Flames lose 5th straight at home, face elimination
The Quad-City Flames moved a step closer to going home in two weeks with a 3-0 Friday loss to the Rockford IceHogs at the i wireless Center.
All but eliminated from postseason contention, the Flames sure don’t feel at home at the iwC these days.
Friday’s loss was their fifth straight at the Moline arena, and this one left them one loss or one Milwaukee Admirals win away from mathematical playoff elimination.
At this point, coach Ryan McGill is more concerned with who is behind his team than who is in front of them.
“Iowa won tonight,” McGill said of a West Division rival that can drag the Flames into a last-place tie when the two clubs clash tonight. “We have to come back and get the job done.”
And they’ll have to get it done at home, where the Flames last won way back on Feb. 24.
Friday’s loss, in fact, marked the second successive shutout against the Flames in their own building, where they have scored all of two goals during their five-game skid.
“I don’t know what it is,” rookie defenseman Matt Pelech said of the Flames’ lifeless home offense. “We have rarely gotten outshot. But there has been a lot of talk about it. Everybody is gripping their stick pretty tight.”
The Flames (34-31-2-7) made Rockford goalie Corey Crawford work for his shutout in the third period Friday, putting 13 shots on net. He needed several solid saves, including one where he dove across the crease and luckily landed on a solid chance by Cam Cunning that would have tied the game at a goal apiece.
“In the third period, yeah, we had opportunities because we went to the net and shot the puck,” McGill said. “In the first probably 29 to 33 minutes, we didn’t get second and third opportunities at all.”
Rockford got its first two goals on gift-wrapped power plays that followed slashes by Krys Kolanos in the offensive zone.
The first took the Flames off a power-play of their own late in the second, and the IceHogs’ Troy Brouwer fired it home from right in front at 17:41.
Niklas Hjarlmarsson got the second at 7:40 of the third, firing a shot from the point that knuckled past Q-C goalie Curtis McElhinney.
The Hogs (41-24-4-6) added an empty netter by Bryan Bickell inside the final minute.
The Flames loss means they only can climb to fifth in the West, which would earn them the crossover playoff spot in the North Division.
Friday wins by San Antonio and Houston put those teams out of reach. Now, the Flames have to win their remaining six games while Milwaukee loses its final six to avoid becoming the first pro hockey team in Q-C history not to reach the playoffs.
The more realistic goal might be holding off Iowa.
Captain Warren Peters said the Flames can’t even think about the Stars, who they also host Wednesday.
“We have got to worry about ourselves, play for the guys in this room, for the team,” he said. “See what kind of character I guess we can reveal.”
Scoreboard
Flames scoreboard
Score
Rockford 3, Quad-Cities 0
Next
The Flames host the Iowa Stars tonight at 7 before traveling to Chicago for a 3 p.m. Sunday start.
Junior re-enforcements?
Negotiations to sign winger Juuso Puustinen to a contract may or may not be ongoing.
“We don’t negotiate publicly,’’ Calgary general manager Darryl Sutter said Friday when asked if the Flames are attempting to bring the 2006 fifth-round draftee here for a late-season look.
During a weekend visit to the Q-C, Sutter did make it clear the Flames feel no urgency to ink the Finnish forward.
“He’s 19 years old, and we have until July 1,’’ Sutter said of getting the player under contract. “We’re not in a rush.’’
He did say goaltender Leland Irving and center John Armstrong won’t be coming in the next two weeks.
He said Irving, a first-round 2006 pick, has earned a rest.
“He has played hockey two straight years without a break — we sent him home,’’ the GM said.
As for Armstrong and Puustinen, he said the Flames don’t see the sense of bring players in with just a few games left in the season.
“You don’t bring those kids in for a week,’’ he said. “If we were going to make the playoffs, it’d be different.’’
Flames facts
n Krys Kolanos scored his 200th professional point with a first-period goal Tuesday at Iowa.
n The Flames’ 11 shootout wins share the AHL season record with the 2005-2006 Manchester Monarchs.
n Tomi Maki’s eighth shootout goal Tuesday tied teammate Carsen Germyn for the league lead. Both are two shy of the league season record.
Purcell league’s top rookie
Manchester right winger Teddy Purcell has been awarded the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial award as the American Hockey League’s top rookie in 2007-2008.
Purcell, undrafted despite leading the USHL Cedar Rapids Roughriders in assists three years ago, signed with the Los Angeles Kings after winning Inside Hockey’s college Rookie of the Year award by leading the University of Maine to the Frozen Four last year.
He leads all AHL rookies and is fourth in the league in scoring with 77 points for Manchester.
In 10 NHL games with the Kings, he scored a goal and dished two assists.
Season-ticket deal
The Flames will sell season-ticket holders an unlimited number of tickets for the regular-season home finale April 11 for half the price of a ticket at the door. That means lower-bowl seats for friends and family can be purchased for $8, while upper-bowl seats will sell for $5.50. Youth tickets are $5.
The Flames also will discount all merchandise from April 4 to April 11 by 20 percent. Season-ticket holders will receive an additional 10 percent off discounted items.
Summary
Rockford 0 1 2 — 3
Quad-Cities 0 0 0 — 0
First period — None. Penalties: Tyson Marsh, R (cross-checking, fighting major) 1:42; Derek Couture, Q-C (fighting major) 1:42; Ryan Donally, Q-C (hooking) 5:41; Niklas Hjalmarrson, R (hooking) 12:47; Cam Cunning, Q-C (interference) 16:53.
Second period — 1, Troy Brouwer, R, 32 (Martin St. Pierre, Petri Kontiala) PP, 17:41. Penalties: Couture, Q-C (illegal equipment) 7:10; Troy Brouwer, R (interference) 12:08; Ryan Stokes, R (holding) 15:11; Krys Kolanos, Q-C (slashing) 16:18;
Third period — 2, Hjalmarsson, R, 4 (Brouwer, Kontiola) PP, 7:40; 3, Bryan Bickell, R, 17 (unassisted) EN, 19:08. Penalties: Carsen Germyn, Q-C (tripping) 2:16; Kolanos, Q-C (slashing) 5:41; Stokes, R (instigating, fighting major, 10 minute misconduct) 9:24; Tomi Maki, Q-C (charging, fighting major) 9:24; Justin Fletcher, R (high-sticking) 16:07; Evan Brophey, R (tripping) 19:41.
Shots — Rockford 8-6-11-25. Q-C: 7-9-13—29
Power-play opportunities — Rockford 2-6. Q-C: 0-5.
Penalties: Rockford: 10-34. Q-C: 9-24.
Goaltenders — Rockford: Corey Crawford (W, 26-17-5) 29 shots, 29 saves; Q-C: Curtis McElhinney (L, 18-176-2) 24 shots, 22 saves.
Attendance: 3,565.
Referee: Terry Koharski. Linesmen: Pete Cichy and Bryan Pancich.
Craig DeVrieze can be contacted at (563) 333-2610 or cdevrieze@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.