Milwaukee Cruises by IceHogs 4-1 on 4/4/09

In front of a Sell Out Crowd of 6229, the Rockford IceHogs fell to the Milwaukee Admirals. It seemed the Admirals could do no wrong last night and the IceHogs could do no right. Milwaukee came out strong and did not let up in their the push for the win. IceHogs netminder Corey Crawford, appeared to struggle at times and was handed the evening's Loss. While the Admirals, Mark Dekanich, was solid between the pipes. Dekanich went home with the Win and the 2nd Star of the Game. Referee Kyle Rehman handed out a total of 55 pim for 15 infractions to Rockford, while Milwaukee only received 29 pim for 10 infractions. IceHogs' Assistant Coach Ted Dent was ejected from the game late in the 3rd frame, Game Misconduct-Coach (40.5) was the charge. Also ejected was Akim Aliu, also a Game Misconduct-Abuse of officials (40.4).

Rockford's roster is still missing two key players, both Jack Skille and Bryan Bickell have missed several games each due to injuries received in games last weekend. Bickell reportedly took a puck to the left eye and Skille remains out with a upper body injury. The IceHogs have recently seen two new additions to the team. Prospect, RW Akim Aliu, was assigned to Rockford on Friday April 3rd by the Chicago Blackhawks. Veteran winger, Jeff Christian joined the team last weekend.

Saturday night, the MetroCentre hosted a multitude of special events. The NHL Stanley Cup made it's first ever appearance in Rockford. The Ceremonial Puck Drop was done by Chicago Blackhawks President, John McDonough. During the first intermission, fans witnessed a beautiful Wedding on center ice between contest winners, Tatum Haag and Marc Glas. After the game, the IceHogs hosted their Annual Jersey Auction. This years jersey theme was "The Dark Hammy", featuring black jerseys with red & white trim and team mascot, Hammy, decked out in a superhero type costume. The evening's auctions raised $40,355 for the IceHogs Charitable Foundation. To date, fans have raised almost $550,000.

As the regular season is winding down, it seems the IceHogs need 1 point to clinch a playoff spot in the West Division. Defending Calder Cup Champions and divisional rivals, the Chicago Wolves, have a much harder road to travel if they want to make the playoffs. They need to win all of their remaining games. To quote good friend Jane, "Can you hear Brunhilde warming up?".