On Tuesday morning, the American Hockey League handed-down a three-game suspension to Rockford IceHogs defenseman Dennis Gilbert. The suspension stemmed from an illegal hit to the head delivered by Gilbert during the IceHogs’ 3-2 overtime win over the San Antonio Rampage on Sunday.
AHL Suspends IceHogs Defenseman Dennis Gilbert
The AHL suspended Gilbert for delivering an illegal hit to the head during Sunday’s 3-2 overtime win against the San Antonio Rampage. He was suspended under the provisions of AHL Rule 28.1 – supplementary discipline.
Gilbert hit Rampage forward MacKenzie MacEachern early in the first period. No penalty would be called on the play, MacEachern would leave the game after the hit and Rampage forward Klim Kostin would come to the defense of his teammate and dropped the gloves against Gilbert.
Here’s a video of the hit on MacEachern. As you can see, the principal point of contact is his head – yet no penalty was assessed for the hit. pic.twitter.com/Z6dbI7eCWw
— Andrew Rinaldi (@Andrew_Rinaldi_) December 2, 2018
Gilbert served a five-minute major for fighting, while Kostin was hit with 17 minutes in penalties for fighting, instigating, and a 10-minute misconduct. The fight was Gilbert’s third this season and seventh for the IceHogs this year. Gilbert leads Rockford in fights, is third on the team in penalty minutes with 19, and has two assists in his 17 games played this season.
Gilbert will miss Rockford’s games Dec. 7 vs Grand Rapids Griffin, Dec. 8 vs Chicago Wolves and Dec. 14 at Grand Rapids. He was selected in the 2015 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 3rd round, 91st overall and played three seasons at Notre Dame before joining the IceHogs this year.
What’s Next?
The IceHogs complete their four-game homestand with another two-game weekend set beginning on Friday night as the Grand Rapids Griffins make their first trip to Rockford of the season. Puck drop for Friday night is set for 7pm CT at the BMO Harris Bank Center. Following that, the IceHogs play host to the Chicago Wolves on Saturday night. Another installment of the Illinois Lottery Cup Rivalry, puck drop for Saturday is set for 6pm CT in Rockford.