Hogs save their bacon, extend series to Game 5

Photo: Todd Reicher

Victor Ejdsell scored his second goal of the game with 2:32 gone in overtime to give Rockford a season-saving 3-2 win over Texas in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday night.

The Stars still lead the series three games to one, and get another crack at advancing to Calder Cup Finals in Game 5 on Friday (8 p.m. ET).

In the dying moments of an IceHogs power play, Matthew Highmore found a wide-open Ejdsell at the bottom of the right-wing circle and the 22-year-old Swedish import hit a yawning cage for his AHL-leading seventh goal of the playoffs.

For the second straight game, Rockford forced overtime with a late goal as Luke Johnson redirected home a Cody Franson shot with 6:58 to play in regulation, knotting the score at 2-2.

Ejdsell gave the IceHogs a 1-0 lead 6:24 into the contest but Texas pulled ahead with a pair of power-play goals, as Travis Morin scored during a 5-on-3 at 15:52 of the first and Matt Mangene converted with just 25.7 seconds to play in the second period.

Jeff Glass (1-0), making his Calder Cup Playoff debut for the IceHogs, stopped 28 shots in his first game action since Apr. 13.

Mike McKenna (10-3) finished with 33 saves but saw his — and the Stars’ — seven-game winning streak come to an end.

Texas dropped to 6-2 in overtime games this postseason; Rockford improved to 2-2. It was also the IceHogs’ first-ever win in six tries when facing Calder Cup Playoff elimination.

Western Conference Finals – Series “N” (best-of-7)
P2-Texas Stars vs. C4-Rockford IceHogs
Game 1 – Fri., May 18 – TEXAS 4, Rockford 2 | Recap/Highlights
Game 2 – Sun., May 20 – TEXAS 3, Rockford 2 (OT) | Recap/Highlights
Game 3 – Tue., May 22 – Texas 6, ROCKFORD 5 (OT) | Recap/Highlights
Game 4 – Thu., May 24 – ROCKFORD 3, Texas 2 (OT)
Game 5 – Fri., May 25 – Texas at Rockford, 8:00
*Game 6 – Mon., May 28 – Rockford at Texas, 8:00
*Game 7 – Tue., May 29 – Rockford at Texas, 8:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern