Chops fall short against Hogs, 2-1 to finish road trip

A late goal from Andrew Ebbett and 27 saves from goalie JP Levasseur wasn't enough as the Iowa Chops finished their season-long seven-game roadtrip with a 2-1 loss in Rockford Thursday night. The Chops went down early in the game as just over two minutes into the 1st period IceHogs forward Jack Skille found himself open in the high slot and beat Iowa Chops goaltender JP Levasseur clean over the blocker side for a 1-0 lead. The Chops tried to claw back in the period with the help of two power plays, but could not find the back of the net. Some more saves by Levasseur kept the road-weary Chops in the game the rest of the opening frame as the IceHogs outshot the Chops 9-6 in the opening frame. The Chops had a couple of good chances in the 2nd period, but only managed another six shots on goal. The best may have come from Josh Green and TJ Trevelyan, but their back-to-back chances from the slot were stopped by IceHogs goaltender Corey Crawford. After killing of two power plays, the Chops could not contain the IceHogs late in the period as two point-blank saves by Levasseur were not enough and the third shot slid under the goalie as Tim Brent scored the second goal of the game for Rockford, who took a 2-0 lead into the lockerroom after two periods. More good saves in the 3rd period kept the Chops in the game and with Levasseur pulled in favor of the extra attacker, the Chops snapped Crawford's shutout with :27 seconds left with a goal from Andrew Ebbett with assists to Josh Green and Petteri Wirtanen. The Chops could not get the equalizer and ran out of time, losing their first game in regulation since Nov. 21. The Chops now return home for the first time in almost three weeks Friday, December 12 to face the Chicago Wolves at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

FOR ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW

Rockford, Ill.- The Iowa Chops came into Rockford hotter than any team in the Western Conference, but couldn't solve the Rockford IceHogs at the Rockford MetroCentre on Thursday. The Hogs beat the Chops 2-1 for the third straight win against their newest West Division foe.

The Hogs ended the Chops 5-0-0-1 road streak and 6-0-1-1 unbeaten streak.

"They're a very good team, they don't give you a whole lot," Rockford coach Bill Peters said of Iowa. "They have given up next to nothing in their winning steak, so if you're going to beat them, you're going to have to play well and earn everything you get."

Early in the first frame, Rockford winger Jack Skille sniped a bullet past the shoulder of Iowa netminder Jean-Philippe Levasseur. The goal came at 2:08 in the first and gave the Hogs a 1-0 lead over the Chops. The assists were credited to Petri Kontiola and Niklas Hjalmarsson.

Skille finished with eight shots on net in the game.

The IceHogs added another marker in the second frame to jump ahead 2-0 over the Chops. Tim Brent chipped in a rebound off of Levasseur at 14:51. Pascal Pelletier and the Hogs' newest blueliner Jimmy Sharrow were credited with the assists.

Just down from Chicago, Corey Crawford got the nod in net.

"You're always going to be a little rusty," he said. "I haven't played in two weeks. It was fun to be in Chicago but it's also nice to be back on the ice."

He finished with 25 saves, but couldn't finish with the shutout as Iowa's Andrew Ebbett solved Crawford with 26 seconds left in the game with an empty net on the other side of the ice.

"I gave them one there," he said. "I felt good, but the whole team played really well tonight."

The IceHogs finished 0-for-4 and haven't scored a power play goal in four straight games.
"It's not very good right now," Peters said. "We're going to have to make some personnel moves. Obviously it's gone stale."

On the other side of special teams, the Hogs held off the Chops in five attempts.