From Center Ice: Saturday Night StressHogs

If you weren’t at the game or following the score, I’m going to play a bit of a spoiler role and tell you right now that the IceHogs won this game. . . somehow. I’m telling you this now, because what I’m about to write will not lead you to believe the outcome, and I don’t want you to be stressed out like I was.

When the puck dropped on this Saturday night duel between Central Division foes, neither team looked particularly interested in taking the lead. It was a lot of back and forth hockey with one-and-done chances, which is fine. It was a feeling out period for sure. It doesn’t make for the most exciting hockey, but it’s better than bad hockey.

As the first period went on, the Iowa Wild had some grade A scoring chances in front of Kevin Lankinen, but the fierce Fin was turning them aside. Then the Penalty Kill Woes made themselves known. The Wild had a late power play and the IceHogs were not at all ready for the kill. They couldn’t clear the puck, and it wasn’t a matter of IF but WHEN the puck was going to find it’s way past Lankinen. It did. That’s fine. A 1-0 game. Hockey is a game of inches; you’re going to be down by one goal many times throughout the season.

Shots were 18-8 Wild at the end of the first period.

Well, on this Saturday night, the floodgates opened wide up after goal #1 for Iowa. They went on to score 3 more unanswered goal and the Hogs found themselves in a 4-0 hole. Then, something miraculous happened. Jordan Schroeder took a *SHOT (we’ll get to this) on the power play and the IceHogs injected an ounce of life back into their veins.

The game was 4-1 at the end of the second period. Shots were 28-17 Iowa.

The third period arrived. Shockingly, not many people had left yet. You never know in sports. When the game is going poorly for the home team, sometimes people like to leave early for whatever reason. I’ve never done it, but to each their own.

From the beginning of the third period and on, the game played out somewhat like a movie. Henri Jokiharju blasted a puck from the point, it hit Luke Johnson, and it found it’s way into the back of the net. Jordan Schroeder netted goal #2 of the night for himself. With the clock ever present in the mind of fans and players alike, Joni Tuulola ripped an absolute laser top shelf to tie the game. This game-tying goal came off of the most precise cross-ice pass you can have from Andreas Martinsen and the finish was a thing of beauty.

I think I could watch that goal on repeat forever and never get tired of it. Just a gorgeous, gorgeous goal - one that the Wild goalie surely wants to have back, not because it was weak, but because it changed everything. The IceHogs believed. The fan believed. The BMO was hopping.

Unfortunately, after all of that excitement, there were still a few minutes to play in regulation time. These are the longest minutes ever. Are they going to win in regulation? Are they going to lose in regulation? If they’re going to lose, please just get to overtime to get a point. Oh, god, what if they give up a goal with under a minute and have no time to try to get it back.

Friends, it’s stressful.

I think my heart was doing a weird mixture of beating too fast and just completely stopping. Being a hockey fan isn’t healthy, but it sure is fun.

Most of the time.

At the end of regulation, with the game tied 4-4, the shots were 36-33 Wild.

Now, take a look at the shot totals after the first two periods. They are terribly skewed in favor of Iowa. The IceHogs came out with fire in the third period and they weren’t to be denied. They played a near perfect period, and all numbers on the scoreboard showed this. I don’t know where this team was for the first 40 minutes, but I’m glad they showed up.

Off to overtime we went. Going into overtime is either great or awful. It’s never just an experience that you’re indifferent about.

In this case, it was great. I don’t think anyone thought the Hogs would be in this position after going down 4-0. But, in overtime, the next goal wins. There was some great action. I’m a big fan of 3-on-3 overtime, even though the coaches have now had a few seasons to take some of the frantic excitement out of it. The Hogs had a few awesome chances and Lankinen came up with some great saves. But, neither team popped that shifty piece of rubber into the back of the net.

The stress continued and intensified as the game went to a shootout. I often joke that being a hockey fan is taking years off of my life. But, it might not actually be a joke. This kind of stuff is not for a weak person!

Jokiharju – stopped.

Anas – stopped by Lankinen.

Schroeder – stopped.

Sokolov – stopped by Lankinen.

Edjsell – SCORES!!!!!!

Mahew – STOPPED BY LANKINEN!!!!!!

ICEHOGS WIN! ICEHOGS WIN! ICEHOGS WIN!

Can we just take a moment to appreciate the greatness of Kevin Lankinen. After giving up 4 goals, it would be easy to get lost in your head and completely lose control of the game. But, after his team got one back, he locked it in and kept them in the game and did not let anything else by him. That, my friends, is mental toughness. And, yes, I love goaltenders. So, you’ll be hearing about them a lot.

The IceHogs somehow dug deep a pulled out a win on this crazy stressful Saturday night. I don’t know how they did it, but I sure am glad they did.

*Now we are back to this point about the power play. I don’t know what is going on, but it’s as if the team refuses to take a shot. Maybe it’s a confidence thing. Maybe it’s a coaching thing. I don’t think it’s a personnel thing, as that hasn’t really changed. All I know is that is way too frustrating to watch 2 minutes of possession pass by on the power play with either zero or one shot on net. It’s amazing what can happen when you actually shoot the puck.

This afternoon, the IceHogs take on the San Antonio Rampage. The puck drops at 4 pm. Tickets are available at the BMO Harris Bank Center Box Office!