Everything Else

High On The Hog: Two Wins A-Winning

By Jon Fromi 2813 0

The Rockford IceHogs have a few days off to savor a weekend sweep at the BMO Harris Bank Center. The Bago County Flying Piglets are hovering in the second spot in the AHL’s Central Division standings behind Manitoba.

Rockford put the BMO faithful through two nail-biters against Chicago and Grand Rapids, winning both contests behind Jeff Glass in net. Having sneaked down to my basement to prepare this post while my wife peels potatoes (everyone else being asleep), I am short on time before she notices that I am missing. Therefore, here’s the Reader’s Digest version of this post, along with the recaps:

  • Glass is starting virtually all of the games in net for the IceHogs. He did a great job keeping the Hogs in both games despite limited offensive support this weekend.
  • I don’t think they have much confidence in Colin Delia right now. Between Rockford and Indy, Delia has played exactly one game over the last month and a half. Rockford has three games back-to-back this weekend. You’d think Delia would get one of those starts in the interest of letting Glass come up for air.
  • The offense came mostly from the line of Anthony Louis, David Kampf and Tomas Jurco, who are creating a lot of chances.
  • Power play threw up a doughnut hole for the weekend. Coach Jeremy Colliton threw out five forwards on his first unit and three defensemen on his second in an attempt to shake things up. Didn’t work.
  • Erik Gustafsson might be back in action, along with Luc Snuggerud, this coming weekend…but who knows.
  • Hogs have a home-and-home with Iowa Thursday (Des Moines) and Friday (BMO) before visiting Chicago Saturday night.

Uh-oh…creatures are stirring all through our house…Merry Christmas!

Friday, December 22-Rockford 3, Chicago 2 (OT)

It took nearly five extra minutes of Gus Macker Time, but the Hogs were able to break a three-game losing streak.

Rockford opened the scoring thanks to an incredible effort by Alexandre Fotin on the first shift of the game. Ville Pokka provided the genesis of the goal by corralling the puck in the corner of the IceHogs zone and sending a clearing pass to Andreas Martinsen.

Fortin received Martinsen’s quick feed coming across his own blueline. He then skated into Chicago territory and split Wolves defenders Chris Castro and Jake Walman. Fighting the two defensemen off as he made his way toward the net, Fortin manuvered around Chicago goalie Max Legace, who had come out to meet the three skaters. From there, Fortin slid the backhand into the unguarded cage to cue the horn and put Rockford ahead 1-0 just 41 seconds in.

The Wolves drew even late in the period while on a delayed penalty with a Brandon Pirri tally. Midway through the second, Chicago took a 2-1 lead after a quick transition burned the Hogs.

A long rebound of a Viktor Svedberg shot attempt came out to Connor Bleakley, who quickly hit teammate Tobias Lindberg coming into neutral ice. Lindberg came down the right side and fired over the glove of Rockford goalie Jeff Glass at 10:45 to put the Wolves on top.

Rockford would capitalize on a couple of rebounds early in the third for the equalizer. Lagace left a puck in front of his crease off a Tomas Jurco shot from the top of the right circle. Anthony Louis was there for the putback, but Lagace was there with the pad save. The third time proved to be the charm, as David Kampf pounced on the rebound at the left post, uniting rubber and twine 39 seconds into the period.

That closed out the scoring in regulation. The game-winner came 4:35 into the extra session. Matthew Highmore was wide on a shot attempt. Darren Raddysh gathered in the puck off of the end boards. He got it back to Highmore, who skated to the goal line below the left circle.

Raddysh, meanwhile, had looped around the offensive zone and streaked to the right post. He got his blade on the centering feed and knocked it just inside the post to end the contest on a winning note.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Alexandre Fortin-Tyler Sikura-Andreas Martinsen

Anthony Louis-David Kampf-Tomas Jurco

Matthew Highmore-Tanner Kero-Luke Johnson (A)

Graham Knott-Laurent Dauphin (A)-William Pelletier

Robin Norell-Ville Pokka (A)

Carl Dahlstrom-Viktor Svedberg

Brandon Anselmini-Darren Raddysh

Jeff Glass

Scratches-Luc Snuggerud, Robin Press, Erik Gustafsson, Matheson Iacopelli, Jordin Tootoo

Power Play (0-3)

Highmore-Kero-Jurco-Kampf-Louis

Dauphin-Johnson-Raddysh-Dalstrom-Pokka

Penalty Kill (Wolves were 0-4)

Sikura-Martinsen-Norell-Pokka

Kampf-Johnson-Svedberg-Dahlstrom

Dauphin-Highmore-Anselmini-Raddsyh

 

Saturday, December 23-Rockford 3, Grand Rapids 2 (SO)

Rockford allowed the Griffins a point with a very late goal in regulation. However, the Hogs prevailed in the shootout to go on holiday with a two-game winning streak.

Neither IceHogs goalie Jeff Glass or Grand Rapids counterpart Jared Coreau surrendered a goal in the first half of this game. The dam broke midway through the second period.

Tomas Jurco and Anthony Louis worked a little give and go once Rockford had gained entry into the Griffins zone. Louis got off a shot from the high slot that trickled under the pads of Coreau. David Kampf was the man on the scene at the right post; he reached behind Coreau and nudged the puck to its resting place in the back of the net. The IceHogs led 1-0 at the 8:01 mark.

The lead proved to be short-lived, as Grand Rapids came down to tie the game on the subsequent shift. Matt Lorito put in a long rebound of Dan Renouf’s point shot at 9:23 of the middle frame.

Jurco broke the tie 5:35 into the third. Making his way to the goal mouth with some deft stick handling, he got the puck into a scrum of players. Louis and Kampf helped things along until the biscuit came out to Jurco. His initial attempt was stopped by Coreau, but Jurco’s second effort drew cord.

That 2-1 lead held up for most, but not all of the final 15 minutes of regulation. Carl Dahlstrom was called for interference after Coreau had been called to the Griffins bench with just 50 seconds left. With a 6-on-4 advantage in the closing seconds, Grand Rapids made a desperate push into the Hogs zone.

The Griffins Ben Street sent a shot toward net the glanced off of Lorito and high into the air. Matthew Ford batted the offering over Glass and into the net with less than two seconds remaining.

Rockford had several breakaway opportunities in Gus Macker Time, but Highmore and Louis were both denied by Coreau. Glass came way out of his net to knock away a potential breakaway attempt, then made a highlight-reel stop on Ford’s open look late in the session…and on to the shootout it went.

Both goalies stonewalled their shooters in the first three rounds. Viktor Svedberg came out in round four and kept it simple, skating to the slot and banging home a slap shot past Coreau’s glove. Glass then snuffed out the attempt of Vili Saarijarvi with his left pad to seal the victory.

Jurco was rightly named the game’s first star, followed by Lorito and Glass, who stopped 31 of 33 shots in addition to the four shootout attempts.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Alexandre Fortin-Tyler Sikura-Andreas Martinsen

Anthony Louis-David Kampf-Tomas Jurco

Matthew Highmore-Tanner Kero-Luke Johnson (A)

Graham Knott-Laurent Dauphin (A)-William Pelletier

Robin Norell-Ville Pokka (A)

Carl Dahlstrom-Darren Raddysh

Viktor Svedberg-Robin Press

Jeff Glass

Scratches-Luc Snuggerud, Erik Gustafsson, Matheson Iacopelli, Brandon Anselmini, Jordin Tootoo

Power Play (0-3)

Highmore-Kero-Jurco-Kampf-Louis

Dauphin-Johnson-Raddysh-Dalstrom-Pokka

Penalty Kill (Wolves were 0-4)

Sikura-Martinsen-Norell-Pokka

Kampf-Johnson-Svedberg-Dahlstrom

Dauphin-Highmore-Press-Raddsyh

 

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

 

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Power Outage

By Jon Fromi 1970 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

High On The Hog: New Arrivals

By Jon Fromi 2255 0

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:

  1. How healthy is Tootoo?
  2. How motivated is he to come in and bang for Rockford?
  3. Who sits/goes to Indy in order to get him into the lineup?
  4. 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.

 

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Gustafsson Injury, Empty Seats

By Jon Fromi 2324 0

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.

 

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Hinostroza’s Hot Hand

By Jon Fromi 3425 0

You’ve likely heard this several times from a number of sources, but here goes; Vinnie Hinostroza’s play is screaming for a call-up to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Whether there is a place for him on the Hawks roster or not, the young forward has played his tail off down in Rockford. He’s done just about all one could expect from a prospect looking to make an impression with the parent club.

The IceHogs took two of three games this week. Both wins were punctuated with highlight-reel shootout attempts from Hinostroza. Against Grand Rapids Saturday night and Chicago Sunday afternoon, Hinostroza confidently bewildered his opposition in net on the way to winning both affairs.

Oh, yeah. Hinostroza also opened the scoring Sunday with a great individual effort, deftly weaving his way around a trio of Wolves before beating C.J. Motte in front of the net.

Hinostroza maintained his point-a-game pace this weekend and leads Rockford with eight goals and nine assists on the season. He has either the game-winning goal or shootout winner in each of the Hogs last three victories.

When a player is sent down to the AHL, all they can control is their attitude and performance. After Sunday’s win, Hinostroza was asked by Chris Block of thethirdmanin.com about keeping focused on his game while in Rockford. His response:

I’m still pretty young. I’m here right now; I want to come here and work hard every day. I know in the end it will pay off. (There’s) a lot more hockey to play.

So far this season, Hinostroza is a textbook example of how to deal with the situation; he has been a dominant player for the IceHogs.

 

Never Forget Your First Time

After pointing out that Alexandre Fortin hadn’t been very noticeable on the ice early this season, the rookie forward had himself a solid week. Fortin potted his first AHL goal Wednesday morning on a nice bit of skating across the Iowa crease. In Sunday’s win, Fortin picked up a pair of assists on two goals by Luke Johnson.

Also picking up his first goal of the season was Andreas Martinsen, who opened the scoring in Friday’s win over Grand Rapids. The primary helper on that goal was by Robin Norell; it was his first point of the season.

 

Powerless Play

One trend that continued this week was the lack of goals on the man advantage. The IceHogs have now gone five straight games without a power play goal. In fact, they are in a 1-for-35 slump over their last eight contests.

To make matters worse, Rockford gave up shorthanded goals against Iowa Wednesday and Chicago Sunday. The one scored by the Wild cost the IceHogs at least a point; the Wolves picked up a point when they tied Sunday’s game late in regulation.

Before embarking on this dubious streak, Rockford used three power play strikes to pull off a come-from-behind victory against Grand Rapids October 28. At times, the passing has looked impressive, though that also leaves the Hogs open to turnovers.

The last time a Rockford power play was successful was in Iowa back on November 9. It’s definitely an area of concern right now.

 

Roster Stuff

Anthony Louis has been a scratch for the last four games. Following Sunday’s win, Hogs coach Jeremy Colliton revealed that both Louis and Darren Raddysh, who sat out the weekend,were nursing injuries. I would guess that neither was serious, as no players have been brought up from the Hogs ECHL affiliate in Indy.

Laurent Dauphin returned to action on Wednesday after being out for a couple of games after a big hit in Iowa November 9. At this time, the Hogs have just 12 healthy forwards and six defensemen on the roster. If Louis or Raddysh is going to be out much longer, I’d look for someone to come up this week.

That player could possibly be Alex Wideman, who has 11 points (6 G, 5 A) for the Fuel in 14 games. Nathan Noel, on an NHL entry deal with Chicago, had a pair of goals against Kalamazoo Friday night. Maybe the Hogs feel he’s ready to get into a game for Rockford. Perhaps Robin Press is recalled is Raddysh isn’t ready to roll by Wednesday.

 

Recaps

Wednesday, November 15-Iowa 2, Rockford 1

For the second time in six days, the Hogs were on the short end of a specially-timed school day special. Wednesday, it was a young BMO audience that witnessed an Iowa triumph.

The IceHogs took a 1-0 lead midway through the opening frame immediately following a faceoff at the right circle. David Kampf won the draw, with Fortin scooping up the loose puck and skating right to left across the goal mouth. Fortin reached the left post ahead of Wild goalie Niklas Svedberg and cued the horn at 11:27 of the first period.

A Landon Ferraro tripping infraction gave Rockford a shot to stretch the advantage. Unfortunately, some sloppy play in their own end cost the Hogs the lead.

The power play started with some decent puck movement. However, Zack Mitchell was able to swipe possession from Matthew Highmore along the half boards and break out the other way with Colton Beck. Mitchell’s shot was stopped by J.F. Berube, but neither Highmore, Vinnie Hinostroza or Luke Johnson were able to control the puck and end the Iowa scoring threat.

Instead, Beck was able to beat three Rockford skaters to the loose puck and slide it to the waiting stick of Mitchell, who had looped behind the net to the left post after Hinostroza vacated the area. Berube never had a chance; Mitchell tied the score at the 16:43 mark.

The score remained 1-1 until halfway through the third period. Rockford was just finishing killing a Graham Knott tripping penalty. As the penalty expeired, Iowa’s Brennan Menell threw a puck wide of the goal that bounced off the end boards. The puck came to the blade of Sam Anas, who found Justin Kloos at the back door. Before Knott could even get on the ice, Kloos had given the Wild the eventual game-winner at 8:36.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Vinnie Hinostroza-Matthew Highmore-Luke Johnson (A)

Tomas Jurco-David Kampf-Alexandre Fortin

Andreas Martinsen-Laurent Dauphin (A)-William Pelletier

Tyler Sikura-Graham Knott

Erik Gustafsson-Darren Raddysh

Viktor Svedberg-Ville Pokka (A)

Carl Dahlstrom-Robin Norell

Luc Snuggerud

Jean-Francois Berube

Scratches-Matheson Iacopelli, Anthony Louis

Power Play (0-5 allowed shorthanded goal)

Highmore-Hinostroza-Johnson-Dauphin-Pokka

Jurco-Martinsen-Kampf-Gustafsson-Raddysh

Penalty Kill (Iowa was 0-4)

Dauphin-Johnson-Dahlstrom-Norell

Hinostroza-Highmore-Svedberg-Pokka

Martinsen-Sikura-Snuggerud-Gustafsson

 

Saturday, November 18-Rockford 3, Grand Rapids 2 (SO)

The Hogs attack wasn’t razor sharp, but a strong performance by Jeff Glass made the difference for Rockford as they came out on top of the Griffins via shootout for the second time this season.

Andreas Martinsen got the IceHogs on the scoreboard in opportunistic fashion late in the opening period. Robin Norell got a puck past Grand Rapids goalie Tom McCullom from just inside the blue line. The offering clanged off the left post and came right out to Martinsen at the bottom of the left circle. The back-door chance found the back of the cage for Martinsen’s first of the season and a 1-0 Rockford lead at the 16:33 mark.

Some loose play in the neutral zone led to Grand Rapids taking a 2-1 lead early in the second period. Tomas Jurco lost the handle on the puck as he was approaching the red line, allowing the Griffins Eric Tangradi to drive into Hogs territory and score 1:52 into the period.

Minutes later, a Jurco clearing pass went unclaimed by Rockford. Some quick passing by Grand Rapids allowed Dominic Turgeon to skate to the right post and roof a backhand over Glass. Just 4:28 into the middle frame, the Hogs found themselves down a goal.

Rockford evened things up in the ninth minute after Luke Johnson won an offensive draw at the right dot. Vinnie Hinostroza collected the puck, did a quick back and forth with Ville Pokka, then sent a shot toward the Griffins net.

The puck never arrived, either striking Matthew Highmore or Grand Rapids defenseman Dan Renouf. Highmore collected the loose puck and fired over the glove of McCullom at 8:23.

That was it for the scoring in regulation, as both Glass and McCullom denied several excellent scoring chances. Neither team could find cord in Gus Macker Time. In fact, only Hinostroza was able to parlay some razzle-dazzle with the biscuit into a shootout tally. Glass had to stop three Griffins shooters to claim the win for the Hogs and that’s just what he did.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Graham Knott-Tyler Sikura-William Pelletier

Vinnie Hinostroza-Matthew Highmore-Luke Johnson (A)

Tomas Jurco-David Kampf-Alexandre Fortin

Andreas Martinsen-Laurent Dauphin (A)-Matheson Iacopelli

Luc Snuggerud-Ville Pokka

Eric Gustafsson-Viktor Svedberg

Carl Dahlstrom-Robin Norell

Jeff Glass

Scratches-Darren Raddysh, Anthony Louis

Power Play (0-5)

Highmore-Johnson-Dauphin-Pokka-Snuggerud

Jurco-Martinsen-Kampf-Hinostroza-Gustafsson

Penalty Kill (Griffins were 0-2)

Dauphin-Johnson-Dahlstrom-Norell

Hinostroza-Highmore-Svedberg-Pokka

Martinsen-Sikura-Snuggerud-Gustafsson

 

Sunday, November 19-Rockford 4, Chicago 3 (SO)

Rockford nearly dropped this one after surrendering a two-goal lead in the final minutes. They did, however, rally to take the shootout from the Wolves for their second-straight win.

Vinnie Hinostroza opened the scoring with a spectacular bit of skating midway through the first period. Taking a pass from Tomas Jurco out of the Rockford zone, Hinostroza skated up the right side into Wolves territory.

The IceHogs leading scorer slid into the high slot, then masterfully wove around three Wolves defenders to the doorstep of the Chicago net. Hinostroza flipped home the lamp-lighter over the glove of C.J. Motte to put Rockford up 1-0 11:21 into the opening frame.

The Wolves tied the score four minutes later when a shot by Paul Thompson slid under the pads of Hogs goalie Jeff Glass and settled right on the goal line. Ivan Barbashev tapped it across before Glass could locate the puck.

Rockford was able to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission with a late tally. The play got started in the left corner of the Chicago zone, where Luc Snuggerud dug out the puck and found Alexandre Fortin open at the left point. Fortin’s shot was redirected by Luke Johnson past Motte and into the goal with just 29 seconds remaining in the first.

Following a scoreless second period, the IceHogs got a second goal from Johnson. Knocking in a nice pass from Fortin from the right post, Johnson made it 3-1 Rockford 5:39 into the third period.

As the final stanza wore on, that score held up and it appeared that the IceHogs were in control of what was a pretty even game up until that point. However, the Wolves mounted a late charge and forced Gus Macker Time with a pair of goals in the final 6:07 of the contest.

Jake Walman got a slap shot through after a clean Wolves faceoff win to close the gap to 3-2 at 13:53. A few minutes later, Rockford had a power play opportunity to slam the door on the Wolves. Instead, Ville Pokka’s cross-ice pass to Snuggerud was picked off, leading to a 2-on-0 shorthanded rush that ended with Thompson beating Glass glove side at 16:53.

It looked as if the game had gotten away from the Hogs, more so when Erik Gustafsson was called for interference in the extra session. Chicago had 1:25 of 4-on-3 to finish the comeback. Instead, Glass held firm and Rockford weathered the storm.

Jurco was denied by Motte in the opening round of the shootout before Hinostroza stick-handled his way into the net in the second-round attempt. Glass stopped Teemu Pulkkinen and Brandon Pirri before David Kampf ended the game with a successful attempt.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Alexandre Fortin-David Kampf-Tomas Jurco

Vinne Hinostroza-Matthew Highmore-Luke Johnson (A)

Matheson Iacopelli-Laurent Dauphin (A)-Andreas Martinsen

Graham Knott-Tyler Sikura-William Pelletier

Erik Gustafsson-Carl Dahlstrom

Luc Snuggerud-Ville Pokka

Viktor Svedberg-Robin Norell

Jeff Glass

Scratches-Darren Raddysh, Anthony Louis

Power Play (0-4, allowed shorthanded goal)

Highmore-Johnson-Dauphin-Pokka-Snuggerud

Jurco-Martinsen-Kampf-Hinostroza-Gustafsson

Penalty Kill (Wolves were 0-3)

Dauphin-Johnson-Dahlstrom-Norell

Hinostroza-Highmore-Svedberg-Pokka

Martinsen-Sikura-Snuggerud-Gustafsson

 

Previewing This Week

After winning their first two games with Iowa this season, the IceHogs dropped a pair of morning games with the Wild. Rockford will get two shots at that squad at the BMO Harris Bank Center this week. The Hogs host Iowa on Wednesday and Friday nights.

The Wild, who are right behind Rockford in the AHL’s Central Division standings, are paced by Zack Mitchell, who has 16 points (5 G, 11 A). Longtime AHL vet Pat Cannone is also a player that has victimized the Hogs in the past, mostly with the Chicago Wolves. Cannone and Colton Beck each have six goals and five helpers on the season.

Iowa has been effective in slowing the IceHogs attack in recent games. The Wild are capable of putting some bigger bodies on the ice and forcing Rockford away from scoring areas. Things could get a bit chippy with Iowa with two games in three days.

Rockford closes out next week’s action in Chicago. The Wolves gave the Hogs fits in Allstate Arena last season; Rockford was 1-4-1 in that building in 2016-17. Chicago in an uncharacteristic 4-9-1-1 and at the bottom of the Central Division. However, Sunday’s clash showed that the Wolves can turn momentum quickly.

Follow me @JonFromi for thoughts on the prospects in Rockford all season long.

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Bringing Up Goalies

By Jon Fromi 1917

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?

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High On The Hog: Carrick Steps Up

By Jon Fromi 1850

 

The Rockford IceHogs won three of four games this past week, winning three in a row for just the third time this season. The Hogs also got the overtime monkey off their backs.

Rockford won in overtime for the first time this year in Milwaukee Friday night, then prevailed in a shootout the next evening over San Antonio at the BMO. In all, the IceHogs played five straight games that went past regulation before Sunday’s win over the Admirals.

A couple of Hogs have been stepping up as the team snapped an eight-game losing streak this weekend. Let’s take a look at some of the players who made an impact.

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Overtime Woes

By Jon Fromi 1922

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.

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High On The Hog: Road Blues

By 1857

The Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate to the Chicago Blackhawks, have not been a good road team this season. This past week was a glaring example of Rockford’s struggles in the home of the opposition.

The IceHogs dropped all four games of their most recent road trip, three of which came this week. Rockford did come back to the BMO Harris Bank Center and defeat Chicago Sunday. However, they were outscored 23-7 while they were out of town.

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High On The Hog: Hoping To Be More Offensive in 2017

By 1583

Here’s hoping that 2017 is kinder to the Rockford IceHogs then the previous three months. To put it plainly, the 2016 part of this year’s campaign flat out sucked.

Through 32 games, the AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks has been struggling to stay out of the cellar of the Western Conference. Only the Charlotte Checkers have fared worse than the BMO boys heading into this week’s action.

How bad has it been? Hold your nose. I’m throwing out some numbers; they aren’t lemony fresh.