Hogs Need Win and Regulation Loss from Chicago to Clinch Playoffs Tonight
April 14, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rockford IceHogs News Release
Grand Rapids, Mich. - The Rockford IceHogs match up with the Grand Rapids Griffins tonight at Van Andel Arena for the final time in the regular season at 6 p.m. CT. Rockford could clinch a spot in the 2022-23 Calder Cup Playoffs with a win tonight and a Chicago Wolves regulation loss to the Milwaukee Admirals. The IceHogs are 4-2-1-0 against the Griffins this season.
2022-23 Season Records
Rockford: 33-27-5-4, 75 points (5th, Central Division)
Grand Rapids: 28-34-4-4, 64 points (7th, Central Division)
Players to Watch
Forward Rocco Grimaldi (32G, 38A) is currently on a four-game point streak and leads the IceHogs with 70 points this season. Forward Luke Philp (28G, 24A) has scored 11 goals since Mar. 1 and ranks third for Rockford with 52 points.
Grand Rapids is led by forward Taro Hirose (15G, 41A) who paces the Griffins with 56 points and leads the club in assists. Forward Danny O'Regan (17G, 31A) ranks second for the Griffins with 48 points.
Last Game Highlights
The IceHogs topped the Chicago Wolves 6-3 on Tuesday night at the BMO Center. Luke Philp marked his first AHL hat trick with a goal in the first period and a pair of tallies in the second stanza. Michal Teply netted his ninth goal of the season in the second period, Brett Seney registered his 22nd lamp light of the campaign, and Rocco Grimaldi punched in an empty-netter in the third period. Arvid Soderblom marked 13 saves on 16 Chicago shots to earn his 13th win of the season.
Tip Your Hat
In his sixth multi-goal contest of the season, forward Luke Philp registered his first career AHL hat trick on Tuesday night against the Wolves. The winger also notched an assist on Rocco Grimaldi's empty-netter to mark his second four-point game of the campaign. Extending his point streak to four games, Philp has recorded seven points in that span.
Dropping Three's
Forward Michal Teply bagged his first three-point contest of the season against Chicago on Tuesday night with one goal and a pair of assists. After his fifth multi-point game, Teply has nine goals and 16 assists on the campaign and has marked five points in his last five games.
Guess Who's Back
In his first game back in a Rockford sweater since Mar. 1 after a stint with the Chicago Blackhawks, forward Lukas Reichel recorded an assist on Brett Seney's tally on Tuesday night. Ranking fifth in scoring for the IceHogs, Reichel has 47 points (17G, 30A) for the IceHogs this season including four power-play goals.
Hot Streak
Forward Rocco Grimaldi extended his point streak to four games after stamping the exclamation point on Rockford's 6-3 win over the Wolves on Tuesday night with an empty-netter and two assists. With eight points in his last four games, Grimaldi ranks third in the AHL among league scorers with 32 goals which is also a new career high.
Shorthanded Score
Luke Philp's second tally on Tuesday night marked Rockford's fourth shorthanded goal of the season and Philp's second shorty against the Wolves this season. Rocco Grimaldi has the most shorthanded goals on the Rockford roster this season with three. All three came when Grimaldi was skating with the San Diego Gulls, and two were scored in the same game on Jan. 11 against the San Jose Barracuda.
Hot Hogs
The IceHogs' offense has scored 15 goals in their last four games, going 3-1-0-0 in that span. The six-goal outburst against Chicago on Tuesday marked the first time that Rockford had scored six goals in a game since a 6-2 win against the Wolves on Dec. 31.
Postseason Tracker
The IceHogs rank 5th in the Central Division with 75 points. Despite a 33-27-5-4 record this season, Rockford has played 24 overtime contests and only has 18 wins in regulation. Trailing the Iowa Wild's 76 points, the Hogs' magic number to clinch a playoff berth is four.
Tune In LIVE on the IceHogs Broadcast Network Presented by BMO
Watch and listen to every game this season on the IceHogs Broadcast Network presented by BMO! Listen from your favorite device, at home, or on the road at IceHogs.com and on the IceHogs app and watch LIVE on AHLTV and selected games on 23.3 Circle TV! Fans can also tune in on all of Mid-West Family's local stations including 104.9 The X, B103, 95.3 The Bull, and Rockford Greatest Hits 100.5 and featured on Rock River Current, the Stateline's premiere source for local events, news and culture.
2022-23 Head-to-Head Schedule (All Times Central):
Sat., Nov. 5 vs. Grand Rapids, 4-1 W Recap & Highlights
Wed., Nov. 16 at Grand Rapids, 5-1 W Recap & Highlights
Wed., Dec. 28 vs. Grand Rapids, 4-1 W Recap & Highlights
Wed., Jan. 18 vs. Grand Rapids, 2-5 L Recap & Highlights
Wed., Feb. 15 at Grand Rapids, 4-5 L Recap & Highlights
Fri., Mar. 10 at Grand Rapids, 1-2 OTL Recap & Highlights
Sun., Apr. 2 vs. Grand Rapids, 5-1 W Recap & Highlights
Fri., Apr. 14 at Grand Rapids, 6 p.m.
IceHogs vs. Griffins, All-Time
62-51-6-4
American Hockey League Stories from April 14, 2023
- Amerks Open Final Weekend with 7-4 Loss to Belleville - Rochester Americans
- Columbus Blue Jackets Assign Six Players to AHL's Cleveland Monsters - Cleveland Monsters
- Eagles Keep Hold Of Third Place With 4-1 Win Over San Diego - Colorado Eagles
- Griffins Fall 2-1 to Rockford in Lashoff's Final Home Game - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Checkers Get Revenge Against The Phantoms - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Hogs Shrink Magic Number with Win in Grand Rapids - Rockford IceHogs
- Wolves Top Admirals 5-4 in OT - Chicago Wolves
- Wolf Pack Extend Win Streak to Eight as Domingue Blanks Penguins in 4-0 Victory - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Schneider Makes 35 Saves, Terry Records Four Points for the Second Straight Game - Bridgeport Islanders
- Checkers Level Lehigh Valley 5-2 - Charlotte Checkers
- Penguins Lose Penultimate Game of 2022-23 - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- T-Birds Rattle off Seven Unanswered to Topple Bruins, 7-2 - Springfield Thunderbirds
- P-Bruins Fall to Thunderbirds - Providence Bruins
- Monsters Fall 2-1 to Comets - Cleveland Monsters
- Rangers Recall Four from Wolf Pack - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Crunch Edged by Rocket, 4-3 - Syracuse Crunch
- Comets Clinch Playoff Spot with 2-1 Win Against Monsters - Utica Comets
- Bears Wrap Road Schedule with 5-1 Loss to Islanders - Hershey Bears
- Checkers Announce First Round Playoff Schedule - Charlotte Checkers
- Admirals Sign Knak to PTO - Milwaukee Admirals
- Anaheim Ducks Reassign Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Drew Helleson to San Diego - San Diego Gulls
- Coyotes Assign Prosvetov, Jenik, Soderstrom, Kelemen and Kesselring to Tucson - Tucson Roadrunners
- Wranglers' Gallant Suspended Three Games - AHL
- Series Preview: April 14 & 15 vs. Ontario - Henderson Silver Knights
- Logan Shaw Named Winner of Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award - Toronto Marlies
- Toronto's Logan Shaw Voted Winner of AHL's Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award for 2022-23 - AHL
- Game Day - CGY at ABB - Calgary Wranglers
- Capitals Re-Assign Forward Alexander Suzdalev to Hershey - Hershey Bears
- Protas, Snively, and Malenstyn Loaned to Hershey - Hershey Bears
- Anderson and Robinson Assigned to IceHogs from Blackhawks - Rockford IceHogs
- Wolf Pack Host Penguins in Regular Season Home Finale - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Providence Bruins to Present 2022-23 Season Awards in Pregame Ceremony on April 16 - Providence Bruins
- Matt Brown Signs PTO - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Game Preview: Bears at Islanders, 7 p.m. - Hershey Bears
- Game #71 - San Jose Barracuda at Tucson Roadrunners - Tucson Roadrunners
- Blues Assign McGing, Tucker, Zherenko to T-Birds - Springfield Thunderbirds
- Xavier Cormier, Kai Schwindt and Jaxon Castor Join Checkers - Charlotte Checkers
- Providence Bruins Sign Matthew Poitras to Amateur Tryout Agreement - Providence Bruins
- Bridgeport Islanders Host Bears in Final Home Game - Bridgeport Islanders
- Providence Bruins Sign Joey Abate to Two-Year Contract Extension - Providence Bruins
- Hogs Need Win and Regulation Loss from Chicago to Clinch Playoffs Tonight - Rockford IceHogs
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