On Tuesday night, the Rockford IceHogs took to the ice against the Chicago Wolves in a matchup of two teams in playoff position in the Central Division. With goaltender Collin Delia making his return to the IceHogs lineup, the Wolves were able to stifle the Rockford attack and needed just one goal to get the win. Although taking a loss, the IceHogs remain in fourth-place in the Central Division.
Chicago Wolves def. Rockford IceHogs, 1-0
Taking on rival Chicago Wolves, the IceHogs came into Tuesday night’s game on the final game of a four-game road trip, having gone 1-1-1 over their three previous games. With the return of goaltender Collin Delia to the IceHogs from the Chicago Blackhawks, the IceHogs hoped to continue their league-leading team save-percentage and keep a potent Wolves offense at bay.
They did that, but forgot to get their own offensive attack going.
Rockford held the Wolves to one single shot on net in the opening period of play. It wouldn’t be until the second period where the Wolves would be able to find the breakthrough goal on a nice cross-crease feed from Daniel Carr to Brooks Macek. Delia had no chance to make the save and the Wolves took the 1-0 lead into the third period.
Rockford had a number of chances late in the game to tie it up, but were shut down by Chicago goaltender Max Lagace. Making saves on all 27 shots he faced from the IceHogs, Lagace was able to close the game and earn his first shutout of the season, third of his AHL career. The loss marks the third straight for the IceHogs (0-2-1).
On the opposite side, Delia made 15 saves on 16 shots faced from the Wolves, seeing his AHL record fall to 7-6-4 with a 2.27 GAA and a 0.933 save-percentage. It was his first AHL action since being recalled to the Chicago Blackhawks in mid-December.
The IceHogs went 0-for-2 on the powerplay, while killing-off all three Chicago Wolves powerplays. Rockford holds the league’s 28th ranked powerplay (15.4%) and the 15th ranked penalty-kill (81.5%).
Collin Delia Returns To IceHogs
Although the loss was a blow to the IceHogs’ push to solidify their Calder Cup Playoff positioning, it did show just why having goaltenders playing at the level of Delia, Anton Forsberg, and Kevin Lankinen in the AHL is so valuable at this time of the year. What needs to come around to help the defense and goaltending is the offensive attack. Collin Delia returned to the ice with Rockford and allowed just one goal against him for the fifth time this season. In those five games, the IceHogs have a 1-1-3 record.
Rockford IceHogs goaltender Collin Delia. (Courtesy: Chicago Wolves)
While playing with the Chicago Blackhawks this season, Delia made 15 appearances with a 6-4-3 record, 3.48 GAA and a 0.909 save-percentage. Delia came back to the Blackhawks this season after Corey Crawford went down to injury in December, getting a much longer look at the NHL level this season than last. The Blackhawks activated Crawford from the injured reserve on Monday, thus Delia made the trip back to Rockford.
Talking ahead of the game against the Wolves, here are a few highlights of what Delia had to say about his time in Chicago and his return to the IceHogs:
Delia on returning to Rockford during playoff push: "I fell right back in order here. It's nice to see these guys again, we've had some shared adversities, so good to be around them again. I'll get up to speed on what we're doing but it's business as usual."#IceHogs #Blackhawks
— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) February 26, 2019
Delia on his takeaway from his time in Chicago: "First, it's validation that I can play & compete at the #NHL level. Now it's a matter of getting better. Forming better habits & knowing that when I go back, I want to have more success."#IceHogs #Blackhawks
— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) February 26, 2019
Delia added: "It's funny, this time last year we were in a similar situation, clawing & grinding to get into contention. It's how we see ourselves again, clawing & grinding away until we make this spot ours. It feels good when every game means something."#IceHogs #Blackhawks
— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) February 26, 2019
Calder Cup Playoff Push
Following the loss to the Wolves on Tuesday night, the IceHogs remain in fourth-place in the AHL Central Division, holding the final Divisional spot in the Calder Cup Playoff picture. The have a three-point cushion over the Texas Stars in fifth and trail the Iowa Wild by six points for third-place.
- Chicago Wolves (55 GP) – 32-17-6, 70 pts
- Grand Rapids Griffins (56 GP) – 31-17-8, 70 pts
- Iowa Wild (56 GP) – 28-17-11, 67 pts
- Rockford IceHogs (58 GP) – 26-23-9, 61 pts
- Texas Stars (55 GP) – 26-23-6, 58 pts
- Milwaukee Admirals (56 GP) – 23-21-12, 58 pts
- Manitoba Moose (55 GP) – 25-25-5, 55 pts
- San Antonio Rampage (55 GP) – 25-25-5, 55 pts
The Central Division remains the only Division in the AHL to have all teams be at the .500 or better mark on the season.
What’s Next?
The Rockford IceHogs are back in action on Friday as they host the Grand Rapids Griffins. Puck drop on Friday is set for 7pm CT at the BMO Harris Bank Center in Rockford. It will be the only game for the IceHogs in an 11-day span from yesterday until their tilt against the Manitoba Moose on March 9. Rockford holds a 4-3-0 record against the Griffins this season.