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High On The Hog: Wrapping Up In Rockford

By 1833

The Rockford IceHogs had themselves a hell of a season. For four months, at least.

It was another year of development for the 45 players who spent time toiling on the farm in 2015-16. There was some big rookie impact to go with some surprising veteran production over the course of the campaign.

When all was said and done, the Hogs had earned a spot in the AHL postseason for the second year in a row. A host of players had spent time in Chicago, with some becoming quite familiar with Interstate 90 along the way.

Rockford finished with a record of 40-22-10-4, good enough for third place in the Central Division before being swept from the first round by Lake Erie. However, it has to be noted that there is a very definitive point in the season where the arrow veered sharply for this team.

As we take a look at the season that was, know that for four months Rockford was very, very good. And then…they weren’t.

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High On The Hog: The Monsters Playoff Preview

By 1772

For the Rockford IceHogs, the postseason starts this week. The piggies of Winnebago County finished the season on a positive note and will be facing off with the Lake Erie Monsters in the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

I’m going to eschew the normal recaps this week and concern myself with Rockford’s immediate future, which will commence Wednesday night at the BMO Harris Bank Center. Here’s a look at how the IceHogs arrived at this point of the season and what we might expect from this best-of-five series.

The Hogs slipped into third-place in the Central Division standings on the strength of three straight wins to close out the regular season. Rockford eked out a 2-1 decision in Iowa Wednesday before returning home and clobbering Grand Rapids and Milwaukee.

For Rockford, it all starts in goal…so let’s begin in net.

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High On The Hog: Of Moose And Men

By 1675

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: Spreading Out The Scoring

By 1825

The Rockford IceHogs have an offense by committee this season. It’s a familiar situation for the Blackhawks AHL affiliate-as well as a successful one.

The Hogs split this weekend’s two games, breaking a four-game skid on Sunday and remaining on top of the AHL’s Central Division standings. As of Monday morning, Rockford could also boast the highest point percentage (.677) in the Western Conference.

The IceHogs are doing this without a top-ten point scorer…or a top-forty point scorer…Or a top-100 point scorer…

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High On The Hog: Blowout At The BMO

By 1577

The Rockford IceHogs were atop the AHL’s Central Division going into this weekend’s home and home with the Grand Rapids Griffins. They were coming off an 8-2-1-1 January record and were facing a Griffins team that had dropped five straight. Rockford was recharged following the All-Star break and had the hottest goalie in the league manning the pipes in font of a big home crowd at the BMO Harris Bank Center.

How, then, did that all add up to one of the worst losses in the history of the franchise? Submitted for your approval is a blow-by-blow account of a historic defeat.

(Trust me, readers…you’ll dig this…I think)

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High On The Hog: A Look At The Numbers

By 1563

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: The Not Quite Midseason Review

By 1450

The IceHogs of Rockford are approaching midseason. Well, not quite. The farmer boys will reach that milestone following this week’s home slate. However, the Hogs had a whole week off from game action and that gave me time to think.

As the Hogs only action this week was a victory in DesMoines Sunday, this is as good a time as any to offer some midseason thoughts on the team. The Blackhawks AHL affiliate, despite injuries and some pretty frequent roster movement, have remained near the top of the Western Conference.

Ready or not, here’s how the winds have blown down Rockford way.

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High On The Hog: Rockford Shuffle

By 1927

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.

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High On The Hog: Holiday Blahs

By 1695

It was a rough holiday stretch for the Rockford IceHogs. The Blackhawks AHL affiliate dropped three games this past week.

Goals were hard to come by, with Rockford finding twine just four times in the three losses. Two of those defeats came at the hands of Milwaukee, who supplanted the Hogs at the top of the Central Division. Rockford also dropped its first game to the Iowa Wild in just over a year.

All of a sudden, the IceHogs are on a four-game losing streak as they prepare to enter the new year. In addition, the Hogs lost the services of one of their leading scorers for a few games.

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High On The Hog: Fighting Fading In Rockford?

By 1906

The Rockford IceHogs have had their share of brawlers in the franchise’s eight-plus seasons as the Hawks AHL affiliate. As professional hockey has seen fighting on the decline, however, the Hogs have followed suit.

Jake Dowell took on Joel Edmundsen in Rockford’s loss to Chicago Saturday night. It was the 17th fighting major assessed to the IceHogs, who picked up three of four points this weekend to stay on top of the Central Division, in 28 games this season. It’s also the second-lowest total for this stage of a season for the franchise.

This got me to thinking; at its current pace, how would Rockford wind up compared to past seasons? Which IceHogs gloves have hit the ice most often? How often do the Hogs scrap, and how do they fare in games when they dance?

If these questions have been keeping you up at night, here’s some food for thought. If you detest fighting and don’t want to know about the dark side of the IceHogs, tough luck. You’ll have to close your eyes until you scroll to the recaps.