On Thursday, the American Hockey League announced the Divisional rosters for the AHL All-Star Weekend set to take place in Utica, New York on January 28-29. This year the Rockford IceHogs had two representatives named to the Central Division AHL All-Star team with forward Vince Hinostroza and defenseman Erik Gustafsson getting the nods.
Hinostroza, Gustafsson selected to represent IceHogs
The IceHogs will more than likely have just one representative at the AHL All-Star weekend, despite having two players selected. Hinostroza began the year with Rockford, tallying 22 points (9G, 13A) in 23 games before earning a call-up to the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 8. Since joining the Blackhawks, Hinostroza has played in nine games and has four points (2G, 2A) in his time. It’s more than likely that his play as of late will cause him to miss the AHL All-Star Weekend at the end of January, but he’d probably be alright with that.
For Gustafsson, his injury-plagued stretch of the season did not stop his productivity and his play since returning to the lineup shows his worth to the IceHogs. In 22 games played this season, Gustafsson has tallied 14 points (3G, 11A) despite missing nearly a month of action in November and December. Gustafsson was the IceHogs’ Defenseman of the year after leading the team in scoring for defensemen, and is already on pace to break last year’s point total (30).
What’s Next?
The IceHogs have a busy weekend ahead of them as they will play three games in three days, starting on Friday night. On Friday, Rockford travels to take on the Grand Rapids Griffins in Michigan. Puck drop for Friday’s game is set for 7pm ET.
After their contest with the Griffins, the IceHogs return home for two games to close the weekend. On Saturday, Rockford hosts the Cleveland Monsters for a 6pm CT puck drop. Finishing the weekend of action, the IceHogs host the Milwaukee Admirals on Sunday afternoon for a 4pm CT puck drop.
Heading into the final three games in three days stretch of their season, Rockford sits in a tie for second-place in the AHL Central Division with the Iowa Wild. Both teams have 38 points and a .559 points percentage, trailing the Manitoba Moose at the top of the Division with 51 points and a .773 points percentage.