With the whole crew back for this episode, this recent stretch against dog ass opponents gets discussed, as well as the Erik Karlsson possibilities league-wide, along with holding teenage grudges against your parents. Grab the audio after the jump, the podcasts will remain free for everyone including non-subscribers (aka non-believers aka infidels)
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Game Time: 6:00
TV/Radio: WGN Ch. 9, WGN-AM 720
I Really Wish Joe Arpaio Would Have Been Brutally Murdered In Prison: Five For Howling
It’s once again time for another tearful montage as a returning Hawks player appears in the United Center in an opposing uniform for the first time, one of the underrated aspects of how this championship window has played out, somehow being actually heartwarming, nauseating, sad, and hilarious all at the same time. Tonight would have been that for the injured Niklas Hjalmarsson, and this is the thanks he would have received for the absolute pounding he took while wearing red on West Madison for years, as he returns with the dog-ass (GET IT?) Coyotes.
The Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, welcomed a couple of new arrivals to the roster last week. How have these new faces fared so far in the Forest City?
So far, the jury is out; neither has taken the ice since the roster moves were made.
On Thursday, after he cleared waivers, veteran forward Jordin Tootoo was assigned to Rockford. The next day, the Blackhawks recalled Jean-Francois Berube to back up Anton Forsberg while Corey Crawford recovers from an injury. As a result, Hawks goalie prospect Colin Delia was brought up from the ECHL’s Indy Fuel to serve as backup to Jeff Glass.
Rockford had games Friday and Saturday following a blowout loss to Manitoba Tuesday. The IceHogs defeated the Chicago Wolves in overtime before soundly beating Texas to pick up four points on the weekend.
IceHogs coach Jeremy Colliton opted not to use either Tootoo or Delia (or recent addition Robin Press, for that matter) in either contest this weekend. There could be varying reasons for this.
Let’s put the microscope to both Tootoo and Delia and see how they could factor into the mix.
Jordin Tootoo
The Hawks re-signed Tootoo this summer but he hasn’t played since training camp. He has spent the bulk of the season on injured reserve.
From an AHL standpoint, Tootoo could add a dimension the Hogs have lacked. Namely, a veteran grinder who has been around the NHL and is capable with his hands once the gloves come off.
Among the questions I have are:
- How healthy is Tootoo?
- How motivated is he to come in and bang for Rockford?
- Who sits/goes to Indy in order to get him into the lineup?
- Does the organization want him mentoring the piglets or are they content to let Tootoo and his cap hit sit in the team box for a few months?
At some point, we should get more clarity as to what Tootoo’s role on the club will be. Best case, he skates frequently, brings some toughness to a very young roster, imparts a bit of wisdom about life in pro hockey and maybe knocks in a couple of goals.
Colin Delia
Delia has struggled so far in his first pro season. His lone start in the AHL was a shaky effort as the Hogs lost in Iowa November 9. His numbers with the Fuel don’t impress; a 4.12 GAA to go with a .887 save percentage.
His last action in net was for Indy on November 25. In that start, he gave up six goals to Kansas City. While it is a good opportunity for Delia to get some instruction from the goalie coaches in Rockford, I wonder if Colliton affords him another start.
Rockford has a week of practice and a weekend home-and-home coming up with Grand Rapids. It might not be a bad idea to have Delia watch Glass on the road Friday and get his home debut at the BMO the following evening.
Another start in the Rockford cage for Delia may depend on how long Crawford is out, coupled with how much confidence the organization has in his ability to handle AHL shooters.
Other Roster News
Press has not gotten into a game since being recalled by Rockford last Saturday. Neither has forward Radovan Bondra. As I mentioned last week, however, I believe that’s due to an injury Bondra is rehabbing with the IceHogs.
Center Laurent Dauphin did not appear in either game this past weekend. He appears to have been injured in the latter stages of the loss to Manitoba Tuesday night.
Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad-Recaps
Tuesday, November 28-Manitoba 8, Rockford 1
This one’s just as bad as it sounds. You can point to the fact that the IceHogs got 48 pucks to the net, but this was an old-fashioned keister stomp. The division’s hottest team came, saw and conquered the piglets, paced by a J.C. Lipon hat trick.
Rockford was down 5-0 late in the second when Viktor Svedberg got a puck to neutral ice that was won by Anthony Louis. The rookie forward made his way into Moose territory and punched home the only Hogs tally of the night past Michael Hutchinson at 17:22 of the second period.
Jeff Glass was left in the crease for the duration. On a night where Manitoba exploited nearly every Hogs miscue into a scoring chance, Glass was probably the only reason the Moose didn’t reach double-digits on the scoreboard. And with that, let’s just move along…
Lines (Starters in italics)
Alexandre Fortin-Matthew Highmore-Luke Johnson (A)
Vinnie Hinostroza-David Kampf-Tomas Jurco
Anthony Louis-Laurent Dauphin (A)-Andreas Martinsen
Graham Knott-Tyler Sikura-Matheson Iacopelli
Viktor Svedberg-Robin Norell
Luc Snuggerud-Ville Pokka (A)
Carl Dahlstrom-Darren Raddysh
Jeff Glass
Scratches-Robin Press, Erik Gustafsson, William Pelletier
Power Play (0-5)
Jurco-Kampf-Hinostroza-Martinsen-Raddysh
Louis-Johnson-Dauphin-Highmore-Pokka
Penalty Kill (Manitoba was 2-3)
Johnson-Kampf-Svedberg-Norell
Hinostroza-Dauphin-Snuggerud-Pokka
Martinsen-Sikura-Dahlstrom-Raddysh
Friday, December 1-Rockford 4, Chicago 3 (OT)
The IceHogs blew a 3-0 advantage only to prevail in Gus Macker Time thanks to Vinnie Hinostroza’s game-winner.
Tomas Jurco got his sixth goal of the season the hard way 12:32 into the contest. Jurco was providing the screen for a Ville Pokka shot attempt. While trying to avoid the wrist shot, Jurco was struck by the puck (I’ve watched this a dozen times and still don’t know if it hit his head, chest or stick.), which then beat Wolves goalie Michael Leighton to the cord.
About five minutes later, Pokka got one of his own. As he pinched down to the bottom of the left circle, Pokka got a rebound off the end boards of a Robin Norell attempt. He then knocked it past the back door of Leighton for a 2-0 Rockford lead 17:36 into the first period.
The Hogs fourth line stretched the advantage to 3-0 3:35 into the middle frame. Carl Dahlstrom got the play started from the Rockford zone. His pass to Andreas Martinsen was quickly sent to Tyler Sikura and Graham Knott coming across the Wolves blueline.
Knott fed Sikura in front of Leighton, who stopped the initial attempt. In the scrum that followed, Martinsen was able to get the puck across the goal line for his second goal of the campaign.
From there, Chicago chipped away at the three-goal advantage. Brandon Pirri got the Wolves on the board with a power play goal three minutes later. Late in the second, Brett Sterling picked the pocket of Hinostroza at the Wolves blueline. He then scored on the resulting breakaway to cut the lead to a single goal.
Noted Hogs-killer Teemu Pulkkinen tied the game at 15:18 of the third. Pirri set up Pulkkinen’s right dot blast after beating Darren Raddysh to a puck in the corner of the Hogs zone. It now appeared that Rockford’s closest and most bitter rival could swipe two points from the Hogs.
Hinostroza prevented a total collapse in overtime, thanks to some help from Dahlstrom. After passing to Hinostroza at the top of the left circle, Dahlstrom buzzed Leighton. This prevented the former Hogs goalie from getting a clean look at Hinostroza’s snap shot. Rubber and twine hooked up to Leighton’s stick side and all was right at the BMO, save for the point the Wolves received for tying the game in regulation.
Lines (Starters in italics)
Vinnie Hinostroza-David Kampf-Tomas Jurco
Alexandre Fortin-Matthew Highmore-Luke Johnson (A)
Anthony Louis-William Pelletier-Graham Kott
Matheson Iacopelli-Tyler Sikura-Andreas Martinsen (A)
Luc Snuggerud-Ville Pokka (A)
Carl Dahlstrom-Vikto Svedberg
Darren Raddysh-Robin Norell
Jeff Glass
Scratches-Robin Press, Erik Gustafsson, Laurent Dauphin
Power Play (0-3)
Jurco-Kampf-Hinostroza-Martinsen-Raddysh
Louis-Johnson-Iacopelli-Highmore-Pokka
Penalty Kill (Chicago was 1-3)
Johnson-Kampf-Svedberg-Norell
Hinostroza-Knott-Snuggerud-Pokka
Martinsen-Sikura-Dahlstrom-Raddysh
Saturday, December 2-Rockford 6, Texas 2
Rockford made a clean sweep of the weekend against the Stars, who had won five straight entering the contest.
Texas took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission on a Roope Hintz power play goal late in the opening twenty. Thousands of BMO fans stood by the ready to hurl stuffed animals onto the ice. It wasn’t to be in the first period, however.
The teddy bear tossers would have to wait nearly half the game to send their furry offerings to the ice surface. There dreams were realized when Anthony Louis broke Rockford’s 0-35 home power play slump with a snipe from the right dot. Vinnie Hinostroza provided the primary apple on the play, which tied things up at a goal apiece 8:01 into the second period.
At that point, the cover was blown off of Stars goalie Landon Bow’s net. Moments later, Matthew Highmore took a drop pass from Carl Dahlstrom at he bottom of the right circle. His shot fought it’s way through Bow’s pads and trickled across the goal line at the 9:55 mark.
The Rockford advantage increased to 3-1 late in the second when Louis created a turnover along the right side of the Texas zone. His pass was blasted past Bow from the slot by William Pelletier at the 18:06 mark.
Goal number four came 2:32 into the third, courtesy of some nimble skating by Hinostroza. In a play we’ve become accustomed to seeing, Hinostroza wove around the offensive zone before backhanding a pass to Darren Raddysh. Raddysh came across the goal mouth for a backhander that Bow stopped with his pads. Persistence paid off for the rookie defenseman; Raddysh simply collected the rebound and guided the puck to the back of the net.
Luc Snuggerud got in on the butt-kicking fun 11:38 into the third. The genesis of the scoring play came from behind the Stars net, where Highmore had sent the puck after winning a battle in the corner. Alexandre Fortin passed out to a wide-open Snuggerud in the high slot. The shot was true and Rockford led 5-1.
Former IceHogs forward Mark McNeill scored for Texas at the 14:00 minute mark, but that’s as close as the Stars could get. Tomas Jurco finished the scoring for the evening with a between-the-legs backhand past defensman Gavin Bayreuther and into an empty net in the closing minute.
Hinostroza (first), Louis (second) and Highmore (third) were the three stars of the game.
Lines (Starters in italics)
Vinnie Hinostroza-David Kampf-Tomas Jurco
Alexandre Fortin-Matthew Highmore-Luke Johnson (A)
Anthony Louis-William Pelletier-Graham Kott
Matheson Iacopelli-Tyler Sikura-Andreas Martinsen (A)
Luc Snuggerud-Ville Pokka (A)
Carl Dahlstrom-Vikto Svedberg
Darren Raddysh-Robin Norell
Jeff Glass
Scratches-Robin Press, Erik Gustafsson, Laurent Dauphin
Power Play (1-6)
Jurco-Kampf-Hinostroza-Martinsen-Raddysh
Louis-Johnson-Iacopelli-Highmore-Pokka
Penalty Kill (Stars were 1-4)
Johnson-Kampf-Svedberg-Norell
Hinostroza-Knott-Snuggerud-Pokka
Martinsen-Sikura-Dahlstrom-Raddysh
Grand Rapids Home-And-Home Primer
Rockford will have several days to prepare for a weekend home-and-home with the defending Calder Cup champs, the Grand Rapids Griffins. Friday’s game is in Michigan, while the teams come to the BMO Harris Bank Center Saturday night.
Detroit’s AHL affiliate has had a tepid start (9-10-0-3) to the season, but the Griffins have endured slow openings to dominate the Central Division in the past. The Griffins beat Chicago 5-2 Saturday night to break a five-game losing streak. Like Rockford, Grand Rapids has five days off before dropping the puck Friday night.
The IceHogs are currently 3-0 against Grand Rapids. Rockford owns a pair of 3-2 shootout victories on October 20 and November 18 to go with a 4-3 come-from-behind win at the BMO October 28.
Friday’s tilt will be the first of the season between the two teams at Van Andel Arena, where Grand Rapids has toiled to a 4-6-0-1 record. Last year, the Hogs were 1-4 in that building, for what its worth.
Matt Puempel came over from Hartford early in the season and is pacing the Griffins offense with 17 points in 21 games (7 G, 10 A). Eric Tangradi is a big, physical winger who can fill the net, so he presents problems for Rockford. Tangradi has three goals and an assist against the Hogs to date this season and could well be a factor in how Rockford fares this weekend.
Tyler Bertuzzi is a hard-nosed player who is currently on a three-game point streak. Matt Lorito and veteran center Ben Street are also players to watch.
On the defensive side, Westmont native Robbie Russo has had two successful seasons under his belt with Grand Rapids. He has a pair of goals and seven helpers so far in 2017-18. Dylan McIlrath is a rugged presence on the blueline for whom the Hogs don’t really have a counterpart.
Jared Coreau and Tom McCollom are both familiar faces in net for the Griffins. Its likely the IceHogs could see both goalies this weekend.
Follow me @JonFromi on twitter to catch IceHogs happenings all season long.
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Game Time: 6:00PM CST
TV/Radio: NBC Sports Chicago, WGN-AM 720
He Could Really Make It If He Just Got His Shit Together: The Royal Half, JFTC
As the Freakout Hell Bus Ride of 5 games in 7 nights comes to a close on West Madison tonight, the Hawks are looking to avoid losing their fourth straight game after having gone 1-1-2 so far, with the resurgent Kings now waiting for them as the capper.
at 
Game Time: 7:00PM CST
TV/Radio: NBCSN National, WGN-AM 720
Fuck David Poile: On The Forecheck
With the next stop on this Freakout Hell Bus Ride of 5 games in 7 nights for the Hawks, they find themselves once again in Nash Vegas, where they’ll take on the league’s secret scumbag team masquerading as its sweetheart, the Predators, who somehow once again look different than the last time the Hawks saw them.
The Rockford IceHogs, the Blackhawks AHL affiliate, have been pretty healthy so far this season. Simply the fact that I wrote the previous sentence foreshadows some unfortunate news down I-90 way. To be blunt, someone on the Rockford blueline is going to have to raise their game a notch. Who will that be? Well, I know who it won’t be, at least for a while.
Gustafsson Injured
Early in Rockford’s overtime loss to Iowa Friday night, defenseman Erik Gustafsson departed to the locker room. He did not return to the contest, nor did he play the following night in Chicago.
In what turned out to be Gustafsson’s final shift of the evening, he appeared to take some contact in the corner of the Hogs zone. He appeared to be favoring his arm.
Robin Press was recalled Saturday, indicating that Gustafsson might miss some time. How long? John Dietz of the Daily Herald tweeted the following Sunday afternoon:
https://twitter.com/johndietzdh/status/934894029665337344
That’s not good news; Gustafsson was a power play general, despite the team’s struggles in that department. He is also Rockford’s leading point-scorer among the defensemen (3 G, 8 A).
Ville Pokka stepped up with a goal Saturday night, despite the Hogs losing 4-3 to Chicago. With eight points on the season (2 G, 6 A), Pokka becomes the IceHogs primary offensive weapon on the back end. Darren Raddysh, who has gotten a lot of power play time, could also see an expanded role in the offense.
Pokka has been at his best when paired with a veteran at his side (think T.J. Brennan or Cameron Schilling). Now Pokka has to be the experienced half of a pairing with rookie Luc Snuggerud. That duo are likely candidates to step up for Rockford. December is going to be a big month for the two, Pokka in particular.
Transactions
Press isn’t the only skater brought up from the ECHL’s Indy Fuel last weekend. On Friday, forward Radovan Bondra was recalled by Rockford.
Bondra’s situation differs from Press in that he is likely to be rehabbing an injury suffered while playing for the Fuel. I would not expect Bondra to play for the Hogs at this point.
Press, on the other hand, gets a chance to show the Hawks organization something in whatever games he can work his way into in the next few weeks. Press played in just nine games for the IceHogs last year; this could turn out to be his longest audition yet at the AHL level.
In My Dreams, It’s Still The Same…Your Love Is Strong, It Still Remains
It’s hard not to notice some very small crowds at the BMO Harris Bank Center this season. That isn’t necessarily out of whack with early season trends for the Hogs. Traditionally, attendance starts picking up around this time of year.
The low numbers should not be dismissed out of hand, however. Rockford is drawing less fans to see this exiting young team; a quick look at the numbers backs this up.
Last season, the IceHogs drew an average of 4328 fans a game over their 38 game home schedule. This was the first season since the 2011-12 campaign that attendance was less than the previous season. In fact, last season saw a huge drop; down from a franchise-record 5014 in 2015-16.
It’s pretty easy to explain the decreased audience; Rockford was one of the AHL’s worst on the ice and fans predictably stayed away. The IceHogs have started 2017-18 with a 7-5 home record. That would suggest that more fans are coming out to check this team out, right?
Wrong. In fact, the numbers are down substantially.
Through the first twelve games, Rockford has averaged 3443 per game. That’s compared with the 3885 that watched the Hogs go 5-5-0-2 to begin the home schedule last fall.
At the current pace, the team would wind up drawing less than 4000 fans per contest since the 2009-10 season. It would also mark a two-season trend in dwindling attendance.
As is the case this season, Rockford also had home games sandwiched around Thanksgiving last year. They drew 2702 Thanksgiving Eve and 4521 on Black Friday. Wednesday, there were 2717 in attendance. Friday saw 4272 fans at the BMO.
Through the first two months of that record-setting 2015-16 campaign, the BMO averaged almost a thousand more fans per night that it has this season. Those numbers held up through the Thanksgiving Eve (3606)/Black Friday (5738) games Rockford also hosted that year.
The Hogs have a better product on the ice than a year ago; it is a bit surprising to see that fewer fans are turning out to see it. On the other hand, the emphasis on fighting is practically non-existent. Is the lack of fisticuffs keeping folks away? That would be too bad, as the Flying Piglets of Winnebago County have proven to be an entertaining group.
Could the promotion schedule be a factor? I’m very sure that in the past two years, a local television station had already bought out all the tickets for one game, guaranteeing a sellout for the Hogs. That hasn’t occurred yet on this year’s schedule.
Hogs fans like getting free stuff; most of the big giveaways haven’t happened yet. On the other hand, I expected to be in a pretty long line at the season ticket-holder entrance for the free hats that were given away on Military Appreciation Night. Instead, it was a tomb; no fans bickering as to whom could claim their premium first or arguing with the ushers about the unfairness of it all. Just walked right in.
As I mentioned, this is about the time of year when the numbers pick up in Rockford. The team has scheduled a Marion Hossa night on Friday that is going to boast…well, Marion Hossa in some capacity. The team is also giving away backpacks (that won’t pass the arena’s security policy by the look of them) and youth jerseys and more hats and posters and other such trinkets that take up space in my son’s closet.
Attendance is down. On the other hand…no. There is no other hand. Attendance is down. Get out of your easy chair and go check out the IceHogs in the next few weeks. I’ll revisit this issue in a month or so to see if this young, exciting bunch starts packing the fans into the BMO.
Recaps
The week started with promise; a home win over Iowa Wednesday. The Hogs dropped the rematch with the Wild Friday as well as a road game with the Chicago Wolves the next evening. Iowa’s win over Chicago Sunday knocked Rockford (11-8-1) into third place in the AHL’s Central Division.
Wednesday, November 22-Rockford 3, Iowa 1
The Hogs were propelled by a natural hat trick by Matthew Highmore, who scored in each period to lead Rockford to its third-straight victory.
The IceHogs dominated possession for the bulk of the contest, limiting Iowa to just 13 shots in the first 40 minutes of action. Rockford struggled on the power play, as has been the case of late, but denied all seven Wild power plays. Highmore took care of the goal scoring.
The rookie forward got his big night started with a redirect of Luc Snuggerud’s shot from the point 4:27 into the game. Midway through the second period, Highmore was once again around the net to take advantage of a loose puck.
The play started at the top of the left circle, where Anthony Louis sent a shot toward the Wild net. The puck glanced off an Iowa defender and settled near the goal line. Highmore swept the biscuit into the basket for a 2-0 Rockford advantage at the 11:21 mark.
Late in the final frame, Alexandre Fortin got the puck into neutral ice and across the red line. Highmore took control and turned on the jets. Streaking toward and then across the Iowa cage, Highmore deked Wild goalie Niklas Svedberg before sending a forehand shot to the stick side. Rubber hooked up with twine; all was good in the world. At 15:28 of the third, Rockford led 3-0.
Iowa brought Svedberg to the bench shortly after and skated most of the remaining four minutes with an open net. J.F. Berube’s shutout bid was foiled when Gerald Mayhew scored with 2:49 to play. However, the IceHogs would not give up another goal.
As you would expect, Highmore was voted the game’s first star. Berube (23 saves) and Luke Johnson (two assists and a game attempt at a scrap with 6’4″ Carson Soucy) rounded out the three stars.
Lines (Starters in italics)
Tomas Jurco-David Kampf-Vinnie Hinostroza
Anthony Louis-Laurent Dauphin (A)-Andreas Martinsen
Alexandre Fortin-Matthew Highmore-Luke Johnson (A)
Graham Knott-Tyler Sikura-William Pelletier
Luc Snuggerud-Ville Pokka (A)
Carl Dahlstrom-Darren Raddysh
Viktor Svedberg-Robin Norell
Jean-Francois Berube
Scratches-Erik Gustafsson, Matheson Iacopelli
Power Play (0-5)
Kampf-Hinostroza-Jurco-Martinsen-Raddysh
Louis-Highmore-Johnson-Dauphin-Pokka
Penalty Kill (Iowa was 0-7)
Martinsen-Dauphin-Svedberg-Norell
Knott-Sikura-Snuggerud-Pokka
Highmore-Johnson-Raddysh-Dahlstrom
Friday, November 24-Iowa 2, Rockford 1 (OT)
For the first time this season, the IceHogs dropped an overtime decision, ending their three-game win streak.
Iowa’s regulation tally came late in the opening period, seconds after Rockford had killed off a Viktor Svedberg hooking penalty. Joel Ericksson Ek came around the Hogs net and sent a pass out for Ryan Murphy to one-time toward Rockford goalie Jeff Glass. The puck slid under Glass’s pads for a 1-0 Wild lead at 19:47 of the first period.
The IceHogs tied the score at 6:59 mark of the middle frame after Robin Norell sent a clearing attempt to the end boards of the Iowa zone. Icing was waved off after Vinnie Hinostroza won a race to the puck; the speedy forward put the moves on Murphy, gaining possession as well as the space needed to send a pass out to Luc Snuggerud at the top of the left circle.
Snuggerud’s one-timer made a beeline for the far side of the Iowa net. It zipped past past Wild goalie Steve Michalek and into twine town to make it a 1-1 contest.
Rockford appeared to take the lead a few minutes later on a power play goal by Tomas Jurco. However, the goal was waved off after it was ruled that Jurco batted the puck in with his hand. The Hogs string of futility when up a man continued and the game remained knotted at a goal apiece.
Neither team could get a puck past the goalies in regulation. The game-winner came 3:44 into Gus Macker Time when Ericksson Ek took a pass from Landon Ferraro in the slot. Matthew Highmore appeared to lose and edge while attempting to defend Ericksson Ek, who shot over the prone Hogs forward as well as the glove of Glass.
Lines (Starters in italics)
Tomas Jurco-David Kampf-Vinnie Hinostroza
Anthony Louis-Laurent Dauphin (A)-Andreas Martinsen
Alexandre Fortin-Matthew Highmore-Luke Johnson (A)
Graham Knott-Tyler Sikura-William Pelletier
Erik Gustafsson-Darren Raddysh
Luc Snuggerud-Ville Pokka (A)
Viktor Svedberg-Robin Norell
Jeff Glass
Scratches-Matheson Iacopelli, Carl Dahlstrom
Power Play (0-2)
Kampf-Hinostroza-Jurco-Martinsen-Raddysh
Louis-Highmore-Johnson-Dauphin-Pokka
Penalty Kill (Iowa was 0-2)
Martinsen-Dauphin-Svedberg-Norell
Knott-Sikura-Snuggerud-Pokka
Highmore-Johnson-Raddysh-Gustafsson
Saturday, November 25-Chicago 4, Rockford 3
In a real back-and-forth affair, the Wolves got a pair of goals in the early minutes of the third period to hand Rockford its second straight loss.
The Wolves got a goal at the eight-minute mark after faceoff at the left dot in the Hogs zone. Wade Megan won the draw; Teemu Pulkkinen found Petteri Lindbohm out at the left point and the shot got by J.F. Berube and into the net.
Minutes later, Carl Dahlstom got control of the puck along the boards and sent it to Tomas Jurco at the point. Jurco sent a shot toward the net that may have caught a piece of Megan’s stick. The tumbling biscuit fluttered past Wolves goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo to tie the game 1-1 at the 10:35 mark.
Chicago went up 2-1 on a Jason Garrison goal 5:30 into the middle frame, but back came the Hogs, and on the power play to boot. On their second chance of the evening, Ville Pokka took a backhanded pass from Laurent Dauphin let fly from the blueline. The offering was stopped by the back of the Wolves net for Rockford’s first goal when up a man since November 9. The slump-buster came at 9:52 of the second; the teams skated into the second intermission with two goals apiece.
The contest was decided in the a wild three-minute stretch of the final frame. The Hogs took their first lead of the evening on a Matheson Iacopelli snipe from the top of the left circle. The play took a bit to develop, as Iacopelli had to loop around in neutral ice until Rockford was onside. Once that happened, the rookie brought the cookie into the offensive zone and fired past Kaskisuo for a 3-2 lead at the 3:59 mark.
The IceHogs had little time to savor their advantage; 46 seconds, to be exact. Chicago won a defensive draw, quickly came up the ice and tied the game on a Stefan Matteau shot that clanged off the right post and into the goal.
Moments later, veteran Brett Sterling found the top shelf from the left dot, beating Berube and making it 4-3 Wolves 6:20 into the third. Rockford was unable to come up with an answer in the remainder of the game despite some power play time and vacating their net in the closing minutes.
Lines (Starters in italics)
Tomas Jurco-David Kampf-Vinnie Hinostroza (A)
Anthony Louis-Laurent Dauphin-Andreas Martinsen (A)
Alexandre Fortin-Matthew Highmore-Luke Johnson
Matheson Iacopelli-Graham Knott-William Pelletier
Luc Snuggerud-Ville Pokka
Viktor Svedberg (A)-Robin Norell
Carl Dahlstrom-Darren Raddysh
Jean-Francois Berube
Scratches-Erik Gustafsson, Tyler Sikura
Power Play (1-6)
Kampf-Hinostroza-Jurco-Martinsen-Raddysh
Louis-Highmore-Johnson-Dauphin-Pokka
Penalty Kill (Wolves were 0-2)
Martinsen-Dauphin-Svedberg-Norell
Knott-Hinostroza-Snuggerud-Pokka
Highmore-Johnson-Raddysh-Dahlstrom
Previews Of Coming Attractions
The best team in the AHL’s Central Division has been the Manitoba Moose. The 14-5-1-1 Moose are 8-3 against Central Division opponents and are currently riding a six-game win steak. They’re also 9-4 on the road this season, so they’re doing that hockey but good.
The Manitoba roster boasts former IceHogs Cameron Schilling (2 G, 13 A) and Kiril Gotovets on the defensive side. The Moose are seventh in the league in scoring and have been strong in goal with Michael Hutchinson and Eric Comrie in net.
Manitoba has ten players with double-digit points; they’re led by Jack Roslovic (11 G, 11 A) and Mike Sgarbossa (8 G, 12 A). This juggernaut is stopping in Rockford Tuesday night. Manitoba is sure to be a stiff test for the Hogs.
The Wolves pay a visit to the BMO Friday night. Chicago is still in the division basement, but both games between the Wolves and Rockford have been tight affairs. Plus, Illinois Lottery Cup points are at stake, kids!
Saturday, we get our first glimpse of the Texas Stars, who are 11-8-1 after sweeping a weekend set in Cleveland. Former Hawks prospect Mark McNeill skates for the Stars, though infrequently. He has just two points (1 G, 1 A) in six appearances with Texas this season.
The Stars are paced by veteran AHL forward Travis Morin, who has three goals and 17 helpers this season. NHL vet Brian Flynn also provides scoring and leadership.
The Hogs defeated Texas both times the Stars visited Rockford last season. Like the Wolves, Texas is an opponent with lots of experienced players.
Follow my twitter account @JonFromi for Rockford game updates all season long, plus my thoughts on the IceHogs when I have time to chime in.
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Game Time: 6:00PM CST
TV/Radio: NBC Sports Chicago, WGN-AM 720
Wade County: Litter Box Cats
As if Florida in and of itself isn’t fucking weird enough, this is the first year in nearly anyone’s memory that the Hawks are out east over the Thanksgiving weekend thanks to the long overdue demise of the animal rights violation spectacle that was the Ringling Brothers circus. So it’s a little odd that the Hawks are in Sunrise tonight to take on the Panthers (who are also weird) rather than catching the ass end of a back to back in LA after a Friday afternoon in Orange County, but again, Florida is inherently weird to begin with.
We have made it to the end of this crazy train that is our Blackhawks Player Previews, and no we get set to set to take a look at the roster as a whole. There are a lot of people with a lot of opinions on these Blackhawks, as some feel like they won’t even make the playoffs this season, and others feel like they’re ready to compete for the Stanley Cup again. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle (I think they’ll make the playoffs, and once they’re there just about anything could happen), but in reality there is a strong chance for either of those scenarios to play out.
There’s a lot of “if’s” either way, so it’s basically up to the eye of the beholder which “if’s” seem more likely. They could be a Cup Contender if Corey Crawford remains the best goaltender in the Western Conference. They’ll probably miss the playoffs if Crawford experiences any sort of long term injury. They might be a Cup Contender if Alex DeBrincat and Nick Schmaltz can put up 60 points with Patrick Kane. They could miss the playoffs if those two can’t produce quite yet. They could be a Cup Contender if even two of Connor Murphy, Michal Kempny, and Gustav Forsling prove themselves as capable top-4 defensemen. They could miss the playoffs if those players don’t take the next step. All of those scenarios are certainly possible outcomes of the season, but which outcomes seem more likely are up to your perspective and outlook.
Let’s take the Sam Fels Team Preview approach to this roster preview:
Forwards: The Blackhawks probably have one of the better collections of top-end forward talent in the NHL, because it’s kinda hard to find a better potential line around the NHL than Saad-Toews-Kane, even if that likely will not be a good line. Anisimov is still a good middle-six center, and I explained in my Richard Panik preview why his good production last season is was probably not just a fluke. Ryan Hartman is an excellent third line forward who might be able to flash on your second line if necessary. Schmaltz and DeBrincat looked great in camp/the preseason and could have good seasons. The problem is their fourth line is going to be straight dog shit, Patrick Sharp has one good hip and might play significant time on the second line, and any of those top-nine forwards struggling to score could end up completely fucking up the season. I am generally an optimist and do believe this group as a whole could be quite good, but it may not go our way.
Defense: Aaaaaaaaaaaaand here’s the real problem. Duncan Keith is 33 years old and might end up being their only good defenseman. Seabrook could finish the year weighing 300 lbs. Murphy is a huge question mark, and strangely he could end up being the key to the whole thing. If he’s good, the situation isn’t as dire. If he sucks, it’s made all the worse. Forsling has had flashes on both ends of the spectrum in the pre-season, which only proves how much of a question he is right now. Again, if he proves to be good, it’ll make things a lot better. If we get the same kind of play from him as we saw last year, it won’t make things worse necessarily, but the problem will remain. Kempny is damn near excellent, so hopefully that continues but without Q bottling him up. The problem is just there are just so many question marks about this group, and if Keith goes down they will be completely fucked. I guess we need to hope there is a good defenseman available on the trade market that StanBo can fit within the cap relief he’s getting. I’d call that unlikely.
Goalies: Crawford is the best in the west, and has constantly been solid. He’s the most important Blackhawk bar none. If he gets hurt and misses significant time, they’re completely fucked. If he doesn’t he’s probably good enough to make up for the questions on defense and help this team make the playoffs, even in the Central. Forsberg being an average goalie is all the Hawks need, and that’s all I have to say about that.
Overview: Again, a lot of question marks here, but this is probably a playoff team. They’re not on Nasvhille’s level overall, and especially not on the blue line, but the forward group isn’t too far off, and they have a far superior goaltender. But I don’t think anyone in the division caught up to this Blackhawks group that put up 109 points last year. I highly doubt Nashville struggles as bad during the regular season as they did last year, so the I don’t think Chicago will run into them again in the first round of the playoffs. I really think Nashville and Chicago are gonna end up finishing 1-2 in this division in some order, but again, the Blackhawks have a lot of questions and if the answers aren’t in their favors, they might even end up missing the playoffs. I have a lot of hope and optimism for this group, but I can’t blame you if you don’t.
There’s not much more to be said now. Everything kicks off tomorrow. Go Blackhawks.
I don’t really know how to start this player preview, so I would like to take a moment to commend Captain Woke on his rather thoughtful comments about the anthem protest controversies of late. As a white hockey player, it would’ve been pretty easy for him to him and haw his way through any questions about, spewing a bunch of cliche’s but not really saying anything. Instead he did a good job of putting the whole thing in perspective and putting the focus of his comments on emphasizing the need to bring the conversation back to where it should’ve been the whole damn time. So good job, Jonny. Let’s talk about your hockeying now.
2016-17 Stats
72 GP – 21 G – 37 A
52.4 CF% – 55.4 oZS% – 44.6 dZS%
20:09 Avg. TOI
A Look Back: Much of last year’s noise about our fearless leader revolved around his apparently controversial selections to a few teams/lists that some of Hockey Twitter’s favorite fun haters didn’t think he deserved. He was named to Team Canada for the World Cup of Hockey, and some dude who doesn’t understand anatomy said he didn’t deserve it. Then he was named to the NHL Top 100 list, which was entirely meaningless but of course that means Hockey Twitter took it entirely too seriously. They were mad that he made it over the likes of Evegeni Malkin, which isn’t necessarily a bad argument, but that still didn’t make it any less meaningless. Everyone was mad about these selections because they wanted to act like Toews sucks, meanwhile the man himself was quietly putting up yet another strong season while playing with a man who’s skin was literally melting off of him and a few guys that had never played top-six minutes in his life. Ho-Hum.
Toews was with Richard Panik nearly the whole season, Marian Hossa for most of it, and Nick Schmaltz for a good bit of the last half of the year. He spent a decent amount of time with John Hayden when he got signed late in the season, as well. Overall, his quality of linemates was pretty low, which really only makes his 58 points and rather strong possession stats all the more impressive. Because he missed 10 games, he was really on a 66 point pace, which is hardly elite but is no doubt top-line caliber. His 58 points also tied for 46th overall in the NHL, which is nothing to scoff at either.
And if you’ll put up with a bit of soap-boxing, the Toews hate from last year hardly made much sense to me. Toews became considered one of the league’s best players because he was the captain of and top center for three Cup winning teams. He might have reached a bit of an overrated status, but he basically earned the status. He’s only had one year where he didn’t pace out to at least 60 points, and is a damn near point per game player for his career, with a .86 PPG career rate. He’s also one of the best two-way players in the game, with a very strong defensive game. He’s basically been the same player for most of his career, and really had hardly declined recently as much as many would like you to believe. In reality, the league has seen such an influx of good young players that Toews just became another one of the league’s great-but-not-elite centers. He is good and not bad. Thanks.
A Look Ahead: Toews is going to get reunited with his old running mate Brandon Saad, which is perfect because Saad was, is, and forever will be just about the perfect linemate for Captain Environmentalist. Getting these two back together is basically the ideal scenario for the Blackhawks, and would be even if Marian Hossa hadn’t been eaten alive by his own skin. Even though Toews hasn’t quite fallen off the beaten path yet, he’s approaching 30 and is probably going to start the actual declining process within the next 3-4 years. Luckily, 4 years is exactly how long Saad is signed for, and having him around will help mitigate whatever decline Toews experiences. These two are probably going to be close to inseparable this season.
The other wing could be filled by any number of players. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Richard Panik spend a good amount of time with the two of them, especially given Panik’s success with Toews last year. Patrick Sharp is another option, but that is definitely not ideal. DeBrincat would fit in well with them, though I’d still prefer he ends up with opposite Kane most of the time. Schmaltz could get another look there, but that should only happen if he can’t hang in the middle. It’s basically going to be yet another carousel, which is something we’ve become used to around these part. In terms of production, I think Toews could be a solid bet for another 60+point season if he ends up playing 75+ games.
Please don’t tell Hockey Twitter that I said nice things about Jonathan Toews. I would hate for them to have more things to be mad about.
Stats via Hockey Reference, HockeyViz, and NHL.com.
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After the Blackhawks tore my heart out by trading Teuvo, it did not take long for me to settle on Nick Schmaltz as special boy 2.0. There was a lot to get excited about with him, with his smooth speedy skating, his vision and passing ability, and his sneaky good but oft-underused wrist shot. Plus, his Twitter feed is extremely “college hockey player,” which can be both bad and good, but I get a kick out of it. He was fine in his rookie year, and at times I was damn near convinced he could be better than Teuvo (my heart is still torn). There were some kinks to work out, of course, but a lot to be encouraged by. Shall we?
2016-17 Stats
61 GP – 6 G – 22 A
49.4 CF% – 57.5 oZS% – 42.5 dZS%
13:16 Avg. TOI
A Look Back: Schmaltz was a bit slow starting last year, with just 5 points (1G, 4A) in 26 games before the New Year, which saw him get demoted to Rockford for a spell. He found his production again with the Hogs, potting 6 goals and 3 assists in 12 games before getting recalled and bringing that scoring to the NHL. He scored two points in his second game after being recalled, and finished with 23 points (5G, 18A) in his last 35 games. I’m inclined to believe that he is more the player that we saw in the second half of last year than the one we saw in the first half. That .65 PPG rate over the last 35 games paces out to about a 54 point total over 82 games, which would’ve been a phenomenal rookie year for him and had ranked him 4th among rookie scorers. Obviously that’s a shitload of hypotheticals, but the point I’m getting at is that the kid is good, and his rookie year much better than his raw numbers would show.
The shot share being below water is slightly disconcerting, especially with those zone starts, but most of that came while he was spending a good amount of time with Tyler Motte and Richard Panik in the 2016 half of 2016-17. Once he came back up from the A, he spent a good amount of time with either flanking Toews and Panik or centering Panarin and Kane, and he was pretty even for the last half of the year. So yeah, the slow start hurt him overall, but the last half of the season is a better indication of who he is, and his last half of the season was really strong.
A Look Ahead: The big question for Schmaltz this year is going to be figuring out what his position is. He has the skillset to be a scoring 2C at the NHL level, but the question is if he actually he can use that skillset to play like one. He also will probably need to prove he can win faceoffs, because at present Jonathan Toews is the only center on the team I feel confident in on the dot. Faceoffs aren’t the end-all-be-all for centermen, and if he can produce as a center without winning faceoffs it might be okay, but it’s always better to start play with possession of the puck.
Luckily, he has kept the momentum from the end of last year, and has come into the preseason playing well. He definitely has looked like he can hang in the NHL as a 2c, though the preseason is definitely not the time to come to any conclusions. As I and others on this blog have already said probably 10 times, the hope is that Schmaltz starts the year between ADB and Kane, or at least ends up there for a good look at some point. That’d be a line of three playmakers, and Kane and ADB both have the finishing ability to get Shcmaltz 40-50 assists. If those three are on a line together for a good stretch of the season, I can see 50 point years from both ADB and Schmaltz.
When he isn’t between those two, he’ll likely be the 3C with any collection of Hayden, Jurco, Hinostroza, Sharp, Panik, etc. If he’s there for most of the year, look for about 40+ points, but if he’s scoring at that sort of pace in that role, it’d be time to get him with Kane at the very least. I could also see him ending up on the wing at times with Toews and Saad. I don’t think that’d be the best usage of him, but it could happen, and it might be a fit. He could rack up the points with them, too. So there’s a lot of options, and a lot of hope for Schmaltzy. Let’s hope it goes as well as we are hoping.
All statistics via Hockey Reference, HockeyViz, and NHL.com.
Photo via Nick Scmaltz’s Twitter
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