Hogs to Finish California Road Trip Tonight
December 22, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rockford IceHogs News Release
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The Rockford IceHogs meet the San Diego Gulls tonight at Pachanga Arena for the second time this week. The Gulls have won each of the previous three meetings this season, and the Hogs are looking for some positive momentum heading into the holiday break.
2023-24 Season Records
Rockford: 10-12-3-0, 23 points (4th, Central)
San Diego: 9-12-4-0, 20 points (9th, Central)
Last Game vs. San Diego
On Wednesday at Pachanga Arena, the Hogs dropped a 2-1 contest to the Gulls after a tightly contested 60 minutes. Trevor Carrick provided the game-winner for San Diego in the third period with the Gulls on the power play. Jackson Cates scored his second IceHogs goal earlier in the third period to tie the game at 1-1. Rockford started to outplay San Diego in the second period and outshot the Gulls 13-5 in that frame, but the Hogs could not find a way to jump in front.
Ready to Break Through
The IceHogs have been hitting a wall in the opposition's net as of late. Two of the last four goaltenders that Rockford has played against (Jesper Wallstedt and Tomas Suchanek) have each earned AHL Player of the Week Honors after they beat the IceHogs twice in one week. Over Rockford's last 10 games in which the team is 1-7-2-0, the Hogs' shooting percentage is at a lowly 6.0%. The league average shooting percentage is 10.4% with the Hershey Bears (AHL leader in points) leading the league at 12.6% and the Bridgeport Islanders (32nd in AHL rankings) bringing up the rear at 6.7%. Rockford ranks 24th out of 32 AHL clubs with a 9.6% shooting percentage for the season.
Cates Continues Confident Stretch
Last Saturday against Iowa, forward Jackson Cates picked up the first professional three-point night with an empty-net goal and two assists. On Dec. 11, the IceHogs added him on a Professional Tryout agreement. Cates has posted one goal in 12 games with the Bridgeport Islanders this season after signing a PTO with the NHL's New York Islanders. Last season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Cates set a career high and racked up 23 points (11G, 12A) in 65 contests. The center has 20 games worth of NHL experience under his belt, all with the Philadelphia Flyers from 2020 to 2022. Cates won an NCAA national championship with his brother Noah (also played with him in Philadelphia) at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2018-19.
IceHogs in the NHL
The Blackhawks currently have six skaters on their roster who have appeared in IceHogs games this season. Joey Anderson (IR), Louis Crevier, Cole Guttman, Isaak Phillips, Wyatt Kaiser, and Filip Roos have all played in games for both Rockford and Chicago and are now currently with the Hawks. In total, 12 skaters who have appeared in games for the Hawks this season are IceHogs alumni. The other six are Alex Vlasic, Lukas Reichel, Philipp Kurashev, Mackenzie Entwistle, Reese Johnson, and Arvid Soderblom. Crevier became the 151st IceHogs alumni to reach the NHL when he made his Blackhawks debut on Dec. 3.
Four Hogs Return to San Diego
Four Rockford skaters return to Southern California to skate against their old club this week. Logan Njihoff, Josh Healey, Bryce Kindopp, and Austin Strand all played with the Gulls last season. Strand posted eight points (2G, 6A) in 46 games with the Gulls, Kindopp published nine points (6G, 3A) in 65 contests, Nijhoff appeared in 16 games, and Healey played in 12.
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 in High Definition on 19.2 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.
2023-24 Head-to-Head Schedule (All Times Central)
Fri., Dec. 8 vs San Diego - L 7-0 - Recap, Highlights
Sat., Dec. 9 vs San Diego - L 5-1 - Recap, Highlights
Wed., Dec. 20 at San Diego - L 2-1 - Recap, Highlights
Fri., Dec. 22 at San Diego, 7 p.m.
IceHogs vs Gulls, All-time
0-4-1-0
American Hockey League Stories from December 22, 2023
- Moose Fall To Wild - Manitoba Moose
- Islanders Edge Wolf Pack, 5-4 - Bridgeport Islanders
- Merkulov, P-Bruins Down Americans - Providence Bruins
- Bears Top Thunderbirds 4-3 in Shootout - Hershey Bears
- Alex Belzile's Two Third Period Goals Not Enough as Islanders Edge Wolf Pack 5-4 - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Penguins Drop Last Game Before Break to Rocket - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Monsters Pick Up Exciting 4-3 Overtime Win Against Crunch - Cleveland Monsters
- Checkers Head into Holidays with Shootout Win Over Phantoms - Charlotte Checkers
- Phantoms Earn Standings Point in Wild Shootout Game - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Tenacious T-Birds Claw Back to Earn Point Over Bears - Springfield Thunderbirds
- Crunch Downed by Monsters, 4-3, in Overtime - Syracuse Crunch
- Kaiser and Roos Assigned to Hogs from Blackhawks - Rockford IceHogs
- Game Notes - CGY at COL - Calgary Wranglers
- Moose Goaltender Milic Named to Canada's Spengler Cup Roster - Manitoba Moose
- Morning Skate Report: December 22, 2023 - Henderson Silver Knights
- Forward Ben Meyers Reassigned to Colorado Eagles - Colorado Eagles
- Belleville Sens Captain Heatherington to Represent Canada at 2023 Spengler Cup - Belleville Senators
- Capitals Loan Mike Sgarbossa to Bears - Hershey Bears
- Hogs to Finish California Road Trip Tonight - Rockford IceHogs
- Condors' Drake Caggiula Suspended for Two Games - AHL
- Game Preview: Iowa Wild vs. Manitoba Moose - Iowa Wild
- Wolf Pack and Islanders Meet in Holiday Edition of the 'Battle of Connecticut' - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Game Preview: Bears at Thunderbirds, 7:05 p.m. - Hershey Bears
- Game Preview: Condors v Roadrunners, 7 p.m. - Bakersfield Condors
- Bridgeport Islanders Visit Wolf Pack Tonight - Bridgeport Islanders
- Game #26: Tucson Roadrunners vs. Bakersfield Condors - Tucson Roadrunners
- Canucks Shut Out Reign In 6-0 Victory - Abbotsford Canucks
- Canucks Blank Reign, 6-0 - Ontario Reign
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