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High On The Hog: First Round Exit

By 1446

The Rockford IceHogs exit from the Calder Cup Playoffs was certainly swift. The Hogs were fortunate enough to get to begin their first-round series with Lake Erie at home but made zero use of having home ice for the opening games.

Rockford dropped both games at the BMO Harris Bank Center, then traveled to Cleveland and had the Monsters complete the series sweep Saturday night. With little exception, Lake Erie was the better team and dominated play.

I’m not ready to forecast the state of the farm just yet, so I’ll focus this week’s gaze on the first-round debacle and how it came to be.

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High On The Hog: Who’s In Goal For The Playoffs?

By 1377

The Rockford IceHogs reserved their spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs this week. However, Chicago’s AHL affiliate continued to scuffle along as the regular season comes to a conclusion this week.

Rockford dropped three of four on the road this past week. Three points in Charlotte early in the week assured the Hogs of a postseason appearance for the second consecutive season. This team is not giving off the shine of a group that will get out of the first round, though.

It’s hard to expect much from this group the way the latter half of the season has progressed. There are lots of new faces and probably more coming before the regular season ends. There are also a lot of questions for this team to answer in the final week of action.

First and foremost, who starts in net for Ted Dent in the playoffs?

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High On The Hog: IceHogs Enter March Like A Lamb

By 1689

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: Of Moose And Men

By 1650

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: Blowout At The BMO

By 1535

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: Holiday Blahs

By 1659

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: Jake Dowell’s Career Year?

By 1727

The Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, continue to play impressive hockey as we approach the holidays. The IceHogs completed a sweep of their four-game trip to Texas and split a weekend set with Iowa and Grand Rapids.

Rockford is on top of the Central Division standings with a 17-6-1-2 record. A loss to the Griffins Saturday put an end to a five-game winning streak, the longest of the season for the Hogs. Playing a big part in the success this team is veteran center Jake Dowell.

Relax, folks; Dowell is only on an AHL deal signed with the IceHogs this fall. He can’t be called up to the Hawks for you to disparage. This is not a plea for Stan Bowman to sign Dowell to NHL ink. Just know that the guy has been a key component of Rockford’s lofty position in the standings.

This weekend, the guy just got some terrific news to boot.

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A Return To Some Kind Of Form: Oilers 2 – Hawks 4

By 1272

Box Score

Event Summary

War On Ice

Natural Stat Trick

After something of a wonky week, the Hawks returned to the model that had racked up wins in the season’s first couple weeks, or more to the point before Hossa got hurt. The second line goes nuts, Crawford is excellent, no one else does much of anything of note either good or bad (or at least not bad enough to fuck up the two points), and the Hawks win. The 2nd line accounted for all four goals, Crow makes 22 saves in the 2nd period alone, and against an EdMo team without McJesus it’s just enough. It’s not the sort of win that is going to calm any slightly jangly nerves about this team’s prospects, but after getting pretty much tonked for the last five periods before this, it’ll do.

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High On The Hog: IceHogs Go Streakin’

By 1573

The Rockford IceHogs, Chicago’s AHL affiliate, skate into November on a pretty high note. The IceHogs are on a six-game point streak that has seen them win five of six against Central Division opponents.

Despite several Hogs getting the call to join the Blackhawks last week, Rockford kept on rolling behind terrific play in net. IceHogs goalies surrendered a single goal in three games this week. This included a shootout loss to Charlotte and two shutout victories over the Iowa Wild.

Special teams also took steps toward respectability, though the power play still has a ways to go in that regard.

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Three Steps Forward And Two Steps Back: Hawks 4 – Wild 5

By 1185 0

Box Score

Event Summary

War On Ice

Natural Stat Trick

Remember when Paula Abdul was like the center of all your middle school fantasies, which basically amounted to holding a girl’s hand? Ah, the innocence…

Oh right, hockey. It would appear the Hawks are going to try things in reverse this season, if I’m going to make wild conclusions after 11 games because we’ve got nothing else to do. Usually their sloppy, barely bothered effort on the 2nd of a back-to-back on the road comes in February or March. While the Wild did enough to let the Hawks back into this one, the Hawks did more to cost themselves the contest.

It’s rare you see the Hawks so sloppy at both blue lines tonight. So many shifts saw them failing to get the puck out when given the chance and having to cycle back and defend. How many times did they nearly get caught on a change because of misplays at the offensive blue line? Four, five? Maybe more? They just aren’t the most cohesive of units right now.

Zucker’s opener was a result of misplays from a couple Hawks on the boards. Ryan Carter scored off a rush when Kane didn’t quite know what to do when covering for TVR at the point and got caught. The last two goals sprang from Hawks d-men getting caught too far outside, leaving a lane through the middle that either ended in a goal (Spurgeon) or a scramble that did (Niederreiter). It will not make for a happy Q.

To it.