The Rockford IceHogs will be hosting nine of their next 15 games at home through next month. That’s fine by me; the IceHogs are limping home after losing the last three games of their six-game road trip.
Some recent events around the AHL prompted me to take a look at the drawing power of the Blackhawks affiliate out here in Northwest Illinois. You might be surprised. Then again, you may not.
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:
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.
The Rockford IceHogs took a bit of a pounding this past week. Several Blackhawks prospects got banged up in a physical affair with the Iowa Wild on November 26. Rockford came out on top in that contest, then dropped a home-and-home with the Chicago Wolves over the weekend.
Despite the losses to their Midwest Division rival, Rockford did take three of a possible six points to stay on top of the AHL standings. They did, however, pay a price for those points.
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.
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.
The Rockford IceHogs have been on fire to start the 2014-15 AHL season. Win or lose, this is going to be a fun team to watch. Heading West on I-90, it’s mostly win for the Hogs.
Rockford has won a franchise-record eight straight and is 10-2-0-1 in a baker’s dozen of games. The IceHogs are on top of the Midwest Division and hold the second spot in the AHL’s Western Conference standings. Mark McNeill’s goal explosion has been a big part of the current surge.
The kids down Rockford way have been red-hot in their last week of action. The IceHogs return to the BMO Harris Bank Center Tuesday with a five-game winning streak in tow.
Rockford won in Grand Rapids Wednesday and followed that up with back-to-back pastings of the San Antonio Rampage this weekend. The IceHogs are 7-2-0-1 through their first ten games and sit atop the AHL’s Midwest Division as of Monday.
With 15 points on the 2014-15 campaign, Rockford is currently in second place in the AHL’s Western Conference. The Hogs also have a new captain in place and an offense that has scored 18 times in the last four games. Here are some notes on a very successful road trip.
The Rockford IceHogs are preparing to finish up their longest road jaunt of 2014-15. So far it has been a productive one with the Hogs taking five of six points in their first three games of the trip. Rockford bested Adirondack and Hamilton on Thursday and Saturday before losing a shootout to Toronto Sunday afternoon.
The Rockford IceHogs got the 2014-15 season underway this past Saturday at the BMO Harris Bank Center. The Milwaukee Admirals cast a pall on the festivities for the 5,228 fans in attendance, besting Rockford by a score of 3-2.
With just one contest in the books, I’m putting this opening game under a bit of a microscope. Here’s how the puck bounced for the IceHogs as they threw open the doors on the new campaign.
