AHL Rockford IceHogs

Hogs Welcome Rival Wolves to BMO for Midweek Rumble

Published on March 20, 2024 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Rockford IceHogs News Release


ROCKFORD, Ill.-The Rockford IceHogs seek their fifth straight home win tonight against the Chicago Wolves at the BMO Center. The Hogs have climbed to third place in the Central Division and have now won nine of their last 10 games.

This evening marks the eighth of 12 meetings between Rockford and Chicago this season, and the two teams will dance twice next week. The Wolves won each of the first four meetings of the season, but the Hogs have flipped the script and have been victorious in each of the last 3 games while outscoring their in-state rivals 10-2 in that span. Rockford has held Chicago to one goal or less in each of those last three games.

WET YOUR WHISTLE WEDNESDAY + FREE CRAFT BEER TASTING

Get a ticket and two drink tickets (good for beer, soft drinks, or water) for just $20 on our last Wet Your Whistle Wednesday of the season with media partner Power 106.3. Speaking of drinks, we're teaming with Lamonica Beverages to offer a free craft beer tasting for fans 21 and over! All you need to partake in the beer tasting is a game ticket and a valid ID verifying you are 21 or older.

Rockford: 28-22-5-2, 63 points (3rd, Central Division)

Chicago: 21-30-3-3, 48 points (6th, Central Division)

Last Game: 4-1 Win vs. San Jose (Mar. 17)

Rockford took control of the game on Sunday against San Jose with two goals in the first period from Mike Hardman and Cole Guttman. Hardman's tally came on the power play, and Guttman's came after he tipped Nolan Allan's shot into the net.

San Jose responded with an Ethan Cardwell goal later in the first, but Guttman scored his second of the game in the second period to hand Rockford a 3-1 lead. Jackson Cates scored his 11th of the season just 41 seconds into the third to reaffirm the Hogs' handle on the game.

Drew Commesso tied a season high with 34 saves on 35 San Jose shots to pick up his 13th win of the season.

Last Game vs. Chicago: 4-1 Win (Mar. 9)

Jackson Cates scored two goals in the first 5:27 of regulation against Chicago on Mar. 9 and helped lead the IceHogs to a 4-1 victory at Allstate Arena. Rockford tied a season high with four goals in the first game, including the Cates goals and strikes from Brett Seney and Cole Guttman.

Stauber's Streak

Goaltender Jaxson Stauber has won seven straight starts and is unbeaten in his last eight games. His seven-game win streak ties an IceHogs AHL franchise record set by by Jason LaBarbera from Feb. 4, 2014 to Feb. 25, 2014. In six of his last seven wins, the second-year netminder has kept the opposition to three or fewer goals, and he has a .921 save percentage in that span. The seven-game win streak is the longest of Stauber's pro career, and his 12-7-2-1 record, 3.07 goals-against average, and .896 save percentage are all improvements from last season. The longest unbeaten streak in IceHogs AHL history is held at 15 games by Corey Crawford from Nov. 25, 2007 to Dec. 27, 2007.

Guttman's Goals

Cole Guttman has found a grove recently and has nine goals in his last nine games for the IceHogs. Guttman was assigned from the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 27 and did not find the back of the net in his first 10 games back down with Rockford. After that, the Northridge, California native ripped off nine tallies in the next nine contests, multi-goal games on Mar. 2 at Grand Rapids and on Mar. 17 against San Jose. He now has three multi-goal efforts in his career after he scored 16 goals with the Hogs last season. Guttman scored four goals in 27 games with the Blackhawks this season, including Chicago's first goal of the season. He is the team's +/- leader with a +14 rating so far. this season.

Recent Run

Last Tuesday's win over Texas gave Rockford seven straight victories. The last time that an IceHogs team won seven straight games was the 2014-15 club won eight straight between Oct. 25 and Nov. 8, 2014. Rockford is also 12-3-0-0 since the start of February and prior to last Wednesday had points in 13 of 15 games. The last IceHogs' group to earn points in 13 of 15 games was the 2017-18 team that did so over multiple 15-game spans late in the season. That IceHogs squad advanced to the Western Conference Finals; the farthest a Rockford AHL team has gone in the playoffs. The Hogs are also 9-1-0-0 in their last 10 games and are the only current AHL team to have won nine of their last 10.

Four or More

The IceHogs have scored four or more goals in eight of their last nine games after a 4-1 win over San Jose on Sunday. Rockford scored four or more goals in just 13 of the team's first 48 games, but the recent offensive outburst has moved the Hogs up to 26th in league scoring with 2.88 goals-for per game. Rockford owns a 19-0-1-1 record this season when scoring four or more times.

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 The365! 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)

Sat., Oct. 21 vs Chicago: L 5-2 - Recap, Highlights

Sun., Nov. 12 at Chicago: L 5-0 - Recap, Highlights

Sun., Dec. 17 at Chicago: OTL 4-3 - Recap, Highlights

Fri., Jan. 19 vs Chicago: L 4-1 - Recap, Highlights

Sat., Feb. 10 vs Chicago: W 2-1 - Recap, Highlights

Fri., Feb. 16 vs Chicago: W 4-0 - Recap, Highlights

Sat., Mar. 9 at Chicago: W 4-1 - Recap, Highlights

Wed., Mar. 20 vs Chicago, 7 p.m.

Wed., Mar. 27 at Chicago, 7 p.m.

Sat., Mar. 30 at Chicago, 7 p.m.

Fri., Apr. 19 vs Chicago, 7 p.m.

Sun., Apr. 21 at Chicago, 3 p.m.

IceHogs vs Wolves, All Time

93-76-12-5

Check out the Rockford IceHogs Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from March 20, 2024


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