Preview: Regular Season Home Finale Features Dance with Wolves
April 19, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Rockford IceHogs News Release
ROCKFORD, Ill. - The final weekend of the regular season begins tonight with a rivalry game between the Rockford IceHogs and the Chicago Wolves at the BMO Center. The IceHogs are locked into a playoff matchup with the Grand Rapids Griffins to start next week, and the Wolves have been eliminated from postseason contention. Rockford and Chicago will meet again on Sunday in the 2023-24 regular season finale. Tonight is the final home game of the campaign for the Hogs.
Rockford has won 18 of its last 22 games and won two out of three games last weekend. Rem Pitlick is one of the headliners for the Hogs and leads the AHL in scoring since he debuted with Rockford on Feb. 16 against the Wolves. Pitlick has 31 points (13G, 18A) in 25 games in that span, and is trailed closely by Chicago's Rocco Grimaldi with 30 points (12G, 18A) in 26 games during that stretch.
It's another $2 Beer Friday presented by Bud Light with media partner 104.9 The X. Fans can enjoy $2 Budweiser, Bud Light, or Busch Light cans or $2 soft drinks, plus the first 2,500 fans will receive an IceHogs team photo.
Rockford: 37-25-5-2, 81 points (3rd, Central Division)
Chicago: 23-33-6-7, 59 points (6th, Central Division)
Last Game: 4-2 Win over Milwaukee (Apr. 14)
The IceHogs picked up their second win of the weekend on Sunday at the BMO Center with a 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals. After a sleepy first period in which Rockford and Milwaukee combined for only 11 shots, the IceHogs took a 2-1 lead in the second frame with tallies from Mike Hardman and David Gust.
Rockford jumped out to a 3-1 lead when Rem Pitlick buried his 21st goal of the season during a power play in the third period. Four minutes later, Milwaukee's Alex Campbell scored his second pro goal to bring the Ads back within one.
Milwaukee threw everything at Jaxson Stauber in net during the third period, and the second-year Hog had to stop 15 of 16 shots in the frame to extend his win streak to 13 games.
Last Game vs. Chicago: 6-0 Win (Mar. 30)
Drew Commesso and the IceHogs blanked the Wolves in a 6-0 drubbing on Mar. 30 at Allstate Arena. Zach Sanford picked up a pair of goals and an assist for the Hogs to lead the way, and Commesso claimed his second pro shutout with 34 saves against the Wolves. Rockford scored twice on the power play.
Hold!
In conjunction with the penalty kill, Rockford has been stout defensively overall in the last nine games and have not allowed the opposition to reach four goals in that span. Since a 5-1 win over Milwaukee on Mar. 29, the Hogs have allowed an average of just 1.56 goals-against per game (14 goals in nine games). Goaltending has been a large part of the equation with Drew Commesso and Jaxson Stauber combining for a .944 SV% during the span.
Killin' Time
Rockford has featured a ruddy penalty kill over the last several weeks and has allowed a power-play goal in just one of its last nine games. The Hogs have killed off 29 of 31 (93.5%) shorthanded chances in the nine games since Mar. 29 against Milwaukee. Rockford has not allowed a power-play goal in its last five games and is 18-for-18 on the kill in that stretch. The Hogs rank ninth on the kill at 83.5% this season.
Postseason Party
With two points against Milwaukee in a 2-1 shootout win on Apr. 2, Rockford clinched a berth in the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs with nine games left in the regular season. Last season, Rockford's playoff fate was uncertain, and there were 27 outcomes that could've unfolded as the IceHogs battled for the postseason with the Iowa Wild and Chicago Wolves until the last game of the regular campaign. Eight of the 27 combinations resulted in Rockford missing the playoffs. 2024 marks the third straight season that the Hogs have reached the postseason, and a third-place finish or better this season is the highest Rockford has finished in the division table since 2015-16.
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: OTW 4-3 - Recap, Highlights
Wed., Mar. 27 at Chicago: SOW 5-4 - Recap, Highlights
Sat., Mar. 30 at Chicago: W 6-0 - Recap, Highlights
Fri., Apr. 19 vs Chicago, 7 p.m.
Sun., Apr. 21 at Chicago, 3 p.m.
IceHogs vs Wolves, All Time
96-76-12-5
American Hockey League Stories from April 19, 2024
- Griffins Finish Regular Season Road Games with 4-1 Loss to Iowa - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Iowa Earns 4-1 Win Over Grand Rapids On Fan Appreciation Night - Iowa Wild
- Stars Fall Victim to Moose Power Play - Texas Stars
- Amerks Drop Overtime Decision to Monsters in Home Finale - Rochester Americans
- Hogs Open Weekend With 5-2 Win Over Wolves - Rockford IceHogs
- Nic Petan's Powerplay Blast Gives Wolf Pack 3-2 Win Over Penguins - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Monsters Pick Up 3-2 Overtime Win Against Amerks - Cleveland Monsters
- Wolves Drop 5-2 Decision to IceHogs - Chicago Wolves
- Penguins Drop Third-Period Sprint to Wolf Pack, 3-2 - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Clinched! - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- P-Bruins Defeat Thunderbirds, Clinch Bye in First Round of Calder Cup Playoffs - Providence Bruins
- Phantoms Blank Islanders, 3-0 - Bridgeport Islanders
- Crunch Defeat Comets, 4-3 - Syracuse Crunch
- Comets Lose Heartbreaker to Crunch, 4-3 - Utica Comets
- T-Birds Hang Tough But Can't Skate Past Bruins - Springfield Thunderbirds
- IceHogs Announce 2023-24 Team Awards - Rockford IceHogs
- Morning Skate Report: April 19, 2024 - Henderson Silver Knights
- Game Day: Calgary at Abbotsford - Calgary Wranglers
- Spencer Knight Wins Fred T. Hunt Award for Sportsmanship, Determination and Dedication to Hockey - Charlotte Checkers
- Charlotte's Spencer Knight Voted Winner of AHL's Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award for 2023-24 - AHL
- Josh Doan, Dylan Guenther and Michael Kesselring Assigned to the Tucson Roadrunners for the Calder Cup Playoffs; Raty, Kolyachonok Rejoin Too - Tucson Roadrunners
- New York Islanders Sign Tikkanen, Jefferies to Entry-Level Contracts - Bridgeport Islanders
- Game Preview: Iowa Wild vs. Grand Rapids Griffins - Iowa Wild
- Providence Bruins Sign Vinny Duplessis to Amateur Try-Out - Providence Bruins
- Flash Sale: 30% off IceHogs Playoff Tickets - Rockford IceHogs
- Wolf Pack Welcome Penguins to Town on Fan Appreciation Night - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Game #71: Tucson Roadrunners vs. San Jose Barracuda - Tucson Roadrunners
- Game Preview: Condors at Knights, 7 p.m. - Bakersfield Condors
- Blackhawks Assign Reichel to Rockford - Rockford IceHogs
- Bjorklund Re-Assigned to Hershey - Hershey Bears
- Regular Season Home Finale Features Dance with Wolves - Rockford IceHogs
- Bridgeport Islanders Host Phantoms to Begin Final Homestand - Bridgeport Islanders
- Preview: Regular Season Home Finale Features Dance with Wolves - Rockford IceHogs
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