Rockford IceHogs Preview: March Schedule
(Photo by Todd Reicher via IceHogs Flickr)
The month of February was not very kind to the Rockford IceHogs. They left the first month of the 2020-21 season with a record of 1-6-1-0. While there were positives in Blackhawks rookies picking up their first professional goals and assists, the IceHogs are hoping for a better March.
Unfortunately for them, there don’t seem to be any favorable matchups this season. They have recently received reinforcements from Chicago, so maybe that turns the tides in their favor. Collin Delia was sent down on a conditioning assignment. He can only be with the team for 14 days without having to clear waivers. The other players will see more time in Rockford. Wyatt Kalynuk, Nicolas Beaudin, Reese Johnson, Lucas Carlsson, and Brandon Pirri inject skill and some more experience into the lineup.
By The Numbers
10 Games
7 Home Games
3 Away Games
3 Opponents
3 Back-to-back’s
With 7 of the 10 games being home at the BMO Harris Bank Center, hopefully the IceHogs can take advantage of the familiarity with the rink and the fan cutouts in the stands. Their away games feature 2 straight in Grand Rapids and 1 in Chicago. So, the travel schedule is light. Less travel fatigue may benefit them.
Rockford IceHogs Point Leaders
Chris Wilkie - 3-1--4
Wyatt Kalynuk - 1-3--4
Evan Barratt - 1-3--4
Cody Franson - 0-4--4
Isaak Phillips - 2-1--3
Here’s a look at the IceHogs’ March opponents (barring any more schedule changes)
Grand Rapids Griffins (3/3, 3/11, 3/13, 3/16)
The Rockford IceHogs kick off the month’s schedule with a Wednesday night match against the Griffins. This is their second matchup of the year. The first was a 3-1 IceHogs loss; the game where they only had 13 TOTAL shots on goal through 60 minutes.
The Griffins currently sit second in the division with a record of 4-3-0-0. With their last game being an 8-4 loss to the Chicago Wolves, the IceHogs will be facing an angry Griffins team when they drop the puck Wednesday night.
Griffins Point Leaders
Riley Barber - 5-5--10
Dennis Cholowski - 3-5--8
Taro Hirose - 1-7--8
Kyle Criscuolo - 3-3--6
Michael Rasmussen - 2-4--6
Iowa Wild (3/6-3/7, 3/19-3/20)
The Iowa Wild are the only team that the Rockford IceHogs were able to push to overtime in February. That overtime period saw a thrilling Penalty Shot save by Matt Tomkins, but the Wild scored shortly after to take the victory. They were the second opponent for Rockford. Having only faced them once, the team is pretty unknown to the IceHogs.
The Wild head into March sitting 4th in the division with a record of 3-4-1-0. While they seem more beatable, record-wise, the 4 games the IceHogs have against the Wild this month are part of back-to-backs. Maybe that’s a good thing since the only Rockford victory was on the second half of one, but it could also produce some tired efforts.
Wild Points Leaders
Gabriel Dumont - 5-5--10
Connor Dewar - 3-3--6
Calen Addison - 2-3--5
Dmitrii Sokolov - 3-1--4
Mason Shaw - 2-2--4
Chicago Wolves (3/27-3/28)
The Rockford IceHogs finally got a break from the Chicago Wolves after seeing them for 3 of their first 4 games. They get to close out the month of March with 2 games against their I-90 rival. Fortunately for the IceHogs, the Wolves lost AHL point leader, Seth Jarvis, to the WHL once their season kicked off. Unfortunately for the IceHogs, the rest of the Wolves roster is still loaded with talent.
The Chicago Wolves are firmly in the #1 spot in the division with a record of 8-1-0-0. They’ve been nearly flawless. But, the IceHogs don’t see them until the end of the month which gives them a lot of time to find chemistry with the recent roster additions. The two games to close out the month should be very interesting.
Wolves Point Leaders
Seth Jarvis - 7-4--11
Rem Pitlick - 8-2--10
Tommy Novak - 2-8--10
Jeremy Davies - 0-0--9
Tanner Jeannot - 3-5--8
The month of March will be another rough one -- at least to start. The Rockford IceHogs are still finding their footing and working out line combinations. They’ve only got 1 win in 8 games. We’re all hoping they turn this ship around quickly.
Hopefully by the end of the month we’ll have seen more games that we can pull positives from. Even when they lose, if they play well and development is noticeable, it’ll be easier to stomach.
Here’s to hoping.