The Rockford IceHogs rebounded a bit in this week’s AHL action, winning two of three games and gaining a bit of ground on first place Milwaukee. With a .662 points percentage, the Hogs sit in second place in the Central Division as well as the AHL’s Western Conference.
This week saw a lot of movement in the roster, including a guy that was here but wasn’t here and a guy who was here but is now in Toronto. Let’s dig into this week’s transactions.
Dang…I hate when Mom gives us all sweaters…
The Rockford IceHogs, the Blackhawks AHL affiliate, just finished up play for the month with a tough loss to the Milwaukee Admirals. The Hogs Central Division rival handed Rockford three losses in November. Three of the IceHogs top scorers were called up to Chicago this month and several more key players have succumbed to injury.
On paper, it reads like a month Rockford would like to forget. However, the Hogs finished November with a 7-2-1-1 mark and sit in third place in the division standings. How the heck did that happen?
Let’s take a look…
The Rockford IceHogs, the Blackhawks AHL affiliate, have yet to drop a game to Central Division rival Iowa this season. The Hogs ran their record against the Wild to 5-0 this season with a sweep in DesMoines this weekend.
Rockford is 9-3-1-1 and in second place in the Central Division. There is a lot of credit to go around for what is now a ten-game points streak. Dennis Rasmussen and Bryan Bickell (see after the jump) both had a pair of goals over the weekend. Mark McNeill is on a five game point streak and Ville Pokka has six points in his last four games.
However, not all of the IceHogs are off to a hot start.
In 2011, the Bruins won their Stanley Cup with a lockdown penalty kill, and a power play that bordered on comically bad. Stop me if this sounds uncomfortably familiar. Finding no reason to fix what isn’t (totally) broken, the Bruins are on much the same trajectory as they were two years ago, though the Blackhawks certainly should not take that as a cue to tempt fate by marching to the box as they have to this point in the post season. Furthermore, the Hawks finding a way to somehow take advantage of the Bruins’ penalty kill will go a long way toward mitigating the physical liberties Boston will no doubt plan on taking.
After dispatching the defending champion Kings on Saturday, the Hawks’ attention now turns east, where they will now take on the other most recent champion in the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final.
There were many concerns about the Kings’ size and forechecking ability against the Hawk defensive corps, but those now seem quite trivial when looking at the team that perfected what the Kings did the year before, and are replicating it this post season with even more offensive flair. The Bruins forwards are large, angry, fast, and unlike the Kings, can finish and have been doing so with ease and frequency.
After dispatching the defending champion Kings on Saturday, the Hawks’ attention now turns east, where they will now take on the other most recent champion in the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final.
There were many concerns about the Kings’ size and forechecking ability against the Hawk defensive corps, but those now seem quite trivial when looking at the team that perfected what the Kings did the year before, and are replicating it this post season with even more offensive flair. The Bruins forwards are large, angry, fast, and unlike the Kings, can finish and have been doing so with ease and frequency.