Everything Else

High On The Hog: Keep Pushin’

By Jon Fromi 1599 0

The Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate to the Chicago Blackhawks, have put together a pretty decent point-streak in their last few games. The question is whether or not it will be enough to extend their 2017-18 season.

Rockford has four wins over the course of a six-game point streak. Two of their wins in that span came against the Chicago Wolves, one of the leagues best teams the second half of the campaign. However, the Hogs still sit in fifth place in the Central Division, one spot out of the playoffs.

What the IceHogs need right now is regulation wins against key division opponents. This past week afforded just that opportunity. Rockford had games with Iowa and Grand Rapids, the two teams currently ahead of them in the standings.

Rockford beat the Wild 3-2 at the BMO Harris Bank center Tuesday and dropped a 4-3 decision to the Griffins at Van Andel Arena. Not bad, but not good enough. Both games were decided in overtime.

Clean regulation wins in those two games would have leapfrogged the Hogs over Grand Rapids and into fourth place. Rockford is still very much in the hunt for a postseason berth. They do have two more games with the Wild this season, including Monday’s tilt in DesMoines. With just 12 games left on the schedule, though, there is no margin of error.

 

Roster Moves

On Saturday, the IceHogs recalled forward Alex Wideman from the Indy Fuel. Sunday, Rockford added forward Kyle Maksimovich, who was signed to an amateur tryout.

Maksimovich comes from the junior ranks; he served as captain of his team, the Erie Otters. This season, Maksimovich totaled 66 points (31 G, 35 A).

We’ll have to see if the 20-year-old will get playing time with Rockford making a bid to reach the postseason. With the roster a bit thin at forward, it’s a possibility.

 

Three Games, Five Points

As of Monday, Rockford sit fifth in the Central Division. They are a single point behind Grand Rapids in the standings. Iowa is still within reach, more so if the Hogs can get two points at Wells Fargo Arena tonight.

Annual work commitments keep me out of both the BMO and my basement at this point in the Hogs schedule. Here’s a brief recap of how the week went for Rockford.

 

Tuesday, March 13-Rockford 3, Iowa 2 (OT)

The IceHogs sent 47 shots to the Wild net in regulation; just two found the back of it. However, Rockford showed that never-say-die attitude we’ve seen throughout the season, rallying from a goal down in the third period.

Henrik Samuelsson evened things up in the 15th minute of the third, knocking in a rebound of Cody Franson’s shot. The Hogs won in Gus Macker Time when Andreas Martinsen redirected another Franson offering. Collin Delia picked up the win, stopping 33 of 35 shots.

 

Friday, March 16- Grand Rapids 4, Rockford 3 (OT)

Rockford came back twice in this contest. The Hogs got off the deck after falling behind 2-0, thanks to a pair of goals by Viktor Svedberg. Rockford fell behind after a Ben Street power play goal in the third period, but got an equalizer on a Luke Johnson tip-in with 41 seconds to play.

The extra point went the way of the Griffins, as Eric Tangradi swiped a puck from Anthony Louis, skated to the slot and fired past the blocker of Collin Delia.

 

Saturday, March 17-Rockford 3, Chicago 2

Brandon Pirri got the Wolves up 1-0 4:25 into the game, but the Hogs prevailed at Allstate Arena for the second time in six days.

The first of three unanswered goals was scored on the power play by Matheson Iacopelli. The rookie forward snapped a laser from the high slot after being set up by Henrik Samuelsson late in the second period.

A Wolves miscue while on the man advantage gave Tyler Sikura a breakaway chance early in the third. Sikura beat a sliding Oscar Dansk to a loose puck that had slid into the Wolves zone. Guiding the biscuit into the vacated basket, the shorthanded tally put the Hogs up 2-1 4:11 into the third.

Anthony Louis got open in the slot a couple of minutes later, taking a pass from Chris DiDomenico and firing past Dansk for a 3-1 Rockford lead 6:30 into the final frame.

Chicago managed to close the gap with a Jake Bischoff goal, but the Hogs hung on for another big division win over the Wolves. Jeff Glass got the win, stopping 27 of the 29 shots he faced.

 

This Week

Another pivotal week of divisional play looms for Rockford, starting tonight in DesMoines. Beating Iowa in regulation would send them past idle Grand Rapids and right behind the Wild for third place in the Central.

The last Hogs home stand of the season is a two-game affair. The action begins Friday night against Milwaukee. The following night, the Wolves visit the BMO.

I hope to be sending out thoughts during tonight’s game in Iowa. Follow me @JonFromi on twitter for IceHogs musings all season long.

 

 

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Gotta Beat The Neighbors

By Jon Fromi 1742 0

The Rockford IceHogs, much like their NHL parent club in Chicago, have been slumping hard in February. As a result, they’ve created some separation between themselves and the teams looking to secure a playoff spot in the AHL’s Central Division.

It’s the bad type of separation. The ‘Bago County Piglets may be hitting a wall in the AHL schedule. It’s coming at a rather inopportune time.

Rockford managed to snap a four-game losing streak Sunday with a win over San Antonio. The win took some of the stink off of two home losses to a weak Cleveland squad earlier in the week. The Hogs problems with the last-place Monsters goes a long way in part to explain why Rockford has plummeted to sixth-place.

The formula for success in the divisional standings is simple-beat the teams in your division. Unfortunately, this has been much easier to say than for the IceHogs to do this season.

Rockford is in its current position in the Central Division table precisely because of a poor showing among their regular opponents. Here’s how the teams stack up in inter-divisional play after this weekend’s action:

Team                 Record       Point Percentage

Manitoba          17-8-3-2     .650

Grand Rapids  23-13-1-4   .621

Chicago             20-11-3-2   .625

Iowa                   20-11-2-3   .625

Milwaukee        21-16-3-0   .562

Rockford       18-20-2-2 .476

Cleveland          14-23-1-3    .390

The Hogs are 6-3 against the Griffins this season. However, they have dropped the last three meetings with Grand Rapids, who currently are on a 9-0-0-2 run that has them in that second-place spot in the Central.

The IceHogs do not own a winning record against any of the other teams in the division. To make matters worse, the two games they lost at home to Cleveland this week leaves Rockford with a 3-4-0-1 mark in the season series with the Monsters. Not terrible, you say? Here’s how the rest of the loop is faring with the division cellar-dwellers:

Manitoba: 4-1-1

Grand Rapids: 5-1-0-1

Chicago: 4-1

Iowa: 6-0-1

Milwaukee: 4-3

Rockford is 3-6-1 over its last ten contests. All three wins are against teams from the Pacific Division (Ontario, San Antonio). Meanwhile, Grand Rapids is 8-0-0-2, the Wolves are 7-2-1 and Iowa is 7-3 in that same span.

 

Road Hogs

Rockford can certainly work its way out of this tailspin. However, they will have to do most of the heavy lifting on the road.

Of the IceHogs 22 remaining games, just seven will be in the confines of the BMO Harris Bank Center. Rockford has consecutive games just once for the rest of the campaign when they host Milwaukee and Chicago March 23-24.

The Hogs have 14 division games left. Ten of those contests are on the road. For a team that has to rack up regulation wins against the teams above them in the standings, that’s a tall order.

 

The New Guys

There were a number of moves made last week on the roster front. Last Sunday, the IceHogs inked forward Henrik Samuelsson to a PTO. A former first-round pick of Arizona and the son of Hawks assistant Ulf Samuelsson, the big wing paid early dividends for Rockford.

Samuelsson, who had 43 points (16 G, 27 A) with Idaho of the ECHL this season, posted a goal in each of his first three games with the IceHogs. He has already worked his way into the Rockford power play mix and skated with Matthew Highmore and Luke Johnson over the weekend.

Thursday was rife with moves. Goalie Jeff Glass came down to Rockford, with J.F. Berube being recalled to the Blackhawks. Chicago also pulled the trigger on a deal with Ottawa that saw defenseman Ville Pokka depart after nearly four seasons with the Hogs.

The organization reacquired forward Chris DiDomenico from the Senators in exchange for Pokka. DiDomenico skated in Rockford from 2010 to 2012. He’s spent this season between Ottawa 6 G, 4 A in 24 games) and AHL Belleville (5 G, 9 A in 25 games). DiDomenico did not skate in either IceHogs game since the trade.

A player who did get his first on-ice action with Rockford was rookie forward Nathan Noel, who made his debut Tuesday and got his first AHL goal Sunday afternoon. Noel made it clear what style of play we should expect from the fourth-round selection of the Hawks in the 2016 NHL Draft.

Noel stood out in that he is a pesky instigating-type that is in short supply on the Hogs roster. The 5’11”, 175-pound forward didn’t seem to have any problems finishing checks or adding an extra shove around the net.

Noel was injured to start the season. He was sent to Indy when he recovered and is coming off another injured stint while with the Fuel. In 17 games in Indy, Noel had four goals and five assists. It should be interesting to see if he can stay healthy and what Noel can contribute to this team.

 

Recaps (Readers Digest Version)

It wasn’t the best of weeks for Rockford. The Hogs managed to avoid being swept at the BMO, but lost two games to Cleveland before beating San Antonio. Here’s the long and the (mostly) short of it:

Tuesday, February 13-Cleveland 3, Rockford 1

Terry Broadhurst potted a shorthanded goal to open the scoring for Cleveland, taking advantage of a Gustav Forsling turnover. Rockford had five power play chances on the night; the only one that ended up on the scoreboard was the one from Broadhurst’s stick.

The Hogs evened the score with Henrik Samuelsson’s first goal with the team. The new guy was camped out in the slot, took a pass from Matthew Highmore and sent it to Twineville at 16:42.

The Monsters took the lead late in the second on a Carter Camper goal, then held off the Hogs the rest of the way. Alex Broadhurst hit an empty net to lock the game up in the final minute as the brothers continued to pile up offense against their former team.

J.F. Berube was solid in his second game back from injury, stopping 27 of 29 shots thrown his way. I wasn’t enough as the Hogs dropped their third-straight.

 

Saturday, February 17-Cleveland 5, Rockford 2

It was another exercise in futility on the special teams. Rockford went scoreless in five attempts, including a five-minute major. They surrendered another shorthanded goal and gave up a Monsters goal on the man advantage.

After a scoreless first, Cleveland came out and scored three goals in the first 8:29 of the middle frame. The offensive outburst was capped by Zach Dalpe’s shorty past Jeff Glass, who had little in the way of help in the second period.

Back came the Hogs with a pair of goals. Graham Knott’s shot bounced off sliding defenseman Cameron Gaunce and through the wickets of Monsters goalie Matiss Kivlenieks and into the net at 12:50 of the second. Henrik Samuelsson caught Matthew Highmore’s bank shot off the end boards and scored from the goal line at the 18:38 mark.

Rockford entered the third period down 3-2. That’s as close as this one got. Cleveland scored 1:35 into the third and added an empty-netter from Terry Broadhurst with 1:02 remaining.

 

Sunday, February 18-Rockford 4, San Antonio 3

The IceHogs got things turned around on the power play, with a pair of first-period conversions after falling behind 1-0.

Luke Johnson drew cord after putting in a long rebound of an Adam Clendening shot, tying the game 1-1 at the 14:20 mark. Less then two minutes later, Henrik Samuelsson had the space in the slot to sling home a Cody Franson pass for a 2-1 Hogs advantage.

Tanner Kero scored from the right post to give Rockford a 3-1 lead early in the second. Less than a minute later, Alexandre Fortin forced a turnover that wound up in front of the Rampage net. Nathan Noel was on the scene to get his first goal of the season at 2:33 of the second.

That chased San Antonio starter Spencer Martin from the crease. Ville Husso came into the game and held Rockford scoreless the rest of the way.

The Rampage added power play goals midway through the second and early in the final frame. However, Collin Delia made enough stops (25 of 28) to give the IceHogs a much-needed victory.

 

Save My Life, I’m Going Down For The Last Time-The Hogs Head East

Rockford is on the road this weekend, taking on a pair of Eastern Conference clubs.

Friday, the IceHogs tangle with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the first time since ever. The Penguins, who will visit the BMO in a couple of weeks, are 30-15-4-1 heading into this week’s play. They are led by Daniel Sprong, who is third among AHL rookies with 40 points (20 G, 20 A). Behind him is former IceHogs forward Ryan Haggerty, who has 16 goals and 15 helpers in addition to leading the team with a plus-21 skater rating.

In net, the Hogs will likely face Casey DeSmith, who has a 2.74 GAA and a .911 save percentage. DeSmith has lost four of his last five starts, though. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has dropped its last three games heading into the match-up.

Saturday, Rockford plays in Hershey, who are in seventh-place in the eight-team Atlantic Division. The Bears have won three straight games, however.

The IceHogs came out on top in the team’s first-ever meeting at the BMO, a 5-0 win. Three of Rockford’s goal scorers on that night, Vinnie Hinostroza, Tomas Jurco and Erik Gustafsson, are not on the current roster.

The Bears have a lot of experienced skaters, including forward Joe Whitney (24 points). Hershey is led in scoring by Travis Boyd (14 G 26 A) and Riley Barber (17 G, 16 A). Former Rockford forward Jeremy Langlois is skating for the Bears this season.

Hershey has used a tandem of Vitek Vanacek (2.79, .892) and former Chicago Wolves goalie Phoenix Copley (3.02, .892) in net.

Follow me @JonFromi on twitter for my occasional musings on the Rockford scene.

 

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Power Outage

By Jon Fromi 1929 0

The Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, have been struggling on the power play. No…perhaps that doesn’t do this unit justice.

Toothless? Impotent? These are probably better ways to describe the period of time when the Hogs have an opponent in the sin bin.

Rockford’s success rate on the power play is dead last in the AHL though 28 games. The IceHogs are drawing cord just 11.8 percent of the time. This was capped off by an 0-13 stretch in this past week of action.

The piglets managed to pick up a point but dropped all three contests. A power play goal could well have turned two of those losses into wins. Alas, power play scoring has been problematic over the past two months.

Rockford began the season with quite the efficient group, posting a power play goal in seven of its first nine games. This culminated in a four-goal effort in a win over Grand Rapids October 28 that pushed the success rate to 22 percent.

Since that evening, the Hogs are 4-83 when up a man. That’s 4.8 percent. Which sucks.

Rockford coach Jeremy Colliton has remained pretty calm when talking about the power play, though he has tried to remedy the problem with some different looks. This weekend in San Antonio, for example, Colliton sent out five forwards as his first unit. The experiment did not bear fruit. In fact, that group gave up a shorthanded goal Sunday afternoon that wound up being the game-winner for the Rampage.

Sometimes the puck movement is there; other times the Hogs look fearful to leave the perimeter. All Colliton can do is continue to tinker with combos until something clicks.

 

Roster Activity

Rockford has been fortunate in terms of health this season. The last few weeks, however, have seen some IceHogs out of the lineup for extended turns. Scott Powers of theathletic.com got Colliton to dish on the status of several players who have missed time of late.

First off, Jordin Tootoo shouldn’t be expected back for a while despite being sent down to Rockford last month. Apparently, Tootoo has aggravated the injury that saw him on the IR list to begin the season in Chicago.

Goalie J.F. Berube, who suffered a left leg injury December 9, looks to be out for about a month. Jeff Glass started all three games for the IceHogs this past week. Will Colin Delia get a start? Rockford has back-to-back games this weekend, then three in a row to close out December. If Delia isn’t in net for one of those games, I would have to assume that the organization lacks confidence in him right now.

Erik Gustafsson, who has missed Rockford’s last nine games, is nearing a return. Colliton was non-committal on a target date for the defenseman, though it sounds like it will be before the end of the calendar year.

Defenseman Luc Snuggerud has missed the last four games. This, plus Ville Pokka being recalled to Chicago last week, leaves the IceHogs a bit thin on the blue line.

Brandon Anselmini was recalled on December 10 and saw his first action against the Wolves last Tuesday. He left the game in the third period after taking a hard run into the boards but was on the ice for both games in San Antonio this weekend.

 

Recaps

Rockford dropped three games this week, scoring just three goals in three games. The point they collected Friday in San Antonio has them tied for second with Iowa in the Central Division standings. Overall, the IceHogs are 15-11-1-1 in 2017-18.

Tuesday, December 12-Chicago 2, Rockford 1 

A very late Wolves goal brought Rockford’s four-game winning streak to a unsatisfying halt.

The Wolves got on the board 5:03 into the game. Teemu Pulkkinen fired on Hogs goalie Jeff Glass. The shot was stopped, but the rebound came out to Brandon Pirri in the slot. Firing into a wide open net, the ex-IceHogs forward put Chicago up 1-0.

That lead survived until Rockford won an offensive draw midway through the final frame. Carl Dalhstrom fired from the point; Anthony Louis provided the redirect past Wolves goalie Maxime Lagace at 732 of the third.

It appeared that this game was headed for overtime. The Hogs made a final rush that got broken up and became a Chicago rush the other way. Paul Thompson got off a backhand shot from the slot that got over Glass with less than a second remaining to give the Wolves the win.

Lines (Starters In Italics)

Matthew Highmore-Tanner Kero-Luke Johnson (A)

Anthony Louis-David Kampf-Alexandre Fortin

Matheson Iacopelli-Tyler Sikura-Andreas Martinsen

Graham Knott-Laurent Dauphin (A)-William Pelletier

Carl Dahlstrom-Viktor Svedberg

Darren Raddysh-Robin Norell

Brandon Anselmini-Ville Pokka (A)

Jeff Glass

Scratches-Luc Snuggerud, Robin Press, Erik Gustafsson, Tomas Jurco, Jordin Tootoo, Jean-Francois Berube

Power Play (0-3)

Kampf-Kero-Louis-Highmore-Dahlstrom

Dauphin-Knott-Johnson-Raddysh-Pokka

Penalty Kill (Wolves were 0-3)

Dauphin-Kampf-Pokka-Norell

Kero-Highmore-Dahlstrom-Svedberg

Sikura-Martinsen-Pokka-Norell

 

Friday, December 15-San Antonio 2, Rockford 1 (SO)

Jeff Glass was a hard luck loser for the second straight game, stopping all but one of the 36 shots he saw in regulation and overtime. It wasn’t enough as his counterpart, Ville Husso, made 43 saves to beat the Hogs.

The Rampage got the games first tally 8:27 into the second period. Julien Nantel took a pass from Adam Musil, skated around Glass’s net, and banked home a shot off of the Rockford goalie’s back.

The IceHogs would even the score late in that period on a quirky play. Faced with too many skaters on the ice in the eighteenth minute, San Antonio attempted to right the problem. In the confusion, Andreas Martinsen was able to gain possession of the puck between the benches.

The Rampage’s Duncan Siemens collided with an official, giving Martinsen a clear path to the San Antonio zone. Martinsen skated to the top of the right circle before attempting to snap a shot off toward Husso. Whiffing on this try, Martinsen collected the gaffe and fired for real. The shot beat Husso to the far post at 17:53 of the second to knot the game at a goal apiece.

Siemens, possibly enraged at the turn of events, took a run at William Pelletier shortly after the resulting center ice draw. Coming to Pelletier’s defense was Laurent Dauphin, who dropped gloves with the big defensemen and received a cut for his effort. Dauphin returned for the third period with a full cage.

Glass and Husso kept the score where it was through the remainder of the contest. In the shootout, the lone put to draw cord came off the stick of San Antonio’s David Warsofsky in the final round. Rockford shooters David Kampf, Anthony Louis and Luke Johnson all came up empty as the Rampage picked up the point of contention.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Alexandre Fortin-Tyler Sikura-Andreas Martinsen (A)

Anthony Louis-David Kampf-Tomas Jurco

Matthew Highmore-Tanner Kero-Luke Johnson

Graham Knott-Laurent Dauphin-William Pelletier

Carl Dahlstrom-Viktor Svedberg (A)

Robin Norell-Darren Reddysh

Brandon Anselmini-Robin Press

Jeff Glass

Scratches-Luc Snuggerud, Erik Gustafsson, Matheson Iacopelli, Jordin Tootoo, Jean-Francois Berube

Power Play (0-6)

Jurco-Kampf-Louis-Highmore-Kero

Dauphin-Johnson-Knott-Dahlstrom-Raddysh

Penalty Kill (Rampage were 0-4)

Jurco-Kampf-Dahlstrom-Svedberg

Dauphin-Knott-Dahlstrom-Svedberg

Sikura-Martinsen-Anselmini-Norell

 

Sunday, December 17-San Antonio 4, Rockford 1

Special teams figured heavily into what went down as the IceHogs third straight loss.

San Antonio grabbed a 1-0 lead 8:19 into the game on a Kenny Agozzino power play goal. The IceHogs evened the score 8:55 into the second period. As was the case in the previous game, the goal was scored by Andreas Martinsen on a bit of a fluky play.

Martinsen took advantage of Rampage defenseman Chris Bigras losing an edge as he was about to corral a pass from Tage Thompson in the San Antonio zone. Martinsen collected the turnover at the right dot and got a wrister past goalie Spencer Martin for the equalizer.

The Hogs had an opportunity to take the lead on the man advantage with San Antonio’s Alex Belzile in the box for tripping. Rockford’s fourth power play of the game yielded a goal; just not for the IceHogs.

Trent Volgelhuber took control of a long rebound in the Rampage zone and led a shorthanded rush. With five forwards on the ice, Rockford was slow to get back. The resulting two-on-one ended with Chris Butler beating Hogs goalie Jeff Glass high on the stick side. San Antonio took a 2-1 lead at 7:28 of the third.

Rocco Grimmaldi separated Robin Norell from the puck behind the Rockford net and slipped it past Glass at the 15:12 mark for an insurance goal. He added an empty-netter to close out the scoring.

Glass stopped 37 of 40 shots but took another hard-luck loss.

No lines for this one; I went to the movies. The Hogs went 0-4 on the power play, including 1:42 of five-on-three time, and gave up a game-winning shorty. I believe I made the correct choice.

 

Weekend Preview

The IceHogs will be at home this coming weekend. Next on the schedule is a pair of division matchups with familiar opponents.

Friday night, the surging Chicago Wolves pay yet another visit to the BMO Harris Bank Center. Rockford has split the first four games of the season series. Both of Chicago’s victories have come in regulation, including the last-second win Tuesday.

It’s Teemu Pulkkinen (9 G, 15 A) and Brandon Pirri (8 G, 13 A) at the forefront of the Wolves offense. Paul Thompson has five points (2 G, 3 A) against the Hogs this season. As of this weekend, Chicago has won five straight.

On Saturday night, Rockford hosts Grand Rapids, who are currently last in the Central Division. The Hogs have won all five contests between the two teams this season.

Follow me @JonFromi on twitter for thoughts on the IceHogs all season long.

Everything Else

Sit Back, Relax, and Strap it Down – ’17-’18 Blackhawks Player Previews: The Roster

By Sam Fels 1281

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.

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Bringing Up Goalies

By Jon Fromi 1820

The Rockford IceHogs currently have a plethora of net-minders as their season winds down next week. Taking a look at the list of goalies in town really got me in a pondering mood.

In one corner, we have Lars Johansson, brought from across the ocean as a potential future backup in Chicago. Across the way, we have Mac Carruth, a 2010 draft pick who’s days could well be numbered after spending parts of four seasons with the Hogs.

The plot thickened back in January when Jeff Glass was brought in on an AHL deal to compete for crease time. The new kid (literally)  is 18-year-old Wouter Peeters, last summer’s third-round selection of the Blackhawks, having his tires kicked on an ATO.

Peeters was in Rockford solely to practice with the IceHogs and get a close-up look from the organization; Rockford released him from his tryout Sunday morning. Still, four goalies on the roster gave me pause to think. What may we expect from this youngster in terms of an NHL future? For that matter, what lies ahead for the rest of this motley crew?

Corey Crawford is 32. Deal with it. At some point Chicago will have to find it’s next great (or even good) goaltender. Will it come through nabbing a late blooming prospect or via the draft?

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Impressive Debuts

By Jon Fromi 1378

The Rockford IceHogs picked up a pair of wins this weekend thanks to the play of their two newest players. The Hogs signed a couple of skaters to ATOs this week; both had an impressive debut weekend.

The headline signing was that of the Blackhawks 2014 third-round selection Matheson Iacopelli, who signed his amateur tryout on the heels of his signing an entry-level contract with Chicago. The 6’2″ forward has big offensive upside and showed a bit of it in his first game with Rockford.

Iacopelli displayed a big shot several times over his first two games, most effectively on what was the game-winner over the Texas Stars Friday night. As advertised, Iacopelli showed a knack for getting into scoring areas.

Also as advertised, he showed that he still has refining to do on the defensive end. The Stars lone goal came in the second period Saturday when Iacopelli was a bit too casual covering the front of the net. This allowed Colin Campbell to squeeze by him for a tip-in.

Iacopelli, who leaves Western Michigan after two years, had 20 goals and 16 assists in 40 games with the Broncos this past season. He spent most of the weekend skating with Michael Latta and Evan Mosey.

Also signing an ATO with the IceHogs on Thursday was free-agent center William Pelletier, who was the First Star of Saturday’s 4-1 victory over the visiting Grand Rapids Griffins. In his second game with the team, Pelletier had a two-goal, four-point night.

Pelletier, 24, just finished his college career at Division III Norwich University by winning a national championship with the Cadets. In 83 collegiate games, Pelletier scored 126 points (53 G, 73 A). That includes a senior season of 18 goals and 28 helpers.

The 5’7″ speedster is looking to secure employment next season. Based on what I saw this weekend, the guy can play. Pelletier was noticeable on the ice in Friday’s win despite not breaking into the scoring column. He generated several chances for Brandon Mashinter and Luke Johnson against Texas before lighting it up with those same line mates against the Griffins.

One weekend does not a season make. Still, it was good to see some offensive capability on a team starving for it on a nightly basis. Many of these ATOs are going to form the nucleus of the 2017-18 IceHogs. As expected, it would appear that squad will be a younger group than the one that came before it.

 

A Slice Of The BMO

Often, the BMO’s public address announcer will recognize returning players or point out a milestone to the fans. There was reason for such announcements during both home games this weekend. The execution just wasn’t on point.

Friday saw the return of Mark McNeill, who spent several seasons with Rockford and was traded just a few weeks ago, to his old stomping ground. This could hardly have escaped the team; McNeill started the game for Texas and took the opening faceoff.

One would expect that a recently traded player would get at least a cursory shoutout. Eventually, McNeill received a nice bit of acknowledgement from announcer Chris Toltzman. The timing could have been better; the announcement came late in the third period as McNeill was lining up for a crucial offensive-zone faceoff with his team down a goal. (If you speculated that there were Rockford fans who went online to pout about McNeill not backing out of the draw so he could wave to them, you would be absolutely correct.)

The IceHogs whiffed on another opportunity the following evening. P.C. Labrie had been named Rockford’s nominee for the league’s Man Of The Year Award, as I mentioned in an update to my post last week. Labrie was a scratch Friday but was in the lineup for Saturday’s game with Grand Rapids. Alas, Labrie was not recognized for his recent honor during any of the media stoppages throughout the contest.

Perhaps the team was waiting to make an announcement at a later game; surely he’ll be recognized at the Hogs final home game April 15 when a slew of other team award winners will be on display. It was a bit surprising that with ample opportunity to recognize a fan favorite, the IceHogs chose not to do so.

 

Recaps

Tuesday, March 28-Iowa 4, Rockford 0

The Hogs losing streak reached four games as they were shutout for the second straight contest. Iowa got a hat trick from newly signed forward Luke Kunin to pick up the win.

Kunin’s first two goals came early in the opening period. Iowa took a 1-0 lead 3:o2 into the game when a stretch pass from Nick Seeler started a 2-on-1 that ended with Kunin gaining entrance to the Hogs back door via a pass and return with Sam Anas.

At 8:44, Kunin picked off a pass attempt by Ville Pokka and started into the Rockford zone with numbers. Maxime Fortunus got off a shot in the high slot area, which was redirected by the rookie past Hogs goalie Mac Carruth.

Rockford had six shots at the power play throughout the evening to get a puck past Iowa starter Alex Stalock. Each was unsuccessful. Stalock stopped a breakaway attempt by Jeremy Langlois late in the second period that might have gotten the Hogs back into the game.

Instead, Alex Tuch slammed the door on Rockford early in the final period, driving to the net and backhanding the puck into the upper corner of Carruth’s net. Kunin completed the hat trick with an empty netter with 1:16 remaining.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Martin Lundberg-Vinnie Hinostroza-Kyle Baun

Brandon Mashinter (A)-Jeremy Langlois-Anthony Louis

Tyler Motte-Michael Latta-Luke Johnson

Pierre-Cedric Labrie (A)-Jake Dowell (C)-Chris DeSousa

Erik Gustafsson-Ville Pokka

Gustav Forsling-Luc Snuggerud

Nolan Valleau-Robin Norell

Mac Carruth

Power Play (0-6)

Hinostroza-Mashinter-Langlois-Gustafsson-Pokka

Baun-Lundberg-Latta-Forsling-Snuggerud

Penalty Kill (Iowa was 0-2)

Dowell-Lundberg-Gustafsson-Pokka

Motte-Labrie-Forsling-Snuggerud

Baun-Johnson-Valleau-Norell

 

Friday, March 31-Rockford 3, Texas 1

The IceHogs broke their losing streak, thanks in part to Matheson Iacopelli, who potted the game-winner in his first game in Rockford.

Texas scored first when Caleb Herbert converted on a penalty shot 8:17 into the first period. The IceHogs evened things up on the power play 35 seconds into the middle frame.

Brandon Mashinter took a big whack at the puck from the top of the right circle. The shot caught the top far side corner of the Stars net for the equalizer. Rockford dominated the action in the second period but was unable to get another puck past Texas goalie Justin Peters.

The key sequence in the contest occurred midway through the final period. Iacopelli’s first pro twine-tickler was set up in masterful fashion by Michael Latta. Latta received a pass from Evan Mosey, who had won a battle for the puck in the left corner of the Stars zone. Unable to get off a shot at the left post, Latta dropped a pass back to Iacopelli in the slot. The rookie knew just what to do with it, and Rockford led 2-1 at the 9:21 mark.

A delay of game penalty gave Texas a late power play and a chance to tie. The Stars called their timeout and pulled Peters for a two-man advantage. However, Jake Dowell got to a loose puck and converted on the empty-net opportunity to wrap up the contest with 22 seconds left.

Tyler Motte left the game early in the opening period after being hit with a puck. Bleeding profusely as he skated off, Motte did not return to action.

Iacopelli, Johansson, and Mashinter were voted the game’s three stars.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Brandon Mashinter (A)-William Pelletier-Luke Johnson

Tyler Motte-Jeremy Langlois-Anthony Louis

Martin Lundberg-Jake Dowell (C)-Kyle Baun

Matheson Iacopelli-Michael Latta (A)-Evan Mosey

Gustav Forsling-Ville Pokka

Erik Gustafsson-Luc Snuggerud

Carl Dahlstrom-Robin Norell

Lars Johansson

Power Play (1-4)

Mashinter-Pelletier-Baun-Gustafsson-Pokka

Iacopelli-Johnson-Louis-Forsling-Snuggerud

Penalty Kill (Stars were 0-1, Dowell scored a shorthanded empty-netter)

Dowell-Lundberg-Forsling-Pokka

 

Saturday, April 1-Rockford 4, Grand Rapids 1

Saturday, two goals from William Pelletier helped propel the Hogs to a rare victory over the Central Division leaders. In fact, Pelletier figured in all four tallies as Rockford won its second in a row.

Midway through the first period, Brandon Mashinter traded passes with Pelletier coming into the Grand Rapids zone. Mashinter then found Kyle Baun in the high slot. Baun stuck the biscuit into the upper corner of the Griffins net at 8:31 for a 1-0 IceHogs lead.

Less than three minutes later, Pelletier found himself in front of the net on a Rockford power play. His redirect of Erik Gustafsson’s shot zipped past Griffins goalie Eddie Pasquale and settled into the net. 11:20 into the game, the Hogs held a 2-0 advantage.

The Griffins cut the lead to 2-1 midway through the second period on a Colin Campbell goal. However, Pelletier’s line got right back to work. Mashinter got hold of a loose puck in the Grand Rapids zone and found Pelletier alone in the slot. Taking plenty of time to line up his shot, Pelletier beat Pasquale and made it 3-1 IceHogs at the 14:03 mark.

At 16:23, Luke Johnson got in on the fun. Pelletier got control of the puck in the corner of his defensive zone and sent it behind the net to Luc Snuggerud. The rookie defenseman brought the puck up the right side and sent a long pass that Johnson hauled in before crossing the blue line and firing past Pasquale.

The third period got physical as the Griffins attempted to cut into the lead. Martin Lundberg was the recipient of a big hit by Dominik Shine. Jeremy Langlois took offense and engaged the Griffins forward. Lundberg skated to the dressing room and did not return.

A few minutes later, another altercation resulted in 10 minute misconduct penalties for Dylan McIlrath and Mitch Callahan of Grand Rapids, along with P.C. Labrie and Michael Latta of the Hogs. Despite being a bit short on the bench, Rockford closed out the Griffins.

For his four-point evening, Pelletier was named the game’s First Star. Mashinter, who had three helpers, was the Second Star. Jeff Glass stopped 36 of 37 Griffins shots to nab Third Star honors.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Brandon Mashinter (A)-William Pelletier-Luke Johnson

Martin Lundberg-Jake Dowell (C)-Kyle Baun

Pierre-Cedric Labrie (A)-Jeremy Langlois-Anthony Louis

Matheson Iacopelli-Michael Latta-Evan Mosey

Gustav Forsling-Ville Pokka

Luc Snuggerud-Erik Gustafsson

Carl Dahlstrom-Robin Norell

Jeff Glass

Power Play (1-3)

Mashinter-Pelletier-Baun-Pokka-Gustafsson

Langlois-Louis-Latta-Forsling-Snuggerud

Penalty Kill (Grand Rapids was 0-3)

Latta-Lundberg-Pokka-Dahlstrom

Baun-Langlois-Snuggerud-Gustafsson

Dowell-Johnson-Forsling-Norell

 

Suitcase Week

Rockford will be on the road this week, starting in Iowa Thursday night. The Hogs then visit Milwaukee on Saturday night before finishing their season series with the Chicago Wolves Sunday afternoon.

Occasionally I have a lucid thought concerning the IceHogs; follow me @JonFromi on twitter for your chance to view it when it pops up.

 

 

Everything Else

High On The Hog: No Luck With Grand Rapids

By Jon Fromi 1370

The Rockford IceHogs continue to limp toward the end of the 2016-17 campaign. The Blackhawks AHL affiliate dropped a weekend set with Grand Rapids, losing in Michigan Friday before being shutout at the BMO Harris Bank Center the following evening.

Since losing several top scorers at the NHL trade deadline, the Hogs have not fared well. They’ve lost ten of their last eleven; Saturday’s 4-0 loss to the Griffins put an exclamation point on what has been a franchise-low showing this season.

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Meeting The New Kids

By Jon Fromi 1455

The Rockford IceHogs got an influx of new talent last week, with some of the new kids making an immediate impact. The Hogs managed three of a possible six points in three contests this past week.

The two newest faces belonged to defenseman Luc Snuggerud and forward Anthony Louis, who both signed amateur tryout contracts following their signing with Chicago. Both players got into action beginning this past weekend.

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Overtime Woes

By Jon Fromi 1860

The Rockford IceHogs haven’t fared well in overtime this season. This past weekend was a clear example of that deficiency.

The Blackhawks AHL affiliate opened up their return from the All-Star break with a pair of losses. Both came in Gus Macker Time and extended Rockford’s most recent winless streak to seven games.

The IceHogs are currently 0-7 in overtime contests this season. It would be nice to chalk this up to the team’s current offensive woes. Unfortunately, it goes a little further than this year’s schedule.

Rockford has not won an overtime game in the past 13 months.