After jumping out to a 2-0 lead through two periods of play, the Rockford IceHogs held off a late surge from the Chicago Wolves to win Game 1 of the Calder Cup Playoffs 2-1. Adam Clendening was named the number one star of the game, with a powerplay goal and an assist, and goaltender Collin Delia racked up 31 saves with Stan Bowman and staff in attendance at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont.
The IceHogs opened the scoring midway through the first period on a powerplay goal (what are those again?) off the stick of Tyler Sikura after Wolves’ goaltender Oscar Dansk failed to wrangle up a rebound. Rockford would eventually end the night 2 for 3 on the powerplay, with another powerplay goal coming just two minutes into the second period by Adam Clendening. Peppering Dansk with a total of 29 shots on goal, the Hogs applied most of their pressure early in the contest.
Chicago would not go quietly however, as the Wolves surged early in the third period with pressure from Paul Thompson and Teemu Pulkkinen. Pulkkinen would score the only goal for the Wolves on the powerplay just five minutes into the final stanza. The goal brought not only the team, but the home crowd back into the game as the Wolves would rattle off 5 consecutive shots on goal as the clock ticked down into the final minutes of the game. Rockford goaltender Collin Delia would hold strong though, and the Hogs leave Rosemont with a 1-0 lead in the series.
RFD goals: Sikura (1), Clendening (1)
CHI goal: Pulkkinen (1)
3 Stars of the Game:
1) Adam Clendining (RFD) – 1 goal, 1 assist
2) Cody Franson (RFD) – 2 assists, 1 shot
3) Collin Delia (RFD) – 31 saves
Next game will be played tomorrow afternoon at the BMO Harris Bank Center in Rockford, IL at 4:00pm CST.