Over the weekend, the Rockford IceHogs hosted the Tucson Roadrunners for a back-to-back set of games at the BMO Harris Bank Center. The IceHogs saw their win-streak improve to six games long after a win on Friday night before having the streak snapped with a loss on Saturday night. The win on Friday, paired with some beneficial results from around the AHL Central Division, the IceHogs have moved into a tie for fourth-place with the Milwaukee Admirals, the final Calder Cup Playoff spot in the Central.
IceHogs Split Weekend Against Tucson, Move Into Tie For Fourth
The Rockford IceHogs took a five-game win streak into the weekend as they prepared to host the Tucson Roadrunners for back-to-back games as they continued their current home stand.
Rockford IceHogs def. Tucson Roadrunners, 3-1
Getting the start in net on Friday night was Kevin Lankinen, coming off of wins in his last two starts for Rockford. The IceHogs got on the board first as Anthony Louis netted his 11th goal of the season late in the first period to give Rockford the 1-0 lead after 20 minutes of play.
The IceHogs extended their lead to 2-0 after Luke Johnson netted his ninth goal of the season six and a half minutes into the second period. The Roadrunners would answer back in the second period with a goal from Lane Pederson to make it a 2-1 game heading into the third period. In the final frame, Lankinen was able to stop all six shots he faced in the period, and Jacob Nilsson scored his 12th goal of the year, coming on a powerplay, to seal the IceHogs 3-1 win and extend their win-streak to six games.
Lankinen made 23 saves on 24 shots faced to earn his third win in-a-row, and improve his record on the season to 5-5-3, with a 2.35 GAA, and a 0.913 save-percentage. Lankinen has not allowed more than three goals in a start since October 19.
Tucson Roadrunners def. Rockford IceHogs, 5-3
Following the win on Friday, the IceHogs turned to Anton Forsberg in net for the second of the back-to-back contests. Forsberg came into Saturday night’s game on a three-game win streak of his own, holding down a 0.959 save-percentage over those three games and allowing just four goals over that span.
The IceHogs got on the board first in the opening period as Lucas Carlsson netted his eighth goal of the season, on a powerplay, to put the IceHogs up 1-0. The lead wouldn’t last long, though, as the Roadrunners answered back less than 30 seconds later to make it a 1-1 game at the mid-way point of the first period. Tucson would grab the 2-1 lead later in the first period on a goal from Jeremy Gregoire to give them the one-goal advantage heading into the second period.
The Roadrunners would net a powerplay goal in the second period to extend their lead to 3-1 in the middle frame and take the advantage into the third period. Rockford was not going away quietly, though, as Jordan Schroeder scored his 11th goal of the season, on the powerplay, to make it a 3-2 game. 40 seconds later, the IceHogs tied the game at 3-3 after Dennis Gilbert scored his first career AHL goal just beyond the mid-point of the third period.
The comeback effort of the IceHogs would be derailed late in the period as Tucson scored their second powerplay goal of the game with 2:20 minutes left in the game to make it a 4-3 Roadrunners lead before potting an empty-net goal to seal a 5-3 win and snap the Rockford six-game win streak. Anton Forsberg made 34 saves on 38 shots faced and saw his record this season move to 11-10-1, with a 2.63 GAA and a 0.920 save-percentage.
Rockford was 3-for-11 on the powerplay and 2-for-4 on the penalty kill over the weekend. This season, the IceHogs rank 30th in the AHL on the powerplay with a 15.2-percent success rate, while they rank 13th in the league on the penalty-kill with a 81.9-percent kill-rate.
With the weekend split, the IceHogs move into a tie for fourth-place in the AHL Central Division with the Milwaukee Admirals. Having both played 51 games this season, the IceHogs and Admirals are tied with 54 points in the standings, four points behind the Chicago Wolves in third-place and three points ahead of the Texas Stars in sixth-place.
Rockford holds a 4-2-1 record against Milwaukee in seven games this season. The two teams do not meet again until March 22, the first of three games in-a-row between the IceHogs and Admirals. After that, the two will meet twice in April, including the IceHogs season finale on April 14 in Rockford.
Roster Updates
The Chicago Blackhawks made a pair of moves over the last few days that have affected the Rockford IceHogs. First, the Blackhawks recalled forward Dylan Sikura on Monday morning. Sikura, who was riding a four-game points streak (G, 3 A) coming out of this weekend’s action, has 12 points in 14 games with the IceHogs since returning from Chicago in early January.
Rockford IceHogs forward Dylan Sikura. (Courtesy: Rockford IceHogs)
In 11 games this season with the Blackhawks, Sikura has 3 assists and is a plus-one rating. In his 16 career NHL games with the Blackhawks, Sikura has six assists.
Dylan Sikura back with #Blackhawks: pic.twitter.com/8HJ3ANBzZd
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) February 11, 2019
The other move that Chicago made regarding the IceHogs roster came to completion on Monday morning as defenseman Luc Snuggerud cleared unconditional waivers and has been released from his contract with the organization.
Luc Snuggerud of the Rockford IceHogs (Courtesy: Todd Reicher)
Snuggerud was a fifth-round draft pick by the Blackhawks in the 2014 NHL Draft out of Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota. After playing three seasons at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, Snuggerud joined the IceHogs late in the Spring of 2017. Injuries during the 2017-18 season, as well as a concussion early this season, have hindered Snuggerud’s ice-time and development since his promising start with Rockford. In 57 career AHL games, he tallied six goals and 18 assists.
Andrew Campbell Plays In 700th AHL Game
On Saturday night, IceHogs defenseman Andrew Campbell skated in his 700th career AHL game. In 11 AHL seasons, Campbell has suited up for the IceHogs, Tucson Roadrunners, Toronto Marlies, Portland Pirates, and Manchester Monarchs with 414 of his 700 AHL games coming with the Monarchs. He has served as a Captain or Alternate Captain for all five organizations he has played for in his AHL career.
Andrew Campbell of the Rockford IceHogs. (Courtesy: Rockford IceHogs)
Campbell, a former third-round pick by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2008 NHL Draft, was the Western Conference playing Captain at this year’s AHL All-Star Weekend. In his 700 career games, Campbell has 145 points and is a career +96. With the IceHogs this season, Campbell has skated in 45 games with three goals and one assist.
What’s Next?
The Rockford IceHogs are back in action on Tuesday night, continuing their season-high six-game home stand. On Tuesday, the IceHogs host the Texas Stars in a Central Division showdown. Puck drop is set for 7pm CT at the BMO Harris Bank Center. The IceHogs hold a 1-1-2 record against the Stars this season and are three points ahead of them in the Central Division standings heading into Tuesday night.