Let the circus begin:CSN
Q talking about things:WGN
Looking forward to September:USA Today
Which is why there will be another lockout:FFH
No timetable:EJ

The Rockford IceHogs, the Blackhawks AHL affiliate, have yet to drop a game to Central Division rival Iowa this season. The Hogs ran their record against the Wild to 5-0 this season with a sweep in DesMoines this weekend.
Rockford is 9-3-1-1 and in second place in the Central Division. There is a lot of credit to go around for what is now a ten-game points streak. Dennis Rasmussen and Bryan Bickell (see after the jump) both had a pair of goals over the weekend. Mark McNeill is on a five game point streak and Ville Pokka has six points in his last four games.
However, not all of the IceHogs are off to a hot start.

It’s weird that a first ballot Hall of Famer would make such a difference, huh. Regardless of the opponent, Duncan Keith being in the lineup makes everything look much better. From the defensive pairs to zone exits, the Hawks were efficient tonight in ways they have only been for small spurts this season.
Now if only that Jonathan Toews could get going, maybe this season is salvageable yet. I kid.
Game Time: 7:30PM Central
TV/Radio: CSN, SportsNet 1, WGN-AM 720
Rodeo Clown Convention: Matchsticks & Gasoline, Flames Nation
The Jack Adams Award for the best coach during a given season has in recent vintage gone to numbnuts coaches who have helmed teams who drastically outscore their woeful posession numbers. Last year’s winner, Bob Hartley, proved no different as the Flames made a surprise entrance into the post-season and actually won a round against the hilariously mediocre Vancover Canucks. But as so often proves to be the case, a new season provides a violent market correction, and this year’s iteration of the Flames is not an exception.
That was certainly a throwback. I was almost sure those kinds of games were pretty much relegated to the past but apparently David Backes’ mere presence made everyone so angry tonight that we took a trip back in time. A feisty one for sure, but one in which the Blackhawks answered their head coach with an important divisional road win.
It’s a late-hate so let’s just get to some observations about this one.
PUCK DROP: 7pm
TV/RADIO: WGN For both
THOSE WHO CAN’T WRITE FOR THOSE WHO CAN’T READ: St. Louis Gametime
When you’re a team that is still trying to settle at least half the roster, and you have two returning d-men who have been out at least a month, you’d probably prefer a softer landing than traipsing down across Big Muddy into the gaping maw of the hellscape that is West East St. Louis. But you don’t get to raise objections once the schedule comes out (unless you’re Detroit), so that’s the task ahead of the Hawks tonight.
As most of you know, or at least I hope you do otherwise I’m a pretty crappy business man (and I am), C.I. isn’t just a website. It’s also a gameday program I produce for every Hawks’ homegame that we sell online and outside the arena. In order to do the latter, I’ve had a team of vendors covering all four corners of the UC.
Our vendor Scott has been with me for seven of the eight years I’ve been doing this. If you’ve bought a program from Scott, you know it. Gregarious, outgoing, a bit weird and scary (which makes him perfect for us) and always there when he can be. He’s usually been outside Gate 2 on Madison.
A couple weeks ago, on his way to the United Center, Scott had a heart attack. He’s back home now, so he’s out of immediate danger, but it’s going to be a bit before he can work anywhere again, whether with us or his day job. And the bills are starting to pile up for him. And I’m hoping we can lend a hand.