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High On The Hog: Limping To The Playoffs

By 1606

The Rockford IceHogs are limping into the AHL playoffs. There’s no kind way to say this. The Blackhawks AHL affiliate is putting the finishing touches on its second consecutive sub-.500 month of play, having dropped a pair of games in Lake Erie last week.

The Hogs have slid from the top of the Central Division and are battling to remain in front of the Monsters for fourth place in the division standings. The club also has the task of dealing with the negative PR that comes from the legal situation in which Garret Ross currently finds himself.

Taking the organization at its word, Rockford brass discovered this story the way the rest of us did; on the internet last weekend. It is, then, purely coincidental that the fortunes of the IceHogs have slipped dramatically in the past two months.

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High On The Hog: Crowded House

By 1745

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: IceHogs Enter March Like A Lamb

By 1680

The Rockford IceHogs, Chicago’s AHL affiliate, finished this week’s action as the leader in the Central Division standings. However, this team is definitely entering March like a lamb.

Rockford has dropped seven of its last ten. Three of those losses have come in overtime, which has kept them on top of the division for the time being. Finishing February at 3-4-3-0 suggests that this group could use a jolt of…well…something as they enter the stretch run of the 2015-16 season.

Where might that jolt come from? Allow me to grasp at a few straws…

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High On The Hog: Blowout At The BMO

By 1524

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: Wrapping Up The Season

By 1407 0

The Rockford IceHogs have put the 2014-15 season in the rear view mirror. It was a memorable campaign for many reasons. Several rookies made impressive pro debuts, a couple of veteran skaters won the hearts of the Rockford fans and the Hogs made the second round of the playoffs.

This year’s version of the IceHogs made some memories…but this is the AHL. Things are gonna change, regardless of how warm and fuzzy the feelings are about this group.

Before we move on, let’s quickly recap the season that was for Rockford.

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High On The Hog: Call In The Hogs, Season Over

By 1466 0

The Rockford IceHogs 2014-15 season came to an end Sunday afternoon, when they were eliminated from the Calder Cup Playoffs by Midwest Division rival Grand Rapids. The Griffins halted Rockford’s postseason in the conference semifinal in five games with a 5-3 win.

In reality, the Hogs were pretty much done in the previous Thursday.

That’s when Grand Rapids took command of the series with a 2-1 overtime victory. Tyler Bertuzzi’s second goal of the contest came 13 seconds into extra time and proved to be the backbreaker in what had been a pretty evenly played series.

Rockford had itself a nice run this season. Ultimately, however, it culminated in the IceHogs losing to a team that was superior at this stage of the spring. Why is Grand Rapids still playing hockey while the Hogs start cleaning out their lockers? Let’s explain.

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High On The Hog: To Kill A Penalty

By 1432 0

The Rockford IceHogs ran their road record to 10-4-0-1 this week. The AHL’s Midwest Division leaders beat the Admirals in Milwaukee for the second time in six days Wednesday night. Rockford then split a pair of games at Lake Erie over the weekend.

Heading into another week of travel, Rockford is piling up points away from the BMO Harris Bank Center. One big factor in this road surge has been a dominating penalty kill. Come to think of it, it’s been pretty darn good at home as well.

In 2013-14, the Hogs were an absolute joke when shorthanded. They were dead last in the AHL in this department with a 72.3 success rate. Here are some numbers that show the dramatic change from a season ago:

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High On The Hog: Here Come The Bears?

By 1496 0

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The Rockford IceHogs had a week of highs and lows against division opponents. The Hogs turned in an impressive performance in Milwaukee before dropping less than stellar efforts at home against Grand Rapids and Lake Erie, the two bottom teams of the AHL’s Midwest Division.

If Rockford is content to do its best work on the road for the time being, this is a good stretch for them. The IceHogs play their next six games away from the BMO, starting Wednesday night in Milwaukee.

The Hogs are now 16-6-2-1 and lead the Midwest Divison with 35 points. That total also puts Rockford in a tie for the top seed in the Western Conference.

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High On The Hog: View From The Top

By 1470 0

The Rockford IceHogs were left a bit shorthanded for last weekend’s action. Adam Clendening, Joakim Nordstrom and Phillip Danault are all traveling with the Blackhawks. Mark McNeill and Michael Leighton are recovering from injuries. It wasn’t a stretch for you to believe the Hogs might take some lumps with three Midwest Division games in three days.

In this case, you’d be wrong.

Rockford ran the table this weekend, winning home games with Iowa and Milwaukee at the BMO Friday and Saturday before shutting out the Wolves in Chicago Sunday afternoon. With 29 points through 19 games, Rockford (14-4-0-1) is currently on top of the AHL.

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High On The Hog: Doin' The Shuffle

By 1472 0

The Rockford IceHogs saw an eight-game win streak come to an end in with two losses to the Milwaukee Admirals in the first two games of a three-game weekend. Rockford finished their first three-games in three-nights stretch of the season with a home win in front of a pseudo sell-out audience at the BMO Center Sunday.

With that win, Rockford reclaimed the top spot in the AHL’s Midwest Division. They remain in the second spot in the Western Conference standings with 23 points in 16 games.