With a quick turnaround from Game One to Game Two, the Rockford IceHogs and Manitoba Moose dropped the puck on Saturday in the late afternoon for Game Two of the Western Conference Semi-Finals. Rockford entered Game Two with a 1-0 lead in the series, and would exit with a 2-0 series lead behind another great performance in net and on special teams.
Game Two: Rockford IceHogs def. Manitoba Moose, 4-1
The IceHogs would, to no one’s surprise, go with Collin Delia in net against Manitoba’s Eric Comrie. Delia improved to 4-0-0 in the Calder Cup Playoffs with a win in Game One and came into Saturday’s Game Two ranking second in the postseason in Goals Against Average (1.62) and save-percentage (.944) for goalie who have played more than one game, trailing Mike McKenna of the Texas Stars in both categories.
Game Two would begin much like Game One with both teams feeling each other out and trying not to give up too many chances. Rockford was unsuccessful on an early powerplay after going two-for-six in Game One. Late in the first period, Manitoba would get on the board with a goal from Brendan Lemieux to give the Moose the 1-0 lead. Again, like Game One, Manitoba was able to get the early lead, but unlike Game One, the IceHogs would respond before the end of the first period. After a Viktor Svedberg shot was fumbled by Comrie, Tyler Sikura was able to swoop in and put the loose puck home for his third goal of the postseason and tie the game heading into the second period.
The IceHogs celebrate with Tyler Sikura after his goal in Game Two of the Calder Cup Western Conference Semi-Finals against the Manitoba Moose. (Courtesy: Manitoba Moose)
The IceHogs would start the second period with a strategy that has worked well for them so far in the Calder Cup Playoffs: Go on the powerplay. Just under five minutes into the middle frame, Rockford would draw their second powerplay of the game and Chris DiDomenico would skate the puck from the boards, across the slot and fire home the 2-1 goal. DiDomenico’s third goal of the postseason gave Rockford the lead early in the second period and extended his Calder Cup Playoffs point-streak to five games with eight points (3G, 5A) over that span.
Game Two HIGHLIGHTS: Rockford IceHogs def. Manitoba Moose, 4-1
Rockford would extend their second period lead with just under four minutes left in the period as Carl Dahlstrom would score his first goal of the Calder Cup Playoffs to make it a 3-1 game. Dahlstrom was able to go high glove side on Comrie off of a feed from Gustav Forsling and the IceHogs would hold onto the 3-1 lead into the third period, looking to take a potential 2-0 series lead back to Rockford for Game Three.
Rockford’s continued success in the special teams aspect of this series continued into the third period as the IceHogs killed off their second penalty of the game nearing the mid-way point of the period. Shortly after that, Rockford would be gifted a 5-on-3 powerplay chance but would not be able to convert on the man-advantage. Rockford would have to regroup quickly as they would face their third penalty-kill of the game with just under eight minutes remaining in the period. IceHogs would kill it off and improve to 3-for-3 on the kill for Game Two and a perfect 5-for-5 in the series. With the Manitoba net empty, Andreas Martinsen would score his first goal of the Calder Cup Playoffs and give the IceHogs the 4-1 lead and seal the deal for a Game Two victory.
POSTGAME REACTION: Head Coach Jeremy Colliton
Collin Delia continued his stellar performance of the Calder Cup Playoffs, stopping 33 pucks on 34 shots faced. He improves to 5-0-0 in the Calder Cup Playoffs with a 1.52 GAA and a .949 save-percentage. Rockford finishes the game 1-for-4 on the powerplay, 3-for-10 in the series on the man-advantage, and 10-for-28 (35.7%) overall in the postseason. On the penalty-kill, Rockford finished the game perfect 3-for-3, and are 17-for-19 (89.5%) in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
With the win the IceHogs are 5-0 this postseason, including 4-0 on the road. Rockford set the franchise record, both AHL and UHL combined, with four-straight road wins in the playoffs, and its 5-game win streak is one short of the all-time franchise mark from 2007, the final year that Rockford competed in the UHL and won the UHL’s Colonial Cup.
Impressive.
What’s Next?
Here is the full schedule for the Calder Cup Western Conference Semi-Finals Best-of-Seven series between Rockford and Manitoba:
- Game One: Rockford IceHogs def. Manitoba Moose, 4-2 (RFD leads series 1-0)
- Game Two: Rockford IceHogs def. Manitoba Moose, 4-1 (RFD leads series 2-0)
- Game Three: Wednesday, May 9 at BMO Harris Bank Center (Rockford, Illinois), 7pm
- Game Four: Friday, May 11 at BMO Harris Bank Center, 7pm
- * Game Five: Saturday, May 12 at BMO Harris Bank Center, 6pm (* If Necessary)
- * Game Six: Tuesday, May 15 at Bell MTS Place, 7pm (* If Necessary)
- * Game Seven: Wednesday, May 16 at Bell MTS Place, 7pm (* If Necessary)
The winner of the IceHogs and Moose series will face the winner of the Tucson Road Runners and Texas Stars Western Conference Semi-Finals series. The IceHogs have never advanced to the Western Conference Finals in their AHL Franchise history.