STARS OUST ICEHOGS FROM CALDER CUP PLAYOFFS

Texas advances to play either Milwaukee or Chicago in West Division Finals

Rockford, Ill.- The Rockford IceHogs were eliminated from the Calder Cup playoffs by the Texas Stars after a 4-2 loss on Friday at the Rockford MetroCentre. Texas took all four games in the best-of-seven series.

"I thought we played hard for the most part throughout the series," said head coach Bill Peters. "There was obviously a stretch in Game 3 we weren't as commited as we needed to be but as for the two in Texas and here tonight I thought we played hard."

Brent Krahn turned away 38 IceHogs shots to pickup the win after the Stars posted three goals to take a comfortable lead in the first 40 minutes of the game.

Andrew Hutchinson scored his first goal of the playoffs at the 3:56 mark of the first period on the power play to put Texas up 1-0. Assists went to Travis Morin and Landon Wilson.

Then Texas struck again to make it 2-0 as Mathieu Beaudoin picked up the puck and buried his second post season goal at 8:38 in the second period. Jamie Benn and Perttu Lindgren registered the assists.

Hutchinson posted his second of the night on the power play at 10:23 with helpers from Lindgren and Morin.

In the third period, Kyle Beach finished off a great cross-ice pass from Mark Cullen at 7:51 on the power play for his second goal of the postseason. Brian Connelly also posted an assist.

Beach came back with 35 seconds left in the game and buried his second goal of the game to bring the Hogs within one when he drove a shot from the blue line that trickled under Krahn and in. Bracken Kearns and Connelly had the helpers.

"That's what he does," Peters said of Beach. "He scored over 50 goals in the Western Hockey League. He got a good taste of it here. Everyone got a chance to see what the future is like, possibly. There are still areas that need improvement, but he is what he is. He's a good goal scorer and has good instincts."

The goal came on a 6-on-4 power play after the Stars fended off a 1:09 minute 5-on-3 advantage.

Then Texas put the Hogs away for good when Warren Peters slid in an empty-net goal from the neutral zone with nine seconds remaining.

Corey Crawford was tagged with the loss after stopping 20 of 23 shots. Rockford finished 2-for-7 on the man advantage while Texas also converted on two of four chances.

"We're going to start our exit meetings tomorrow," Peters said. "Chicago's management is here tonight and they have some plans to bring up some guys as "black aces" so some guys will be going up there probably in Round 2."

It was the second straight season that the IceHogs were eliminated in four games in the Division Semifinals.

Season Tickets On Sale Now: The IceHogs have tickets packages as small as five game and as big as a full season. Call (815) 847-6399 and ask for a ticket sales representative to find a package that best fits you.

TEXAS PUTS ROCKFORD ON THE ROPES WITH 6-1 WIN

Texas leads Rockford 3-0 in Semifinal set

Rockford, Ill.- The Rockford IceHogs have put themselves in a deep hole in the West Division Semifinals and have a Texas Stars team filling it in with dirt. The Hogs dropped Game 3 to Texas 6-1 on Wednesday at the Rockford MetroCentre.

"We'll come in tomorrow and try to get regrouped," said head coach Bill Peters. "But we weren't a very resilient group this evening."

Brent Krahn turned away 26 Rockford shots to earn the win and give the Stars a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The IceHogs have only been able to muster one goal in each of the three outings against Texas.

The Stars got it going on the power play with 25 seconds left in the first period. Garrett Stafford buried his first marker of the postseason to put the Stars up 1-0 with help from Andrew Hutchinson and Jamie Benn.

Then Benn picked up the puck from Aaron Gagnon and fired in his second goal of the playoffs at 1:26 in the second period. Benn, who joined Texas after posting 82 games with the Dallas Stars in the regular season, finished the game with two goals and two assists on Wednesday.

"We have to be committed for all 60 minutes," Peters said. "We have to be more intelligent. We made it easy on them with four penalties. And I think all four penalties were avoidable."

The Stars went up 3-0 when Travis Morin fed Landon Wilson who blasted a one-timer past Corey Crawford at 12:14 in the middle frame. Dan Jancevski was also credited with an assist.

Then Texas converted just six seconds in on the man advantage as Greg Rallo sent the puck to the back of the net. He was setup by Benn and Gagnon at 15:14 in the second period.

With 26 seconds left in the second period, Benn slapped in his second goal of the night to put Texas up 5-0. The IceHogs were unable to clear the puck after Crawford turned away the initial shot and Benn took advantage. Jancevski registered his second assist of the night, along with help from Maxime Fortunus.

The IceHogs were finally able to solve Brent Krahn when Ben Smith chipped in his first professional goal at 5:47 in the third period. Bracken Kearns and Rob Klinkhammer registered the assists.

"It would be unreal to score more than one," Peters said. "And it would be nice to score first."

Texas got the goal right back as Mathieu Beaudoin put Texas back up five at 6-1 at 8:23 in the final stanza. Perttu Lindgren and Morin were credited with the helpers.

The IceHogs went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Texas went 2-for-4. Both of Texas' power play goals were scored within the first six seconds of the power play.

Rockford goalies made a combined 20 saves on 26 shots, with Crawford making 16 saves on 21 shots and Hannu Toivonen saved 4 of 5 shots faced in the third period.

Next Home Game: Friday, April 23: Game 4 vs. Texas Stars. Game time is 7:05 p.m. Rockford plays its second game at home after two in Texas as the IceHogs face the Stars in a best-of-seven West Division Semifinal Series at the Rockford MetroCentre.

KRAHN STYMIES ROCKFORD AGAIN

Photo Courtesy of the Texas Stars
Hogs muster just one goal for seventh straight playoff game

Cedar Park Tex.- Down 2-0 in the best-of-seven game West Division Calder Cup Playoff series, the Rockford IceHogs have to figure out how to beat Texas Stars goalie Brent Krahn.

Krahn, as he has done all season long, shut the door on Rockford once again in Game 2 on Saturday in Texas, blocking 31 Rockford shots in leading the Stars to a 3-1 win over the IceHogs. Including the regular season, Krahn is now 6-0-0-0 against Rockford and has allowed six total goals.

The Stars’ puck stopper overshadowed a brilliant performance by Rockford goalie Corey Crawford who turned away 31 Texas shots in the loss.

Texas tallied twice in the opening period to grab their second 2-0 lead in as many games. Maxime Fortunus picked up a puck cleared out of a scrum in front of the IceHogs net and fired home his first goal of the postseason at 12:52.

Later in the frame Perttu Lindgren found a loose puck on the doorstep and dumped in his first tally of the Calder Cup Playoffs at 17:12. Both markers were set up by Travis Morin and Colton Sceviour.

Despite the two goals allowed, Crawford played well in the first period, making several point blank stops on the Stars. Overall, Crawford turned away 15 Texas attempts in the frame.

Rockford failed to solve Brent Krahn in period two as well, as the Stars puck stopper turned away all nine IceHogs attempts. Crawford kept the Hogs deficit at 2-0, making seven saves in the stanza.

Texas put the game out of reach in the third period with a quick strike goal from Ray Sawada. Sawada was on the receiving end of a give-and-go with Warren Peters and the winger tallied his second marker of postseason.

Kyle Beach tried to pull Rockford back into the contest as the rookie winger tallied his first career goal at 14:16 of the third period. Beach picked up a Mark Cullen shot from the point and banked his first career marker off of the body of Krahn and in on the power play.

Rockford finished 1-3 on the power play while holding Texas to 0-5. The game marked the seventh straight postseason contest in which Rockford scored just one goal.

Next Home Game: Wednesday, April 21 vs. Texas Stars. Game Three of the West Division Semifinals. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. The West Division Semi’s shift north as the IceHogs and Stars return to Rockford for Game Three of the Calder Cup Playoff’s opening round at the MetroCentre.

THIRD PERIOD RALLY FALLS SHORT IN PHYSICAL GAME 1

Photo Courtesy of the Texas Stars
Texas grabs 1-0 series lead on Rockford

Cedar Park, Tex.- Down 2-0 against a goalie in which the Rockford IceHogs had scored just four goals in four regular season games was a tall task for Hogs in Game 1 of the West Division Semifinals.

It was a deficit to large to overcome against the Texas Stars and goalie Brent Krahn, as Rockford dropped Game 1 of the series 2-1 at Cedar Park Center on Friday.

Down a pair heading into the third period, Rob Klinkhammer put Rockford on the board when his shot from the goal line snuck behind Krahn at 7:56. The puck landed behind the goal line and bounced back out, but was ruled a goal. Pete MacArthur and Danny Richmond assisted the marker.

Rockford couldn’t solve Krahn the rest of the way, including with the empty net and an extra attacked on for nearly :90 to end the game. The IceHogs nearly tied the game in the final seconds when a Jack Skille shot snuck behind Krahn, but slid wide of the open Texas goal.

Texas grabbed the only first period goal on Friday night. Rockford’s Matt Keith coughed the puck up just inside the Stars blueline and rookie winger Jamie Benn picked up the loose change and beat Corey Crawford five-hole on a breakaway at 17:41 for the 1-0 lead.

In the second period, a late double-minor for high sticking on Kyle Greentree put the Stars on a four-minute power play and they would convert. With just under :09 remaining in the frame, Ray Sawada flipped a loose puck over the head of Crawford, and it hit Crawford back and rolled in the IceHogs goal to put Texas up 2-0 heading into the second intermission.

The IceHogs outshot the Stars 28-23 in the contest and Crawford was saddled with the loss after turning away 21 Stars shots.

Game 2 of the IceHogs-Stars West Division Semifinals series is set for 7 p.m. Saturday night at Cedar Park Center.

Next Home Game: Wednesday, April 21 vs. Texas Stars. Game Three of the West Division Semifinals. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. The West Division Semi’s shift north as the IceHogs and Stars return to Rockford for Game Three of the Calder Cup Playoff’s opening round at the MetroCentre.

ROCKFORD FALLS 4-2 IN SEASON FINALE

Photo by Darren Abate
Rookies contribute, but IceHogs knocked off by Rampage

San Antonio, Tex.- In their final tune up for the Calder Cup Playoffs, the IceHogs dropped a 4-2 contest to the San Antonio Rampage at the AT&T Center on Saturday night.

After a scoreless first period, quick strike goals in the second period put both teams on the board. Richard Petiot cleaned up a David Gilbert rebound at 4:05 of the second frame to put Rockford on top 1-0. Brandon Bollig also chipped in an assist, giving him and Gilbert their first professional point.

But just 11 seconds later San Antonio responded when Chris Summers tallied his first career goal. Off the ensuing face-off, the d-man picked up a David Spina pass and beat Hannu Toivonen at 4:16 to tie the game.

Then Francis Lessard picked up a loose puck in the slot in the IceHogs zone and shelved his second goal of the season at 8:03 of the second. Rockford responded with Bollig’s first career goal when the rookie jammed home a Ryan Stanton rebound past Josh Tordjman at 8:53.

San Antonio reclaimed the lead with a power play goal at 14:04. Camped out in front of Toivonen, Matt Watkins redirected a David Schlemko shot from the point for his 12th goal of the year giving the Rampage a 3-2 advantage.

Kyle Turris tallied the only third period goal as he beat Toivonen with a snapshot from on top of the face off circles at 2:08, helped by Schlemko and Sean Sullivan.

Rockford peppered Tordjman with 37 shots, but the Rampage goalies turned away 35 of them to earn the win. Toivonen got the loss after making 21 saves for the IceHogs.

Next Home Game: Wednesday, April 21 vs. Texas Stars. Game Three of the West Division Semifinals. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. The West Division Semi’s shifts north as the IceHogs and Stars return to Rockford for Game Three of the Calder Cup Playoff’s opening round at the MetroCentre.

CULLEN SPARKS ROCKFORD TO WIN OVER TEXAS

IceHogs and Stars to meet in West Division Semifinals

Cedar Park, Tex.- Less than a week after getting their regular season home finale spoiled, the Rockford IceHogs did the same to the Texas Stars. Mark Cullen’s three points (2g-1a) paced Rockford to a 5-1 win over the Stars at Cedar Park Center on Friday.

The win assures a first round playoff date with the Stars for the IceHogs. Corey Crawford made 31 saves for his 24th win of the season.

Rockford struck first on Friday against the Stars with the only first period tally. Jack Skille picked up a deflected Danny Richmond blast from the blue line and swiped in his 23rd goal of the season 1:31 into the contest.

In the second period Mark Cullen extended Rockford’s lead with the first of two power-play goals of the frame. After a Bracken Kearns face off win, Skille found Cullen at the right point and the veteran centerman blasted his 20th goal of the season over the right shoulder of Matt Climie at 11:55.

Texas got the goal back, however, with a power-play marker of their own. Warren Peters tipped in a perfect centering feed from Travis Morin under the cross bar at 14:26, cutting Rockford’s lead down to 2-1.

But the advantage came through again for the IceHogs at 18:37. Kearns fought through a hit in transition and found Kyle Greentree streaking to the net and the winger buried his team-leading 25th goal of the season, making it 3-1. Brian Connelly assisted the goal as well, setting a new IceHogs’ AHL rookie record for points in a season with 35.

In the third period Cullen and Matt Keith iced the game with a pair of late goals. Cullen tipped home a centering pass for Keith for his second straight two-goal game at 17:34. And then off of a face-off, Keith punched in his 21st goal of the campaign at 19:09 off of a win from Cullen.

After just two power-play goals in their last eight games, Rockford finished 2-for-4 against the league’s second best penalty. Texas scored on their only power play chance.

Playoff Tickets: Tickets for the first two possible home Calder Cup Playoff games for the Rockford IceHogs are now on sale. Tickets can be purchased at the MetroCentre Box Office, metrocentre.com or by calling (815) 968-5222.

CULLEN, CRAWFORD LEAD ROCKFORD OVER HOUSTON

Photo by Jason Villanueva
Center nets a pair of goals in 3-1 win

Houston, Tex.- After an offensively challenging homestand, the Rockford IceHogs went on the road and found a bit of an offensive groove. Mark Cullen tallied twice to lead the IceHogs to a 3-1 win over the Houston Aeros at the Toyota Center.

After getting blanked in three of their previous five games, Rockford wasted little time getting on the board Tuesday. Mark Cullen knocked in his 18th goal of the season just 2:55 into the contest when Matt Keith set him up from behind the Aeros goal.

Then while shorthanded, Jack Skille jammed in his own rebound past Darcy Kuemper for his 22nd marker of the campaign at 14:07 giving Rockford a 2-0 lead. The shortie was set up by Bracken Kearns and Richard Petiot.

In the second frame the Aeros grabbed the only marker and it came in the period’s final minute. J.M. Daoust worked a puck around Corey Crawford at 19:22 for his 22nd goal of the campaign, helped by Duncan Milroy and cutting Rockford’s lead down to 2-1.

Cullen would seal the contest for Rockford in the third period when he buried his second goal of the night. The Hogs leading point getter picked up a Keith pass and shelved his 19th goal of the season from between the circles and over the shoulder of Kuemper making it 3-1. Pete MacArthur assisted both of Cullen’s goals as well.

Crawford would do the rest, including turning away all 12 third period shots by the Aeros. The Hogs puckstopper earned his 23rd win of the season while the rookie Kuemper was saddled with his first professional loss making 14 saves for the Aeros.

Playoff Tickets: Tickets for the first two possible home Calder Cup Playoff games for the Rockford IceHogs are now on sale. Tickets can be purchased at the MetroCentre Box Office, metrocentre.com or by calling (815) 968-5222.

MILWAUKEE BLANKS THE ICEHOGS 4-0

Photo by Greg Hamil
Rockford, Ill.- The Milwaukee Admirals blanked the Rockford IceHogs 4-0 on Saturday at the Rockford MetroCentre in the final regular season home game for the IceHogs in the 2009-10 season.

"I don't think we played very well and we weren't very desperate early," Head Coach Bill Peters said. "I don't think we got out of the gate well."

For Milwaukee's first goal, Andreas Thuresson and Dave Scatchard led a two-on-one breakaway into the offensive zone and scored to put the Admirals up 1-0 over the IceHogs. Thuresson passed the puck across to Scatchard, who fired a shot over Hannu Toivonen's blocker into the back of the net. Teemu Laakso was also credited with an assist.

Then with the Admirals on the power play, Marty Murray passed the puck to Thuresson who then buried his 13th goal of the season at 8:30. Laakso tallied his seventh assist on the season, his second on the night.

"We have to get it turned around," Peters said. "We have to find guys who can play for 60 minutes and play the game hard on a consistent basis. It's gotten away from us. We don't work as hard as we once did."

The Admirals added another goal at the 4:57 mark of the second period. Mike Santorelli tallied his 24th goal of the season on assists by Thuresson and Laakso. And in the third period, Hugh Jessiman posted his 20th goal of the season at 1:43 with helpers from Jonathan Blum and Santorelli to put the game out of reach.

"If you look on the score sheet tonight, you'll see Milwaukee's leading scorers all over it and ours aren't on it," said Peters.

Rockford was held off the board on four opportunities on the power play, while Milwaukee was successful on one of their three chances. Toivonen took the loss on 16 saves, while Mark Dekanich stopped all 29 shots he saw.

Playoff Tickets: Tickets for the first two possible home Calder Cup Playoff games for the Rockford IceHogs are now on sale. Tickets can be purchased at the MetroCentre Box Office, metrocentre.com or by calling (815) 968-5222.

HOGS ENTER 2010 CALDER CUP PLAYOFFS WITH A WIN

Rockford will enter post season for sixth consecutive season

Rockford, Ill.- The IceHogs will compete in the Calder Cup playoffs for the third straight year after posting a 2-1 win over the Lake Erie Monsters on Friday at the Rockford MetroCentre.

Now they turn to face the Milwaukee Admirals tomorrow at the MetroCentre to close out the home portion of the regular season. Game time is 7:05 p.m.

"This could be a team we meet in the playoffs some time down the road," center Mark Cullen said of Milwaukee. "We just want to string some wins together so tomorrow is a big game for us."

Left Wing Bryan Bickell beat Lake Erie goalie Tyler Weiman at 2:44 in the first period with assists from Rob Klinkhammer and Shawn Lalonde to give Rockford a 1-0 lead. It was Bickell's 16th goal of the season.

Then the Hogs added one more to go up 2-0 at 8:45 in the third period when Jake Dowell fed Evan Brophey, who fired in his 14th goal of the season. Danny Bois also figured in on the play.

"It's nice to have this out of the way for sure," Cullen said. "It's a big goal for us to make the playoffs. It's a good feeling, but we're not going to play any less hard from here on out."

Lake Erie close the lead to one with a late 6-on-5 goal at 17:30 from Justin Mercier. T.J. Hensick and Brian Willsie had the helpers.

"These types of games get us ready for the playoffs," Cullen said. "Any time you can hold on at the end, it's a good win and says a lot about the character of our team."

Corey Crawford posted his 22nd win of the season, stopping 32 of 33 shots. Weiman had 21 saves in the loss. Rockford was 0-for-5 on the power play, while Lake Erie was without a power play goal in four attempts.

Next Home Game: Saturday, April 3 vs. Milwaukee Admirals. The game starts at 7:05 p.m. The first 2,500 fans to the game will pick an IceHogs Beach Towel from BOB FM and 23-WIFR.