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High On The Hog: Anatomy Of A Weeknight With The Wolves

By 1789

The Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, had themselves a pretty light week in terms of the schedule. The Hogs had just one game this past week, a Wednesday night matchup with their closest and biggest rival, the Chicago Wolves.

I considered taking the week off and just including a recap of the game in my next post. At that point, I realized that I had lots of thoughts on the IceHogs in general and some players in particular that I haven’t had much of a chance to discuss.

With that in mind, I’ll recap the one game for you this week. However, I’ll be that rambling cousin at the egg nog bowl. You’ll get your rundown, along with plenty of rest stops. Buckle up…

Wednesday, December 21, 5:50 p.m.-Upon entering the BMO Harris Bank Center (picking up my promotional hat and trying to ignore the folks in line complaining to the security staff that they were there first), I notice that the microphones normally attached to the plexiglass are noticeably absent. Also, there aren’t two or three extra cameras set up around the arena.

We are playing the Wolves, right?

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High On The Hog: Snappin’, Recappin’

By 1790

The Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, needed to get on the fun side of the win-loss column after losing their previous nine contests. This past weekend, they were able to stem the flow of a long winless streak and pick up four points in the Central Division standings.

Persistence paid off for the IceHogs, both on Saturday at the BMO Harris Bank Center versus Manitoba, and Sunday in Chicago against the Wolves. Rockford trailed in both games but rallied, particularly at Allstate Arena where they erased a two-goal deficit in the final ten minutes.

It was an active weekend at my household; sadly I did not partake in AHL hockey (you may not have heard, but there was a Star Wars movie out this week). Thank goodness for AHL Live. This week, all I have for you is bare-bones, hard-hitting recaps. They do have happy endings, however, so let’s get to it…

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High On The Hog: Fewer Fights, Fewer Fans?

By 1543

The Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, currently have a commercial you may have seen occasionally while watching Blackhawks telecasts. The ads, which also run on local Rockford stations, declare that IceHogs hockey is, “a beautiful combination of violence, speed, and intensity.”

It surprises me just a bit that the club would lead off that mix with “violence”. The IceHogs definitely try to get families into the BMO Harris Bank Center. You’d think that fisticuffs would be something the promotions department would put a little further down the list in terms of marketing the team.

Besides, the men of Rockford aren’t doing much fighting these days. They also aren’t drawing as well, either. Or winning.

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High On The Hog: No Offense

By 1883

The Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, dropped to the vicinity of the Western Conference cellar with three losses this past week. There is a logical explanation for the IceHogs lounging near the bottom of the league through 19 games.

Rockford just isn’t that darned good up front. Shall I elaborate? If I must…

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High On The Hog: On The Road

By 1963

The Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, have several short road jaunts this season. There is nothing resembling the two extended trips that is standard for the Hawks. In fact, the longest the Hogs will be away from the BMO Harris Bank Center is four games.

The IceHogs are in Charlotte today to begin the first of what will be four such stretches with two weekday tilts at Bojangles Coliseum. Let’s take a look at how the lads in Rockford are doing heading into the back-to-back down Carolina way…

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High On The Hog: No Cure Like Travel?

By 1402

The Rockford IceHogs have put in a lot of travel miles on the road this season. What’s two thousand more this week?

After dropping two of three games this past week, Rockford is embarking on its last road trip of the regular season. For their sake, I hope their mode of travel will be airplane. This is a frustrated bunch of Hogs. I’d hate to think of Ted Dent threatening to turn the bus around.

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High On The Hog: Crowded House

By 1817

The Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, have a crowd on the blue line these days.

With David Rundblad finishing his season in Europe and being assigned to Rockford on Friday, the Hogs had eight healthy bodies to patrol the back end. Coach Ted Dent will certainly have numerous options for the final dozen games on his team’s schedule.

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High On The Hog: Of Moose And Men

By 1723

The Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate to the Chicago Blackhawks, had some trouble with one of the league’s worst teams when the Manitoba Moose came to town. The Hogs dropped a pair to the antlered ones at home this week before hopping on I-90 East and beating the Wolves.

Despite two defeats, some new faces on defense and a gaffe by coach Ted Dent, Rockford maintains hold of first place in the Central Division standings. They are, however, a little banged up as they continue a five-game road jaunt.

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High On The Hog: A Look At The Numbers

By 1594

The lads west on I-90, the Rockford IceHogs, finished up a stretch of home cooking that saw the team go 7-1-0-1. As for myself, I was on a road trip and wasn’t around to catch the action.

I’ll provide some condensed recaps in a bit, as I did go back and check out what was another successful week for Rockford. As the AHL takes a quick breather for their All-Star festivities, I thought it would be fun to delve into some numbers this go-round.

Why wasn’t I at the BMO this week, celebrating a couple of big Central Division wins and Michael Leighton reaching a big milestone in net?

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High On The Hog: In The Pink

By 1950

The Rockford IceHogs donned pink sweaters for breast cancer awareness Saturday night. The Blackhawks AHL affiliate also continued to be in the pink in terms of their position in the Western Conference standings.

With two wins in three home games this week, the Hogs regained the top spot in the Central Division as well as the conference. Those wins came courtesy of goalie Michael Leighton, who is also approaching a long-standing AHL record.