Pitlick's OT Goal at Buzzer Lifts IceHogs Past Iowa Wild

Rem Pitlick scored at 4:54 of overtime, with six seconds left on the clock, to lift the Rockford IceHogs past the Iowa Wild 3-2 at the BMO Center Saturday night. The league circulated the game-winning moment, and it earned the billing: a buzzer goal that kept Rockford's postseason push very much alive.

The game featured four goals in a tight 55-minute window before Pitlick settled it. Joey Anderson opened the scoring at 15:00 of the first period for his 14th goal of the season, but Hunter Haight answered 55 seconds later to tie it 1-1. The second period passed without a goal, and Cavan Fitzgerald broke the deadlock 7:43 into the third for his second of the season, pushing Rockford back in front at 2-1. Iowa's Ben Jones matched it again at 17:09 of the third, sending the game to overtime.

Drew Commesso handled everything Iowa sent his way short of those two goals, finishing with 32 saves to give Rockford the platform Pitlick needed.

The win was Rockford's fifth in six games, and Saturday's result landed in good company: while the IceHogs were collecting two points, the Milwaukee Admirals, the team holding the final Calder Cup Playoff berth in the AHL's Central Division, fell to Henderson. Even so, Rockford remains eight points back of Milwaukee with nine regular-season games remaining. The margin is steep, but the path is still open.

The two teams do not wait long for another swing at each other; they face off again Sunday at 6 p.m. CST in Iowa.