, took the 1-0 lead in the second period to jump out on the Wings. Winger Jason Notermann pounced on a loose puck in front of Kalamazoo goalie Joel Martin at 5:18 and knocked in a shorthanded goal to give Rockford the advantage.
The Wings responded at 7:01 to tie the contest with Tyler Willis' first playoff goal, set up by Rennette. The goal that really hurt Rockford came with just 1.8 seconds remaining in the second frame. Rennette and Willis found themselves on another 2-on-1 breakaway with time ticking away in the period, and this time Willis found Rennette at 19:58 for a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish.
In the final period, the Wings added an insurance goal on the power play. Winger Dustin Virag beat Hogs goalie Ronnie Vogel over the shoulder at 9:02, making it 3-1. Kalamazoo tightened up the defense from there on out and held Rockford off the board to earn a trip to the Colonial Cup Finals.
Rockford was outshot for the fourth straight game in the series, 29-27. The Hogs power play finished the game 0-for-4 while Kalamazoo went 1-for-8 in the contest. The series loss marks the second straight season in which Rockford bowed out of the postseason in the Semifinals. Kalamazoo now awaits the winner of the Muskegon Fury-Danbury Trashers series.
Thank You IceHogs Fans: The Rockford IceHogs would like to thank all of its fans and corporate partners for another successful season of IceHogs hockey in 2005-06. We appreciate your support and we look forward to seeing you in 2006-07!
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