IceHogs Come From Behind to Top Monsters

A nice crowd was in attendance for the Monsters on Friday with one-dollar hotdog night at the “Q.” 

No one-dollar hotdog night would be complete without a hot dog eating contest, as two contestants stuffed themselves with as many dogs as they could muster in a thirty second time frame.  Even my stomach ached after watching that one.

The game began in ominous fashion for Lake Erie.  #23 David Jones was called for hooking 25 seconds in.  The Monsters did a nice job killing off the penalty, and right out of the box, David Jones made his presence known. 

Fantastic passing from McCeod to Jones to goal scorer Ray Bascias, and just like that, the Monsters were up one zip.  Less than thirty seconds later, Eric Healey added to his Monster-leading scoring total.  Assist by Smith, 2-0.

Minutes later, #5 Ryan Stokes went to the box for hooking.  The Monsters went on the power play.  A bad give-away at center ice by the Monsters opened up a short handed chance for the IceHogs, as  #18 Jeff Jillson fell down and the puck went right to Rockford, who ripped a shot though the crease. 

Bacashihua denied the short-handed chance, keeping the game at 2-1.  Finally, after a home ice first period, the Monsters came out on top in shots on goal, 14-12. 

During the second period, David Jones did the dirty work down low.  In one sequence, he crushed an IceHog, held the puck, passed behind the net to the other side of the ice, skated to the opposite side of the ice, slammed another IceHog against the boards, and regained the puck!

It was a fantastic individual effort.  It unfortunately wasn't capped off with a score, but still…

Rockford got on the board with a goal from St. Pierre, assists to Bickel and Hobson, at 11:30 into the second period. 

If Martin St. Pierre were represented in a Nintendo game, he would be faster than everyone around him.  He is easy to follow—not only for his speed, but also because he is noticeably the smallest guy on the ice.

#22 Steve Margeson popped off a pair of two-minute penalties in a row.  The Monsters killed off the first one, and right out of the box Margeson took a second one. That one cost them.  One minute and 17 seconds into the penalty kill, #22 Troy Brouwer scored, assisted by St Pierre and Versteep.

As with all hockey contests, the fighting is as entertaining as the game itself—and tonight was no exception.  #19 Adam Berti and #8 Cody McLeod each received five minutes for fighting.

With one minute to go in the period, #23 David Jones was called for slashing.  The shots on goal evened up to 25-24 in favor of the Icehogs. 

They teams headed into the locker room with the game tied 2-2.

The third period yielded one score for each club, ending the regulation period in a 1-1 tie. The Monsters took the lead early in the period, and it looked like they would hold on to win this one.  However, with five minutes left in the game, the Icehogs put on a furious charge. 

Corbin drew a penalty on #24 Preston Ryan for hooking, with only four minutes remaining in the contest.  Rockford was denied!  The defense held, and the crowd grew optimistic of a win. 

Unfortunately, with 1:41 left, the Icehogs pressure finally paid off—and they scored from the corner on St Pierre’s second goal of the night, on a puck Bacashihua should have covered up.

In the overtime frame in the AHL, each team is reduced a skater and play four-on-four for five minutes.  Lake Erie charged down ice on the breakaway, and just missed the win on a shot that hit the post by David Jones.  The Monsters looked to close out the game, after Rockford player #20 Petri Kontiola was called for hooking.  Only twenty-three seconds left of the four-on-three, and the Monsters squeezed off a nice shot from the point, but couldn’t score. 

Even though the Monsters outplayed the Icehogs, the scored remained 3-3 after overtime, and the game headed into a shootout. 

If there was any justice in the world, the Monstes would prevail.  On this day, however, justice took a vacation, and the Icehogs won the shootout 3-2 and the game 4-3. 

Third star of the game was #25 Chris Stewart of the Monsters.  Second star for the game goes to #2 Ray Macias.

Star of the game was a deserving Martin St. Pierre of Rockford.  He is destined for the NHL if some team will see their way clear of his small stature and give him a chance.