Hershey wins its 11th game in a row, defeating the Rockford Icehogs for the first time ever. Garrett Pilon scores in the third period to tie the game, making this another comeback victory.
The Hershey Bears (30-20-0-3) welcome the Rockford Icehogs (26-21-3-5) to the Giant Center. The Bears are on a ten game winning streak and are currently rolling with a franchise record 16 game point streak (15-0-0-1). This has taken them from the basement of the Atlantic division into third place and just six points out of second (currently held by Bridgeport Sound Tigers). On top of all that, the Bears have never defeated the Icehogs in their history.
Starting in goal for the Hershey Bears is goaltender Ilya Samsonov. The net minder who just celebrated his twenty second birthday will play his 100th game as a professional. Samsonov has played in seventy three over in the KHL and will play his twenty seventh game for Hershey.
1st Period:
It did not take long for Jonas Siegenthaler to take his eighth penalty in just his seventh game back from being sent back down to Hershey. Rockford took advantage when newcomer Peter Holland scored on the power play. This was his first goal since joining the Icehogs (second game) and his twenty first goal of the season. This gave Rockford a 1-0 lead.
.@darrenrovell reports that Holland's exports of elite snipers have already increased 321% since puck drop. pic.twitter.com/5QfQBijhwt
— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) February 24, 2019
After a couple of great saves for goaltender Anton Forsberg, Hershey finally got on the board. Ryan Sproul scored when going around the net. Just as Sproul crossed the goal line, he threw a backhand shot on net. The puck hit Forsberg in the back and it found its way into the net. This Sproul’s eighth goal of the season and this tied the game 1-1.
Before the period ended, the Icehogs used their speed to stop an icing call and created a scoring chance that worked out. Anthony Louis beat out the icing and passed the puck to Jacob Nilsson who then scored, beating Ilya Samsonov over the glove side shoulder. This was Nilsson’s 14th goal of the season that gave Rockford a 2-1 lead going into the locker room.
Ant-Man stopped and dropped.
Nilsson shut em' down and opened up shop. pic.twitter.com/QaC9Um4ljN— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) February 24, 2019
1st Period Shots: HER – 11, RFD – 8
1st Period Scoring:
1:21 – RFD: Peter Holland(21) ASST: Henri Jokiharju(9), Jordan Schroeder(20)(PP)
14:54 – HER: Ryan Sproul(8) ASST: None
17:45 – RFD: Jacob Nilsson(14) ASST: Anthony Louis(18), Victor Ejdsell(14)
2nd Period:
The second period was filled with great chances by Hershey. Unfortunately for the Bears, Peter Forsberg wasn’t having any of it.
𝕤𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕪 𝕘𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖 💁♀️ pic.twitter.com/X2Zlbjl3UL
— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) February 24, 2019
There was no scoring in the second and both teams went into the locker room with a 2-1 lead for Rockford.
2nd Period Shots: HER – 8, RFD – 4
2nd Period Scoring:
None
3rd Period:
Hershey came into the third period having shift their lines around. Steve Whitney moved up to the first line while Liam O’Brien moved down to a utility role for situations. This created more speed and wore down Rockford early in the period.
While on the forecheck, Beck Malenstyn got the puck to a wide open Garrett Pilon, who was in front of Forsberg. Pilon picked up a rebound on his first shot then put the puck into the empty net. This was Pilon’s fifth goal of the season and tied the game 2-2.
A 3rd period goal by @gpilon41, and we're even down the stretch! #HBH #DefendTheDen pic.twitter.com/sRNGsqhEjW
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) February 24, 2019
After the game was tied, both teams went into a conservative chess match and put the game into overtime.
3rd Period Shots: HER – 7, RFD – 8
3rd Period Scoring:
1:28 – HER: Garrett Pilon(5) ASST: Beck Malenstyn(7)
Overtime:
The overtime was also treated as a conservative chess match with only one great opportunity which favored Rockford but Samsonov made the save. This game was decided in a shootout.
Overtime Shots: HER – 0, RFD – 3
Overall Shots: HER – 27, RFD – 23
Shootout:
HER: Riley Barber – O
RFD: Peter Holland – X
HER: Mike Sgarbossa – X
RFD: Jordan Schroeder – O
HER: Nathan Walker – O
RFD: Anthony Louis – X
Bears win in a shootout 3-2!
Three Stars:
- HER: Garrett Pilion (1 goal)
- HER: Ryan Sproul (1 goal)
- HER: Beck Malenstyn (1 assist)
Official Box Score: https://theahl.com/stats/game-summary/1019171
Photos are courtesy of Cory Lyons. You can follow him on Twitter at @CoryLyonsAHL and on Instagram at @corylyonsphoto.
