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The Rockford IceHogs and Milwaukee Admirals dropped the puck on the AHL Central Division Semifinals tonight. The IceHogs are coming off a two-game sweep of the Chicago Wolves. Meanwhile, the Admirals haven’t played since their regular-season finale on April 18. The IceHogs erased a 2-0 deficit late in the third period and stole Game 1 3-2 in overtime.
There wasn’t much success against the Admirals during the regular season, as the IceHogs went 3-5-2 in 10 games. They were 0-3-2 in their five games in Milwaukee, but four of the five meetings were decided by one goal. Rockford only had three wins in 12 regular-season games against the Wolves, and they dispatched them in two games. So, the old adage about the record books being thrown out in the postseason held true. The IceHogs hope for more of the same in the Semifinals.
It was clear that the Admirals wanted to set a physical tone early, as they seemed more interested in finishing their checks than taking shots. To the IceHogs’ credit, they had the middle of the defensive zone clogged up at 5v5, giving Milwaukee very few good looks from the prime scoring areas.
The middle of the ice opened up to start the second period. Captain Cal O’Reilly gave the Admirals a 1-0 lead 30 seconds into the frame by beating Drew Commesso to the near post on a wraparound shot. Fedor Svechkov doubled the lead 15 seconds later with a wrist shot from the slot.
The Milwaukee Admirals score TWO in FIFTEEN (15!) seconds!!!
Fedor Svechkov gets the second 🫣@mkeadmirals | @PredsNHL#AHL #CalderCup #MILhockey #Smashville pic.twitter.com/K3NQkZU1fn
The disastrous start to the middle stanza continued about a minute later when Kyle Marino laid out Brett Seney at center ice with a big hit. Nolan Allen dropped the gloves to defend his teammate, but Marino had the upper hand in the fight.
Paul Ludwinski scored his first AHL playoff goal to cut the Admirals’ lead in half with just over eight minutes remaining in regulation. Jalen Luypen and Jackson Cates got in hard on the forecheck, and their hard work was rewarded with Ludwinski’s goal in front of the net.
Paul Ludwinski gets the IceHogs on the board in the third 👀@goicehogs | @NHLBlackhawks#AHL #CalderCup #GoHogs #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/GLTj7zFWQO
Less than five minutes later, the IceHogs tied the game when Zach Sanford found Gerry Mayhew from below the goal line for his third goal in the last two games.
Colton Dach needed only 12 seconds of overtime to score his first goal of the postseason and stun the crowd at the Panther Arena. His goal is tied for the third-fastest overtime goal in Calder Cup Playoffs history.
COLTON DACH 12 SECONDS INTO OVERTIME 🚨
Rockford wins Game 1!@goicehogs | @NHLBlackhawks#AHL #CalderCup #GoHogs #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/t3rGvXfwpw
“I just saw a 2-on-1, and the defenseman slid, so I didn’t have a passing option,” Dach said of the game-winning play. “I just tried to put it on net, and luckily, it went in.
Dach returned to game action tonight for the first time since he injured his elbow against the Los Angeles Kings on March 20. He was eager to return to the ice and make a difference in the series.
“The first game, for me, I’m going to try to be physical early,” Dach said on Tuesday. “I’m going to let them know that I’m going to be there every shift. Every single period, I’m going to be right in front of them, right in their face, and be a physical aspect. We’re going to do our best to let them know that we’re going to be coming every shift.”
Dach was noticeable early, getting physical in his very first shift. He drew a roughing penalty on Ozzy Wiesblatt, who hit him after the whistle blew. It felt like there was a scrum after every whistle, and No. 28 was in the middle of them every chance he got.
Early in the second period, Dach was set up for a one-timer just below the right dot, but Matthew Murray denied him. He said he wanted to be noticeable on every shift, and he lived up to that promise. He had three shots on goal and looked to get involved physically at every turn.
“He’s a presence out there,” head coach Mark Eaton said. “He’s the kind of player you lean on in playoff games like this where it gets physical and chippy. He has the size and physicality to withstand that and still make a positive impact. And that’s what he did tonight.”
The Admirals’ game plan early was to hit anything in a white sweater. They used their pent-up energy from 13 days off to set the tone for the series. However, the IceHogs flipped the script in the third period and wore Milwaukee down with a heavy forecheck. Eaton expected the Admirals to play this way early and kept the message to his team simple: be patient.
“That was the biggest thing for us in the third,” he said. “We were less stubborn. We were getting pucks through the neutral zone and getting them behind their D. We knew they would come out hard. We weathered their storm after they got a couple of quick ones in the second. I liked our stick-to-itiveness. We just kept with it.
It was encouraging to see many of the younger players stay within the structure of their game while absorbing a barrage of hits. It is easy to get caught up in the emotion and lose control, but that never happened with the IceHogs’ young core.
“That’s part of the learning process,” Eaton said. “That’s playoff hockey. We use the word ‘patient’ a lot today. They’re very structured in the way they play. We can’t try to force things. We have to be ok not chasing and playing the long game. We were able to do that tonight.
Game 2 of this series will be back in Milwaukee on Saturday night as the IceHogs look to take a 2-0 stranglehold before returning to Rockford.
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Morning Chirps: Another Head Coach Becomes Available, Draft Lottery Date Set
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