Everything Else

High On The Hog: Hop On The Bus, Gus

By Jon Fromi 2281 0

The Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, will be embarking on a pivotal road trip this week. At six games, it is the longest time away from the BMO Harris Bank Center this season.

This is a key stretch; after a very friendly schedule to begin the season, the piglets are going to have to get it done in the opposition’s barn for a while. With two rookie goalies still trying to get acclimated to AHL competition, Rockford is in danger of dovetailing out of playoff contention.

In what is proving to be quite the log jam behind Central Division-leading Manitoba, Rockford is finding themselves drifting down the ladder. The Hogs started the week in second place. As of Monday morning, they’re in fifth following a 1-2-0-1 week.

The play in net has been inconsistent. After Jeff Glass’s promotion to the Hawks, Rockford has won just twice in its last seven games. Rockford’s young club has grown accustomed to a bit of a Get Out Of Jail Free card behind them. That is not going to be the case as this road trip begins.

The IceHogs power play has perked up, with goals in each game of what was the team’s final three-in-three stretch of the campaign. However, the penalty kill gave up five goals in 11 opportunities for the opposition. The Hogs also surrendered a key shorthanded goal to Milwaukee Sunday that cost them a point in what became a shootout loss to the Admirals.

The youngsters have fared well in the first half of the 2017-18 season. Now comes a real gut-check of a second half…hop on the bus, Gus.

Rockford will be playing 24 of its final 39 games as the visiting team from now until the regular season ends. The Hogs are 6-7-0-1 on the road heading into action this week. For this team to nab a spot in the playoffs, they will have to be better than that.

The trip begins with a California swing that will see Rockford play three games in four days. First up is Ontario on Wednesday night. The IceHogs next visit San Jose and Bakersfield on Friday and Saturday.

Coincidentally, the Reign, Barracuda and Condors occupy the last three spots in the AHL’s Pacific Division right now. Battling cellar-dwellers isn’t all its cracked up to be; Rockford managed just one win in three games with Cleveland and Grand Rapids.

Next week, Rockford visits Cleveland on January 17 and 19 before wrapping up the trip in Grand Rapids. The boys will likely return to Rockford for a few days following the return from the coast, so it won’t be quite as demanding as it sounds.

However, Chicago (and Milwaukee to a lesser extent) is surging right now. Grand Rapids is starting to put together wins. The results of this jaunt could factor into playoff potential for the IceHogs in a few months.

 

Nay, Cap’n?

We are well into the fourth month of the season and Hogs coach Jeremy Colliton has yet to announce a captain for his club. Will Colliton find leadership out on the road?

At home, the “A”s have been on the sweaters of Laurent Dauphin, Ville Pokka and Luke Johnson.

On the road, the “A”s have been worn by Erik Gustafsson, Viktor Svedberg and Andreas Martinsen.

This week, the latter group wore the letters on Tuesday (home game), Friday (road game) and Saturday (home game). On Sunday (home game), the regular home group displayed letters.

Wrinkle: The red sweaters, usually worn on the road, were used on the aforementioned games Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. Sunday, Rockford wore the alternate sweaters. Maybe they just didn’t want to take the letters off.

Seems like the team leaders should have emerged by this point. Maybe someone upgrades to a “C” when the team returns to the BMO. Stay tuned.

 

All Stars Named

Two Rockford skaters were named to the Central Division squad for the 2018 All-Star Classic, to be held January 28-29. Well…one Rockford skater and one Blackhawks skater.

Erik Gustafsson will be making his first appearance in the event. Vinnie Hinostroza will likely need a substitute for his spot on the team, unless the Hawks send him back to Rockford before the end of the month. Hey…how about Matthew Highmore? The rookie leads Rockford in points (26) and goals (17).

 

Roster Happenings

No movement from the Hogs this past week. I’d think a recall might be in order this week, though.

Rockford has been skating with 12 forwards on the current roster since David Kampf was recalled to Chicago. Alexandre Fortin was a late scratch on Sunday; it might be beneficial to have an extra forward for the road trip.

Luc Snuggerud has still not returned to the lineup. He’s been out since December 8. Carl Dahlstrom was also a scratch Sunday. Rockford still has seven healthy defensemen if both Snuggerud and Dahlstrom are unavailable.

A return hasn’t been announced for injured goalie J.F. Berube; I’m guessing he will not be ready to play in California and sits out that half of the trip.

 

Recaps

Tuesday, January 2-Cleveland 4, Rockford 1

A pair of former IceHogs factored heavily in the Monsters coming to town and handing Rockford its third straight loss. Local products Alex and Terry Broadhurst have four of Cleveland’s seven goals against the IceHogs this season. Three of those came Tuesday for the last-place Monsters.

Cleveland got the scoring started when Terry Broadhurst got an open look in front of Hogs goalie Colin Delia in the opening minutes. Delia made the pad save, but the rebound came right back to Broadhurst and the second attempt got over that left pad an into the net at the 3:23 mark.

Rockford had several chances to even the score. Alexandre Fortin got a stretch pass and was way behind the defense. However, his backhand attempt was snuffed out by Cleveland rookie goalie Matiss Kivelnieks. The IceHogs had two power plays in the first 20 minutes but squandered both chances.The Monsters led 1-0 through the first period.

Rockford would whiff on another man advantage midway through the second before Laurent Dauphin was sent to the box. The Monsters power play, worst in the league headed into the contest, came up with a goal at 11: 14 of the second when Paul Bittner stuck back a rebound of Alex Broadhurst’s attempt.

The Hogs trailed 2-0 for most of the remainder of the game. With 3:44 left in the final period, Tomas Jurco tossed the puck toward Kivelnieks from the left corner of the offensive zone. The tough-angle shot struck the Cleveland goalie and settled into the net.

The hope of tying the game prompted Rockford coach Jeremy Colliton to pull Delia in the final minutes. Terry Broadhurst outraced Anthony Louis for a loose puck and poked it down the ice into the empty net to put Cleveland up 3-1 with 1:18 remaining.

Colliton brought Delia to the bench again; this time Alex Broadhurst was the recipient of an empty net after catching up to Brady Austin’s clearing pass. Broadhust guided the puck into the Hogs net with 15 seconds remaining.

Delia had his best night since being called up to the IceHogs. He wasn’t spectacular but turned in a solid effort, stopping 22 of the 24 shots he faced. Most nights, that would have been enough to earn a win. Just not on this night.

Kivelnieks’s 35-save performance earned him the game’s first star, followed by Terry (2 G) and Alex (1 G, 2 A) Broadhurst.

Lines (Starters in italics; Rockford went with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen)

Alexandre Fortin-Tyler Sikura-Andreas Martinsen (A)

Anthony Louis-Tanner Kero-Tomas Jurco

Matthew Highmore-Luke Johnson-William Pelletier

Graham Knott-Laurent Dauphin

Erik Gustafsson (A)-Darren Raddysh

Robin Norell-Ville Pokka

Carl Dahlstrom-Viktor Svedberg (A))

Brandon Anselmini

Colin Delia

Scratches-Luc Snuggerud, Robin Press, Matheson Iacopelli , Jordin Tootoo, J.F. Berube

Power Play (0-3)

Highmore-Kero-Jurco-Louis-Gustafsson

Fortin-Johnson-Raddysh-Dahlstrom-Pokka

Penalty Kill (Cleveland was 1-1)

Highmore-Kero-Dahlstrom-Svedberg

Johnson-Jurco-Gustafsson-Norell

Sikura-Martinsen-Dahlstrom-Svedberg

 

Friday, January 5-Grand Rapids 5, Rockford 3

Grand Rapids got the scoring started midway through the first with a wide open back door conversion on the power play. The fireworks came in the middle frame.

The Hogs and Griffins traded goals three times, starting two minutes into the second with a Dominik Shine tally. Just seconds later, Matheson Iacopelli  and Graham Knott played a little patty cake on a 2-on-1 rush, culminating in Iacopelli’s seventh goal of the season at 2:17.

IceHogs goalie Colin Delia misplayed a puck behind his own net following the center ice faceoff. As happens in these situations, it would up in the back of his net, courtesy of Ben Street at 2:28 of the second.

The Griffins committed their own gaffe a few minutes later, turning the puck over between the circles in their own zone. Iacopelli was there to collect the gift. The rookie victimized the stick side of Grand Rapids goalie Jaren Coreau for the second time of the night, cutting the Griffins lead to 3-2 at 5:01 of the second.

Another misplay by Delia, this time off a Street shot, slid to Eric Tangradi at the right post. The veteran Griffins forward slid the offering across the goal line at 7:13 for a 4-2 Grand Rapids advantage.

Rockford returned fire with a power play goal at the 14:05 mark. The score was set up by an Erik Gustafsson blast from the point that rebounded off Coreau. Matthew Highmore was on the scene in front of the Griffins net to knock the puck in to close the gap to 4-3. That score held up into the second intermission.

Street’s second goal of the evening, a power play tally at 12:01 of the third, proved to be the nail in the Hogs coffin. Rockford threw 17 shots at Coreau in the final 20 minutes, but no dice.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Anthony Louis-Tanner Kero-Tomas Jurco

Alexandre Fortin-Tyler Sikura-Andreas Martinsen (A)

Matthew Highmore-Luke Johnson-William Pelletier

Graham Knott-Laurent Dauphin-Matheson Iacopelli

Robin Norell-Ville Pokka

Erik Gustafsson (A)-Darren Raddysh

Carl Dahlstrom-Viktor Svedberg (A))

Colin Delia

Scratches-Luc Snuggerud, Robin Press, Jordin Tootoo, J.F. Berube

Power Play (1-2)

Highmore-Kero-Jurco-Louis-Gustafsson

Fortin-Johnson-Raddysh-Dahlstrom-Pokka

Penalty Kill (Monsters were 0-2)

Highmore-Kero-Dahlstrom-Svedberg

Johnson-Jurco-Gustafsson-Norell

Sikura-Martinsen-Dahlstrom-Svedberg

 

Saturday, January 6-Rockford 4, Cleveland 3 (SO)

Down two goals early, Rockford was able to rally to win the rematch with the Monsters at the BMO Harris Bank Center.

Sam Kurker and Zac Dalpe put Cleveland ahead 2-0 in the first period. Before the night got away from the Hogs, the Rockford power play got a puck behind Joonas Korpisalo. Erik Gustafsson sent a shot from the top of the right circle that the Monsters goalie stopped. Matthew Highmore and Tanner Kero took whacks at the loose puck until Tomas Jurco collected it at the extended goal line. His shot caught cord at 18:18 of the first period; Rockford skated into the locker room down 2-1.

The Hogs tied the game 15 seconds into the second when Highmore redirected a Gustafsson blast into the Griffins net. The 2-2 score held up until the midway point of the game. Cleveland forced a turnover in the IceHogs zone after Rockford had scored a clean faceoff win. Cameron Gaunce one-timed a Carter Camper set up past Colin Delia to put the Monsters up 3-2 at the 10:42 mark.

Rockford evened the score again five minutes later. Laurent Dauphin came in ahead of the Cleveland defense to get a puck on net. Korpisalo knocked it aside, but Tyler Sikura was on hand to collect the rebound in the right corner along the goal line. Sikura’s shot eluded Korpisalo and made it 3-3 at 15:51 of the second.

Neither team could manage a goal in the third period or overtime. In fact, the only shot that made it across a goal line came from the stick of Anthony Louis, who beat Korpisalo in the opening round of the shootout. Delia held off attempts from Dalpe and Terry and Alex Broadhurst to give Rockford the victory.

Highmore, Jurco and Alex Broadhurst were named the game’s three stars, but Delia deserves recognition in what may have been his strongest game to date in the IceHogs net. Delia stopped 29 of the 32 shots he faced, including a couple of big stops late in the game to keep the score even.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Anthony Louis-Tanner Kero-Tomas Jurco

Alexandre Fortin-Tyler Sikura-Andreas Martinsen (A)

Matthew Highmore-Luke Johnson-William Pelletier

Graham Knott-Laurent Dauphin-Matheson Iacopelli

Robin Norell-Ville Pokka

Erik Gustafsson (A)-Darren Raddysh

Carl Dahlstrom-Viktor Svedberg (A))

Colin Delia

Scratches-Luc Snuggerud, Robin Press, Jordin Tootoo, J.F. Berube

Power Play (1-6)

Highmore-Kero-Jurco-Louis-Gustafsson

Fortin-Johnson-Raddysh-Dahlstrom-Pokka

Penalty Kill (Griffins were 2-4)

Highmore-Kero-Dahlstrom-Svedberg

Johnson-Jurco-Gustafsson-Norell

Sikura-Martinsen-Dahlstrom-Svedberg

 

Sunday, January 7-Milwaukee 5, Rockford 4 (SO)

Rockford failed to hold on to a late advantage, picking up a single point but falling to the Admirals in the shooting competition.

The power play got the Hogs started on the scoreboard midway through the opening period. As the clock wound down on the man advantage, Tomas Jurco took a pass from Anthony Louis at he top of the left circle. He worked his way toward the faceoff dot before snapping home a winner past Ads goalie Anders Lindback at 10:35 of the first.

Rockford started the second period up 1-0 and on a power play, nearly scoring early in the period. However, some sloppy play in the neutral zone allowed a shorthanded break the other way. Mark Zengerle had a free look in the slot, beating Hogs goalie Matt Tomkins high to tie the game 1-1 at 1:26 of the middle frame.

The IceHogs regained the lead 12:07 into the period. Viktor Svedberg skated the puck out of his zone and all the way to the Admirals goal line. His backhanded centering attempt was knocked into the Milwaukee net by Matthew Highmore for a 2-1 Rockford advantage at 12:07.

Former Hogs forward Cody Bass brought the Admirals back to even about four minutes later, when he batted in a floating puck off the crossbar and into the Rockford cage. The officials took a long look at the replay before upholding the goal call on the ice. That made it 2-2 at the 16:03 mark; the score held up as the buzzer ended the second period.

Milwaukee grabbed a 3-2 lead on a Bobby Butler power play goal 1:10 into the third. This time, it was Rockford’s turn to reply. They did at the 5:28 mark when William Pelletier jumped on a Milwaukee turnover and fired past Lindback in the slot. The puck hit the left post, but Tanner Kero was there to knock it into the net for a 3-3 tie.

It looked as if the IceHogs were going to come away with a win after Tyler Sikura’s terrific redirect effort of Matheson Iacopelli’s shot attempt. The score put Rockford up 4-3 at 17:08 of the third period. However, with 58 seconds remaining and Lindback on the bench, Butler stuck in a rebound to knot the game at four goals.

Milwaukee, shooting second after neither team could end the contest in overtime, got a first-round goal from Justin Kirkland. Jurco, Rockford’s third shooter, hit on a backhand attempt. Harry Zolnierczyk beat Tomkins on the Ads final shot to claim the win for the visitors.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Matthew Highmore-Luke Johnson-Tomas Jurco

Anthony Louis-Tanner Kero-William Pelletier

Laurent Dauphin-Tyler Sikura-Andreas Martinsen (A)

Graham Knott-Matheson Iacopelli

Erik Gustafsson (A)-Viktor Svedberg (A)

Robin Norell-Ville Pokka

Darren Raddysh-Brandon Anselmini

Robin Press

Matt Tomkins

Scratches-Luc Snuggerud, Alexandre Fortin, Jordin Tootoo, Carl Dahlstrom, J.F. Berube

Power Play (1-3)

Highmore-Kero-Jurco-Louis-Gustafsson

Penalty Kill (Admirals were 1-4)

Highmore-Kero-Pokka-Svedberg

Johnson-Jurco-Gustafsson-Norell

Sikura-Martinsen-Pokka-Svedberg

 

 

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Colliton Keeps An Even Keel

By Jon Fromi 1971 0

A young Rockford IceHogs team has experienced both highs and lows so far in the first six weeks of their 2017-18 AHL schedule. Expect that to be the case for the piglets throughout the season. IceHogs coach Jeremy Colliton seems to get that.

The new Rockford skipper was able to find some positives in a 6-0 shellacking at the hands of San Antonio Friday night. The team’s fourth-straight loss might have been frustrating, especially coming off of a 5-3 loss at Iowa. The Hogs wound up on the short end of that result despite doubling up the Wild in shots Thursday morning.

However, even following a blowout defeat, Colliton wasn’t in panic mode.

The IceHogs were sent to the box nine times and gave up four power play goals to the Rampage. Colliton lauded his team’s play at even strength in his press conference. He also stressed to the assembled media (his post-game thoughts can be viewed on the Hogs website) the importance of his young charges staying the course:

Sometimes you do good things, you do good things, you do good things…you don’t get rewarded, and sometimes your game slips…and then you don’t deserve anything. So, we just need to keep pushing.

If we string together a bunch of good efforts, over time, we’ll get paid off for it. But, if you slip and you all of a sudden start getting away…start playing as individuals and everyone trying to do their own thing and taking care of themselves…then that’s where you get in trouble. So we’ve gotta avoid that at all costs.

We’re talking about it in the leadership group. The guys who think they are gonna drive the bus for us…they need to sort of take ownership of this and just make sure we play a good, hard, smart road game tomorrow…and if we do that, probably it will pay off in points.

I can’t say for sure it will, but I do know that over time if you do good things night in and night out, you get rewarded.

The IceHogs effort resulted in a 5-2 road win in Milwaukee Saturday, so some of those bus drivers got the word out. Overall, Rockford moved to 8-6 in 2017-18. Colliton appears very aware that there are going to be peaks and valleys throughout the season. Such the case of the special teams.

 

Not So Special Teams

The IceHogs special teams are in need of some special attention after a spate of poor play in recent weeks. During the team’s hot start, both the power play and penalty kill units were top-five in the AHL. Neither group has fared well of late.

After hitting the man advantage jackpot with four goals against Grand Rapids on October 28, the IceHogs have found the back of a net just once in 21 power play opportunities. Even with the slump, Rockford has a fairly respectable 17.9 success rate.

The penalty kill has been a sieve over the Hogs last seven games. They have surrendered a power play tally in all of those games, including two to Milwaukee on October 27, three in Iowa November 9, and four to open their game with San Antonio November 11.

Rockford, incidentally, lost all three of those games. The IceHogs PK unit is the league’s worst with a 74.6 kill rate.

Despite not scoring on three third period power plays Saturday night in Milwaukee and giving up a shorthanded goal late in the second period, Rockford was still able to snap a four-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Admirals. The passing on the power play looked sharp Saturday; maybe that group can start showing up in the box score with more frequency.

 

A Look At The Stat Sheet

Vinnie Hinostroza continues to compile points, with four in three games of action this week. He currently sits atop the IceHogs in goals (7), assists (8, tied with Erik Gustafsson) and points (15).

Luke Johnson, who is taking a leadership role in his second season, has gotten off to a solid start. After a 17-point rookie campaign, Johnson has three goals and five helpers in 14 games this season. More importantly, he is showing a bit more finishing ability on scoring plays.

Gustafsson leads the IceHogs blueline with 11 points (3 G, 8 A). That total is also good for a tie for second among AHL defensemen.

Four rookies are in Rockford’s top ten scorers right now. Matthew Highmore has ten points (5 G, 5 A) after a couple of helpers this week. David Kampf is next among the first-years with nine points (4 G, 5 A), followed by Matheson Iacopelli (3 G, 4 A) and Anthony Louis (2 G, 4 A).

The only Rockford skater not to notch a point is D Robin Norell, who has not scored in his eight appearances. Norell, Andreas Martinsen and Alexandre Fortin are all looking for their first goal of the season.

 

Where’s Fortin?

One of the more intriguing rookies to come on board was Fortin, who earned an NHL entry deal from Chicago in 2016. The free agent was inked following a strong prospect camp coupled with an impressive preseason with the Blackhawks.

To date, Fortin hasn’t had a similar impact in Rockford.

The young wing is currently mired in a seven-game scoreless streak. Fortin has just four assists to show for his first dozen games of AHL competition. This, despite being grouped with Tomas Jurco and David Kampf the last two weeks. On what should be a high-scoring line, Fortin hasn’t made a lot of noise.

Maybe on a team filled with speedy skaters, I just haven’t noticed Fortin and what he’s been bringing to the table. However, he isn’t getting any time on special teams and his play hasn’t stood out these first six weeks of the campaign.

Fortin began the season as a bottom-six forward and has been a healthy scratch twice so far this season. Perhaps the move up to skate with Jurco and Kampf was an attempt to provide a boost to the rookie. If so, it has yet to kick in.

 

Forcing Delia?

Hawks goalie prospect Colin Delia has been getting a lot of attention from the organization since Chicago signed the free agent to an entry deal. It’s a little early for a pronouncement of his capabilities, but it has been rough going so far for Delia.

After backing up J.F. Berube in a couple of games the previous week, Delia was tapped to start Thursday’s morning affair in Iowa. From the onset, he did not look comfortable in net. In the Rockford loss, Delia gave up four goals on just 16 Wild shots.

A single start, and an AHL debut at that, does not a career make. After all, this is a guy who’s been a wall in his carefully arranged ECHL schedule with Indianapolis…except…he hasn’t.

As has been noted on several occasions, Chicago is developing the rookie goalie in Rockford and sending him to the Fuel purely for game experience. Delia has appeared in eight games for Indianapolis, compiling a 1-5-2 record, a 3.87 goals against average and a .892 save percentage.

Saturday night in the Quad Cities, Delia gave up five goals in a 5-2 loss to the Mallards. He had been pulled in his previous start in the third minute of the second period after surrendering five goals against Wheeling. Fair to say that the kid is scuffling right now, though Delia turned in a good performance Sunday in an overtime loss to the Mallards.

It’s also fair to question the strategy of yanking Delia back and forth between Rockford and Indy as opposed to letting him settle in with the Fuel for at least a couple of weeks. I know the Blackhawks want to keep close tabs on what they believe to be a legitimate goalie prospect. Surely, however, Delia’s progress wouldn’t be badly stunted with a three or four-week stretch with the Fuel?

 

Dauphin Injured

Forward Laurent Dauphin has missed two straight games after being helped from the ice in Thursday’s 5-3 loss to Iowa. Dauphin was injured after being sandwiched against the boards by the Wild’s Hunter Warner.

Warner had a pretty good head of steam going when he delivered the hit. Dauphin landed hard and looked to hit his head on the ice. He has not played since departing that game in Des Moines.

 

The Week That Was

Thursday, November 9-Iowa 5, Rockford 3

Three Iowa goals on the man advantage were too much for the IceHogs to overcome. Rockford lost for the third straight time despite out shooting the Wild 36-17.

The Wild built a 2-0 advantage on the power play in the first ten minutes of the opening frame. Rookie goaltender Colin Delia, making his first AHL start for Rockford, surrendered goals to Cal O’Reilly and Zack Mitchell to put the Hogs in a two-goal hole.

Luc Snuggerud halved the Iowa lead at 11:41 of the first with his first goal of the season. The shot came from the left point, glanced off of O’Reilly and made its way past Wild goalie Steve Michalek. Assisting on the play was Carl Dahlstrom and Andreas Martinsen, who provided the grunt work in the corner to dig out the puck and get things started.

Rockford pulled even with the Wild with a power play goal of its own. Martinsen again played a key part in the goal, scooping up a rebound of a Vinnie Hinostroza shot in front of the cage and finding Laurent Dauphin open at the right post. The one-timer got past Michalek at 6:46 of the second period.

The game remained tied for about five minutes before Iowa took the lead for good. A defensive breakdown in the neutral zone led to a 2-on-1 rush for the Wild. Mario Lucia took aim at Delia in the high slot and fired past Delia on the stick side. Iowa now led 3-2 at the 11:54 mark.

The Wild restored their two-goal advantage early in the third on another power play tally. Ryan Murphy wound up nailing a one-timer past Delia from the left point for a 4-2 Iowa lead at 3:37 of the third period.

Rockford closed the gap to a single goal in the 13th minute. Matthew Highmore hit Hinostroza coming across the red line. Hinostoza did the rest, skating to the left circle before some nifty moves created enough space to progress to the slot. The shot found its way into the upper left corner of Michalek’s net, making the score 4-3 with 12:40 gone in the third.

The Hogs could not pot the equalizer, despite a power play chance late in the game. Delia gave way to an extra skater to no avail; Pat Cannone scored on the empty net with 1:06 remaining to seal Rockford’s fate.

Delia’s welcome to the AHL was anything but; the former Merrimack standout stopped just 12 of 16 shots on the morning.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Vinnie Hinostroza (A)-Matthew Highmore-Luke Johnson

Tomas Jurco-David Kampf-Alexandre Fortin

Anthony Louis-Tyler Sikura-William Pelletier

Matheson Iacopelli-Laurent Dauphin-Andreas Martinsen

Viktor Svedberg-Ville Pokka

Erik Gustafsson-Darren Raddysh

Carl Dahlstrom-Luc Snuggerud

Colin Delia

Scratches-Robin Norell, Graham Knott, Jeff Glass

Power Play (1-4)

Jurco-Highmore-Kampf-Gustafsson-Raddysh

Dauphin-Hinostroza-Johnson-Martinsen-Pokka

Penalty Kill (Iowa was 3-4)

Sikura-Pelletier-Svedberg-Pokka

Dauphin-Johnson-Dahlstrom-Snuggerud

Martinsen-Kampf-Gustafsson-Raddysh

 

Friday, November 10-San Antonio 6, Rockford 0

The Rampage ran roughshod over the piglets on this evening, scoring four times as the result of Rockford penalties. Three came in the opening period, which was more than enough to best the Hogs.

Starting goalie J.F. Berube’s night ended after San Antonio scored for the fifth time 12:23 into the second period. Jeff Glass came in for what amounted to 28 minutes of garbage time.

Adding insult to the defeat was Luke Johnson taking a pounding in his second period fight with Mason Geertsen of the Rampage. Johnson showed some heart taking on a bigger opponent to try and change his team’s fortunes. However, neither the bout or the game turned out well for the Rockford contingent.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Alexandre Fortin-David Kampf-Tomas Jurco

Vinnie Hinostroza-Matthew Highmore-Luke Johnson (A)

Matheson Iacopelli-Tyler Sikura-Andreas Martinsen (A)

Graham Knott-William Pelletier-Anthony Louis

Erik Gustafsson-Carl Dahlstrom

Viktor Svedberg-Ville Pokka (A)

Luc Snuggerud-Robin Norell

Jean-Francois Berube

Jeff Glass

Scratches-Laurent Dauphin, Darren Raddysh

Power Play (0-4)

Jurco-Iacopelli-Highmore-Kampf-Gustafsson

Knott-Sikura-Martinsen-Hinostroza-Pokka

Penalty Kill (Rampage was 4-9)

Highmore-Johnson-Norell-Svedberg

Sikura-Hinostroza-Snuggerud-Pokka

Pelletier-Jurco-Gustafsson-Dahlstrom

 

Saturday, November 11-Rockford 5, Milwaukee 2

A big third period by Vinnie Hinostroza and solid goal tending by Jeff Glass were the keys to Rockford ending a four-game losing streak on the road. The Hogs kept the game close until breaking out for a trifecta of scoring in the final 20 minutes.

Rockford had been prone to falling behind quickly in previous losses; Friday, the Hogs drew first twine. Tomas Jurco found David Kampf in front of the Milwaukee net for the lamp-lighter past Ads goalie Anders Lindback at 8:48 of the opening frame.

That lead held up until P.C. Labrie slipped behind the Hogs defense, took a stretch pass from Trevor Murphy and potted his first goal against his former team ninety seconds into the second period. The Admirals grabbed a brief 2-1 advantage on a Pontus Aberg power play strike that got under the pads of Glass at the 17:52 mark.

The IceHogs had an answer for the Admirals, however. Andreas Martinsen took a pass from Matheson Iacopelli in the high slot, firing the puck at Lindback. Lindback did not field the offering cleanly. Tyler Sikura made him pay for his clumsiness, knocking the loose puck into the Milwaukee net for the equalizer just 16 seconds after Aberg’s tally.

All even at two at the second intermission, Rockford got the game-winner 24 seconds into the final period. It came when Hinostroza put in a rebound of a Matthew Highmore shot. The IceHogs held that 3-2 advantage for almost ten minutes, unable to build on the lead despite three power play chances in that span.

Rockford was playing 4-on-4 with the Admirals when Hinostroza struck again. Scooping up a Milwaukee turnover, the speedy forward streaked to the net, slowed up to size up the goalie, and flung home some insurance over Lindback’s glove at 10:55.

About five minutes later, Johnson got in on the fun, taking a long feed from Raddysh near the red line and progressing unencumbered to the Milwaukee doorstep. Lindback guessed wrong, Johnson’s backhander stuck cord, and the IceHogs had a 5-2 lead at the 15:49 mark.

Hinostroza, not surprisingly, was the game’s first star. Lindback got enough press box support for third star honors, though it was Glass who stopped 23 of 25 shots and kept the puck out of the Rockford net in some dicey moments in the final ten minutes.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Vinnie Hinostroza-Matthew Highmore-Luke Johnson (A)

Alexandre Fortin-David Kampf-Tomas Jurco

Matheson Iacopelli-Tyler Sikura-Andreas Martinsen (A)

Graham Knott-William Pelletier

Erik Gustafsson-Carl Dahlstrom

Viktor Svedberg-Ville Pokka (A)

Luc Snuggerud-Robin Norell

Darren Raddysh

Jeff Glass

Scratches-Laurent Dauphin, Anthony Louis

Power Play (0-3)

Iacopelli-Hinostroza-Highmore-Johnson-Pokka

Jurco-Kampf-Martinsen-Gustafsson-Raddysh

Penalty Kill (Admirals were 1-3)

Highmore-Johnson-Norell-Svedberg

Sikura-Hinostroza-Snuggerud-Pokka

Pelletier-Jurco-Gustafsson-Dahlstrom

 

Previewing Next Week

The IceHogs are at home for their next five games against the bottom three teams in the Central Division. Don’t let that fool you; each of these contests will be hard fought.

This week’s action gets underway Wednesday morning when Iowa pays a visit to the BMO Harris Bank Center. It’s a school day game, scheduled every year so that children from the Rockford area can scream continuously for a couple of hours without fear of detention.

The Wild don’t match up will the team speed of Rockford, but that didn’t stop Iowa from beating them this past Thursday. The Hogs typically swarm the Iowa net with shots; the key will be getting those shots to fall. The Wild will return to the BMO November 22 and 24, meaning that three of Rockford’s next five games will be against Minnesota’s AHL affiliate.

On Saturday night, Grand Rapids comes to town for the third time this season. Rockford bested the Griffins in a shootout back on October 20, then rallied from a two-goal deficit with three power play goals for a 4-3 win October 28.

Rockford’s interstate rivalry with the Chicago Wolves begins Sunday, when the two teams begin the hunt for the Illinois Lottery Cup. This grail-like plastic and wooden trophy goes to the Illinois team who has the most points after the dozen head-to-head matchups this season.

The Wolves are 4-7-1 as of Monday morning but are the current holders of the ILC, having beaten the IceHogs in eight of those twelve meetings in 2016-17. Their roster is full of familiar faces, headed up by AHL point machine Teemu Pulkkinen. He, along with former Hawks prospect Brandon Pirri, has topped the league in scoring in his career and has a boatload of goals against the IceHogs

The Wolves also boast potent AHL scorers like Wade Megan and T.J. Tynan and veteran Brett Sterling. Defenseman Jason Garrison has been loaned out to the Wolves from Las Vegas since the end of October.

These Rockford-Chicago affairs are usually pretty rough-and-tumble. Seven of the IceHogs 39 fighting majors (18 percent) came against the Wolves. Come to think of it, Rockford had seven FM’s with Grand Rapids last year and six more with Iowa, for what it’s worth.

Follow me @JonFromi on twitter for updates and thoughts on the Hogs all season long.

 

 

 

 

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Last One At The BMO, Turn Out The Lights

By Jon Fromi 1446

For the Rockford IceHogs, the 2016-17 season is now in the history books. It wasn’t memorable in terms of team success, but it’s over. For the moment, that’s the best thing I can say about the last eight months.

Rockford wrapped up its season at home in what was announced as a sellout BMO audience. Some folks who bought tickets to the finale opted to sit this one out, though there still was a hefty crowd of IceHogs fans who wanted to send off a team who kept on plugging away for the bulk of the 76-game schedule.

It wasn’t pretty at the end. Rockford suffered a pair of blowouts to conclude a frustrating season. Saturday’s game was a sad affair that saw the league’s second-worst offensive team, the Iowa Wild, put up a five-spot on the Hogs (guess who the AHL’s worst offensive club was?) in the first two periods.

With what amounted to 20 minutes of garbage time awaiting us, I commented to the folks in my section (the ones who got out of the BMO before a torrential rainstorm kept people from checking out at the second intermission) that if the final score was 5-1 and the one Rockford goal came from the stick of P.C. Labrie, a lot of the fans wouldn’t mind so very much.

Several minutes into the most final of final periods, Jake Dowell got to a loose puck and skated it out of his zone. As he crossed the blue line, he spotted a teammate skating behind the Wild defense. Dowell quickly slid the puck through neutral territory and onto the stick of…Labrie, who had gone all season without knowing the feeling of sending a biscuit into a basket.

The assembled throng poised on the brink of ecstasy as the big forward faced his destiny, as well as Iowa goalie Steve Michalek. A simple flip over Michalek’s blocker allowed the crowd to release a season’s worth of frustrations into one glorious outpouring of joy.

Rookie William Pelletier took a touch pass from Brandon Mashinter into the offensive zone and beat Michalek from the dot to make it 5-2 in favor of Iowa. One Michael Latta fight (for which I assume he’ll be suspended next season) later and the game came to an end and it was time to leave. So we did.

Before the game, the IceHogs presented their annual team awards. I spent a bit of time speculating on possible recipients; below is a comparison of how that hardware was distributed.

 

IceHogs Defenseman Of The Year

Team Pick-Eric Gustafsson (68 games, 5 G, 25 A, 30 P, minus-27)
My Pick-Carl Dahlstrom (70 games, 6 G, 5 A, 11 P, minus-12)

Why go with Dahlstrom as opposed to Gustafsson or Ville Pokka? To me, it’s simple; I went with the defensemen most likely to defend effectively.

I’m not knocking what Pokka and Gustafsson did on the offensive end, but one of the major problems of this IceHogs team this season was the lack of shut-down types on the blue line. Rockford’s back end is largely set up to push the puck into the offensive zone; the lack of speed up front prevented that from happening. With the defense on its heels most nights, it led to a record amount of pucks in the Hogs net.

Pokka and Gustafsson are much better players when they are moving forward and looking to get scoring plays started. They were also a combined minus-52 between them. This was the first season that Pokka wasn’t partnered with an offensive monster (T.J. Brennan) or a solid defender (Cameron Schilling) most of the way, and it exposed some defensive flaws.

Gustafsson led the Hogs in assists (25) but also had a team-worst minus-27 rating. He was prone to very inconsistent play in his own end and still has much to learn defensively.

Viktor Svedberg played in just 51 games this season, but was very respectable in this area. His positioning has really improved in his time with the IceHogs. However, Dahlstrom has been the team’s most steady defender over the entirety of the campaign, and that’s how I’m going to interpret this award.

 

IceHogs Rookie Of The Year

Team Pick-Luke Johnson (see below)
My Pick-Luke Johnson (73 games, 8 G, 9 A, 17 P, minus-24)

To me, this award came down to the two players who were with the IceHogs for the bulk of the season-Johnson and Robin Norell.

Both Tyler Motte (43 games) and Gustav Forsling (30 games) started the year with Chicago and played a good chunk of time for the Blackhawks. Johnson seldom got out of Rockford’s bottom six for most of the season and accounted for just three assists in his first 20 games with the Hogs.

Getting his first AHL goal December 20, Johnson played hard at both ends and has been one of the more steady presences in the lineup. Of late, he has been part of a pretty effective line with Brandon Mashinter and William Pelletier.

Johnson’s rookie season wasn’t the stuff of dreams. He did come in at an opportune time; with the dearth of prospects on the roster he was able to get lots of ice time. Next year, the minutes may be harder to earn, but Johnson at least has a head start on the young guns.

 

IceHogs Unsung Hero

Team Pick-Martin Lundberg (see below)
My Pick-Martin Lundberg (67 games, 9 G, 12 A, 21 P, plus-one)

Lundberg is the type of guy I would love to see back with a role in next season’s club. He spent the majority of 2016-17 as a penalty killer and defensive stopper. However, he has the skill to compliment a scoring line as well. Lundberg was Rockford’s handyman this season, capable of fitting in with whatever grouping Ted Dent saw fit for him on a given evening.

Fourth on the current Hogs in goals and the only positive rating among the regulars, Lundberg also inserted himself in a couple of scraps along the way. He was also tied for the team lead with two game-winning goals.

 

IceHogs Most Improved Player

Team Pick-Kyle Baun (74 games, 14 G, 20 A, 34 P, minus-14)
My Pick-Johnson, Baun, or Robin Norell

I ultimately penciled in Norell for this award, assuming that the team wouldn’t double up on anybody and had already slotted Johnson and Baun into other awards. However, it would be hard not to recognize Baun based on his rocky start with the Hogs in his rookie campaign.

Here’s the thing; I could probably make a case for Baun for Most Improved and MVP as well as where I placed him on my list. Of the Rockford players remaining in town by season’s end, Baun was one player who stood out.

I was hoping that the free-agent signing from Colgate would be healthy and able to sweep aside what was a pretty forgettable rookie season. I felt like he had a lot to prove in 2016-17. Mission accomplished; Baun earned my respect with his sophomore performance.

Baun (who was also presented with the team’s top scorer award) appeared in 74 games this season, second to only Pokka, who again was the only Hogs player to play in every game. He made an impact at both ends of the ice, earning time on both special teams after rarely drawing such duties last season.

It’s hard to say where Baun slots into the organization’s plans moving forward. Baun is a heady player who earns his living around the net from an offensive standpoint. He should at least be in the mix to make the roster in Chicago.

 

IceHogs Heavy Hitter

Team Pick-Chris DeSousa (36 games, 4 G, 1 A, 5 P, minus-eight)
My Pick-Kyle Baun (74 games, 14 G, 20 A, 34 P, minus-12)

This is where I placed Baun; he dealt some of the biggest impacts of the season. He also laid into guys on a pretty consistent basis. Most importantly, his physical style paid off in the form of points throughout the season.

DeSousa? Well, he attempted to play the same up-tempo, forechecking style that served him well last season. The trouble is that it wasn’t nearly as effective when he wasn’t skating with Mike Liambas, who spent this season in Milwaukee.

He also didn’t get anywhere close to the ice time in which to make things happen. DeSousa missed the first couple of weeks with an injury and just never seemed to get a steady foothold in the lineup. With the AHL’s new fighting rules putting the kibosh on designated scrappers (I’ll get to that next week), Hogs coach Ted Dent often used Evan Mosey on the fourth line in lieu of DeSousa.

This isn’t a knock on what DeSousa brought to the team (including six fighting majors) or on his effort this season. The feisty winger played hard when he was in the lineup. That just didn’t happen enough for him in Rockford.

 

IceHogs Most Valuable Player

Team Pick-Brandon Mashinter (see below)
My Pick-Brandon Mashinter (61 games, 15 G, 15 A, 30 P, minus-20)

In any other year, Mashinter would have secured his place in the order of things with another 15-goal, 30-point type of season for which he can be counted on in the AHL. He would be an excellent complimentary player who leads by example, cleans up around the net, and handles the occasional physical disagreement.

Mashinter did all of those things this season, as has been the case in parts of four seasons in Rockford while wearing an “A” on that big sweater of his. He hit the 15-goal/30 point plateau for the fifth time in seven full AHL seasons despite missing almost a month due to an injury. He dropped the gloves on four occasions. He posted a hat trick back on November 12 and had two other multi-goal efforts.

Two of those team-leading 15 goals were of the game-winning variety. In fact, in the 25 games won by the IceHogs, Mashinter united rubber and twine a dozen times, leading to eight Rockford victories.

I know that I’ve made this general statement about Mashinter more times that we’d all care to hear concerning his place in professional hockey. In a season where the IceHogs jettisoned it’s three top scorers with six weeks remaining, the guy that operates in that fifteen feet around the cage gets a little extra recognition. Even on a team as bad as Rockford.

 

Some, But Not All, Of The Recaps

Wednesday, April 12-Milwaukee 2, Rockford 1

Milwaukee’s first goal came midway through the first period when Vladislav Kamenev managed to thread the needle between Lars Johansson and the left post. At the 15:47 mark, Ads forward Yakov Trenin made an incredible spin move to reign in a Mike Liambas pass in front of the Hogs crease. Maneuvering as if defenseman Erik Gustafsson was nowhere to be seen, Trenin flipped a backhand shot into the upper right corner of the net to give Milwaukee a 2-0 advantage at the intermission.

Rockford settled down and played hard the rest of the game. As has been the case all too often this season, the Hogs just weren’t able to create enough offense to catch the Admirals.

Tyler Motte put back a rebound of a Kyle Baun attempt to draw Rockford to within a goal of the lead at 11:50 of the final period. That was as close as things got as the IceHogs were not up to the task of tying the contest.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Radovan Bondra-Jake Dowell (C)-Anthony Louis

Tyler Motte-Jeremy Langlois-Kyle Baun

Brandon Mashinter (A)-William Pelletier-Luke Johnson

Matheson Iacoppelli-Michael Latta (A)

Luc Snuggerud-Ville Pokka

Erik Gustafsson-Robin Press

Nolan Valleau-Carl Dahlstrom

Robin Norell

Lars Johansson

 

Friday, April 14-Milwaukee 6, Rockford 2 

The IceHogs saw their lineup shrink before the second shift of the evening. Rockford coach Ted Dent had listed Anthony Louis twice on his official lineup card. As a result, Michael Latta was not listed in the official Hogs lineup. Latta was sent from the ice, ending his night before it started.

Milwaukee took the lead on the power play 5:01 into the proceedings. The goal came when Frederick Gaudreau skated to the left dot and sent the puck to the back of the net over the shoulder of Hogs goalie Mac Carruth.

The Admirals advantage was doubled at the 14:41 mark, after Carruth sent away a shot from the right circle by Vladislav Kamenev. The rebound found the stick of Justin Kirkland, who drove home the goal before Carruth could slide back into position, giving Milwaukee a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

The IceHogs fell behind 3-0 just 2:17 into the middle frame when a centering feed by Sam Girard hit the skate of Hogs defenseman Nolan Valleau and into the net. Valleau would get Rockford on the board a few minutes later. Shooting from the outside hash marks on the left halfboards, Valleau banked the puck off the far post and into the cage to cut the lead to 3-1 5:01 into the period.

Some rapid puck movement resulted in a Matt White tally at the 9:32 mark made it a 4-1  Ads lead. However, Rockford answered just over a minute later. Luc Snuggerud, shooting from a similar spot that resulted in Valleau’s goal, picked up his first pro goal when the puck glanced off of a Milwaukee skater and past Admirals goalie Marek Mazanec.

Down 4-2, Rockford had a pair of power play opportunities to get back in the contest. The first came and went without a serious chance. The second resulted in a shorthanded goal by Milwaukee’s Adam Pardy 17:43 into the middle frame. The late score put the Hogs down 5-2 after 40 minutes.

The third period was uneventful for Rockford, with the Admirals getting an even half-dozen on a Trevor Smith goal at the 3:54 mark.

Lines (Starters in italics)-Michael Latta was omitted from the lineup card and did not play.

Tyler Motte-Jeremy Langlois-Kyle Baun

Matheson Iacopelli-William Pelletier-Anthony Louis

Brandon Mashinter (A)-Luke Johnson-Radovan Bondra

Pierre-Cedric Labrie (A)-Jake Dowell

Luc Snuggerud-Ville Pokka

Eirk Gustafsson-Carl Dahlstorm

Nolan Valleau-Robin Norell

Mac Carruth

Power Play (0-2, surrendered a shorthanded goal)

Motte-Langlois-Baun-Gustafsson-Pokka

Iacopelli-Pelletier-Louis-Snuggerud-Valleau

Mashinter-Dowell-Bondra-Gustafsson-Pokka

Penalty Kill (Milwaukee was 1-1)

Motte-Dowell-Pokka-Dahlstrom

 

Wrapping Things Up

Next post, I will try and reflect on the season that was in Rockford. There’s lots to cover, but I will try to touch all the bases.

 

 

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Bringing Up Goalies

By Jon Fromi 1958

The Rockford IceHogs currently have a plethora of net-minders as their season winds down next week. Taking a look at the list of goalies in town really got me in a pondering mood.

In one corner, we have Lars Johansson, brought from across the ocean as a potential future backup in Chicago. Across the way, we have Mac Carruth, a 2010 draft pick who’s days could well be numbered after spending parts of four seasons with the Hogs.

The plot thickened back in January when Jeff Glass was brought in on an AHL deal to compete for crease time. The new kid (literally)  is 18-year-old Wouter Peeters, last summer’s third-round selection of the Blackhawks, having his tires kicked on an ATO.

Peeters was in Rockford solely to practice with the IceHogs and get a close-up look from the organization; Rockford released him from his tryout Sunday morning. Still, four goalies on the roster gave me pause to think. What may we expect from this youngster in terms of an NHL future? For that matter, what lies ahead for the rest of this motley crew?

Corey Crawford is 32. Deal with it. At some point Chicago will have to find it’s next great (or even good) goaltender. Will it come through nabbing a late blooming prospect or via the draft?

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Meeting The New Kids

By Jon Fromi 1547

The Rockford IceHogs got an influx of new talent last week, with some of the new kids making an immediate impact. The Hogs managed three of a possible six points in three contests this past week.

The two newest faces belonged to defenseman Luc Snuggerud and forward Anthony Louis, who both signed amateur tryout contracts following their signing with Chicago. Both players got into action beginning this past weekend.

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Goalie Jam

By Jon Fromi 1811

The Rockford IceHogs dropped their only game on the schedule this week. The Hogs are in action Tuesday at the BMO Harris Bank Center, where they will host Milwaukee before heading to Manitoba this weekend.

One area Rockford should not be short in is the crease. By my count, there should be four candidates for the job of guarding the net. Apparently three guys weren’t enough for the IceHogs. Or…maybe someone is on his way out.

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Carrick Steps Up

By Jon Fromi 1869

 

The Rockford IceHogs won three of four games this past week, winning three in a row for just the third time this season. The Hogs also got the overtime monkey off their backs.

Rockford won in overtime for the first time this year in Milwaukee Friday night, then prevailed in a shootout the next evening over San Antonio at the BMO. In all, the IceHogs played five straight games that went past regulation before Sunday’s win over the Admirals.

A couple of Hogs have been stepping up as the team snapped an eight-game losing streak this weekend. Let’s take a look at some of the players who made an impact.

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Overtime Woes

By Jon Fromi 1940

The Rockford IceHogs haven’t fared well in overtime this season. This past weekend was a clear example of that deficiency.

The Blackhawks AHL affiliate opened up their return from the All-Star break with a pair of losses. Both came in Gus Macker Time and extended Rockford’s most recent winless streak to seven games.

The IceHogs are currently 0-7 in overtime contests this season. It would be nice to chalk this up to the team’s current offensive woes. Unfortunately, it goes a little further than this year’s schedule.

Rockford has not won an overtime game in the past 13 months.

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Road Blues

By 1874

The Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate to the Chicago Blackhawks, have not been a good road team this season. This past week was a glaring example of Rockford’s struggles in the home of the opposition.

The IceHogs dropped all four games of their most recent road trip, three of which came this week. Rockford did come back to the BMO Harris Bank Center and defeat Chicago Sunday. However, they were outscored 23-7 while they were out of town.

Everything Else

High On The Hog: No Offense

By 1901

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…