The Rockford IceHogs scored three times in the third period to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 victory over the Manitoba Moose on Thursday at the MTS Centre.
Four different IceHogs lit the lamp in the win, including the game-winner by Jake Dowell.
With the win, Rockford now has a point in six straight games (5-0-1-0) and moves into first place in the West Division. The teams are back on the MTS Centre ice for a rematch on Friday night.
The IceHogs took a 1-0 lead 2:32 into Thursday’s contest when Jack Skille potted his second goal of the campaign.
Manitoba then scored the next two, with Jozef Balej and Pierre-Cedric Labrie doing the honors at 10:11 and 13:52 of the first, respectively. Jimmy Sharrow assisted on both Moose goals.
Balej now has a goal in four of his last five outings (4-3-7) and at least one point in seven of eight games on the season (4-5-9).
The Moose’s 2-1 advantage held through the rest of the first period and all of the middle stanza.
However, Rockford tallied the equalizer just 36 seconds into the third period, off the stick of Bryan Bickell, his first of the season. The goal came unassisted.
Dowell gave the IceHogs a 3-2 lead just under two minutes later, at 2:24 of the period, with assists going to Petri Kontiola and Niklas Hjalmarsson.
With Rockford’s Jim Fahey in the penalty box and Manitoba goaltender Cory Schneider pulled for the extra attacker, IceHogs defenseman Dustin Byfuglien notched a shorthanded, empty-net goal at 19:26 to seal the victory.
Byfuglien, the current Rbk/AHL Player of the Week, was a game-high plus-4 on the night, and he now has a point in all five games he has played this season (2-5-7).
IceHogs goaltender Corey Crawford earned the win between the pipes, stopping 21 of 23 shots.
