Rockford, IL— The Rockford IceHogs (25-23-3-1) returned home for the first time in almost three weeks with a statement 5-1 win over the Grand Rapids Griffins (26-25-5-2) Saturday night at BMO Harris Bank Center. Rockford forward Josiah Slavin led the way with a two-goal game, while 11 different IceHogs picked up a point in the Saturday victory.
During a four-on-four in the first period, IceHogs forward Lukas Reichel forced a turnover and set up forward Brett Connolly who fired off a shot, but Grand Rapids goaltender Calvin Pickard made a spectacular save.
However, Reichel was able to get the rebound and pass it off to defenseman Isaak Phillips who set Connolly up once more and he fired off a one-timer to give Rockford a 1-0 lead at 16:26 in the first period.
From there, Rockford never slowed down. The IceHogs extended their lead in the middle frame when forward Josiah Slavin skated down the left side for a two-on-one. Slavin then kept it himself and fired a shot right underneath the glove of Pickard to make it 2-0 IceHogs.
Later in the period forward Michal Teply found the back of the net off a rebound to extend the IceHogs lead to 3-0 at 7:22 in the second period.
After Griffins defenseman Butrus Ghafari was called for boarding, IceHogs defenseman Alec Regula setup defenseman Ian Mitchell on the power play and he fired off a one-timer to give Rockford a 4-0 lead at 9:14 in the middle frame. Forward Mike Hardman also got the assist for his second of the night, while Mitchell finished the night with a goal and an assist.
In the third period, Slavin scored on the backhand for his second tally of the contest as the IceHogs took a 5-0 lead. Forward Reese Johnson earned the assist in his first game back since breaking his clavicle on Dec. 11 while playing for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Later in the period forward Tyler Spezia scored off a rebound to make it a 5-1 game. It was the only mishap of the night for Rockford netminder Arvid Soderblom as he stopped 29 shots to earn his 12th win of the season.
The IceHogs turn right back around for a game against the Milwaukee Admirals tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. at BMO Harris Bank Center for Family Sunday! Enter code SUNDAY before selecting your seats on Ticketmaster to unlock a special offer to get a voucher for a hot dog or brat, bag of chips and a soda for an additional $5 per upper-level ticket for these remaining Sunday home games: March 20, April 10 and April 24. The offer is only available in advance and will not be honored on day of game.
Watch and listen to the action on the IceHogs Broadcast Network presented by BMO Harris Bank! Tune in from your favorite device, at home or on the road at IceHogs.com and on the IceHogs app! Fans can also watch every IceHogs home game and select road games this season on 23.3 Circle TV and every game on AHLTV and listen in on all of Mid-West Family’s local stations including 104.9 The X, B103, 95.3 The Bull, and Rockford Greatest Hits 100.5 and featured on Rock River Current.
