As of Tuesday afternoon, the Rockford IceHogs are in solid position in the AHL Central Division standings, sitting in fourth place, seven points ahead of the Iowa Wild and Milwaukee Admirals in fifth and sixth place. With the Admirals and Wild teetering on the Calder Cup playoff elimination fence, Rockford could find themselves back in the Calder Cup Playoffs after missing out last season.
IceHogs On The Verge Of Clinching Calder Cup Playoff Spot
Heading into Tuesday night’s action, the IceHogs sit in fourth place in the Central Division, four points back of the three-way tie at the top of the Division between the Chicago Wolves, Manitoba Moose, and Grand Rapids Griffins. Being on one of the best runs in the Division since the beginning of March, 9-2-2 over 13 games, Rockford’s magic number sits at eight heading into the Admirals vs. Wolves and Wild vs. Monsters games on Tuesday night.
While losses by the Wild and Admirals don’t eliminate them fully, they will be in the deepest hole of the Calder Cup Playoff grind that they have faced all season. Pairing the play the IceHogs have produced with the current ten-game stretches for Iowa (2-7-1) and Milwaukee (5-5-0), the gap may be insurmountable for a final push in the last two weeks of the season. But nothing is impossible.
The Rockford IceHogs (left to right, Gustav Forsling, William Pelletier, Tanner Kero, Anthony Louis, Darren Raddysh) before taking on the Cleveland Monsters. (Courtesy: Todd Reicher)
For Rockford, the task ahead starts on Wednesday night in San Antonio as they face the Rampage, who are also pushing for a playoff spot in the Pacific Division themselves. After that, Rockford stays in Texas as they take on the Texas Stars for back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. The Stars are in the same spot as the IceHogs, holding onto the fourth and final playoff spot in the Pacific Division with a .031 percentage-point lead over the Stockton Heat and .036 percentage-point lead over the San Antonio Rampage.
Clendening Named Player Of The Week
One of the driving forces in the Rockford push to the Calder Cup Playoffs has come from the blue-line with defenseman Adam Clendening, in his return to Rockford, having one of the highest point-per-game ratio’s on the team since joining the IceHogs in January. With 28 points (4G, 24A) in 32 games, Clendening has been one of the most productive players for the IceHogs since mid-January and has helped propel them into the comfortable spot in the Calder Cup Playoff push that they are in.
Adam Clendening takes a shot. (Courtesy: Todd Reicher)
The AHL named Clendening the AHL/CCM Player of the Week after a seven-point (2G, 5A) stretch over three games, all three wins for Rockford, to close the month of March. Clendening can add the player of the week award to his record-breaking return to Rockford as he set the all-time franchise AHL record for points and assists by a defenseman earlier this year.
Delia Returns To Rockford, Jeff Glass Recalled To Chicago
Another big boost for the IceHogs this season has been in net. Jeff Glass and Collin Delia have been giving Rockford a chance to win, night in and night out all season. Delia has been on one of the hottest streaks in the league since January, going 13-4-4 since the beginning of the New Year, including no regulation losses since February 9. Delia earned his first NHL call up to the Chicago Blackhawks on March 28, making his NHL debut in an unexpected start on March 29 against the Winnipeg Jets.
Collin Delia of the Rockford IceHogs. (Courtesy: Todd Reicher)
His return is a huge boost to the IceHogs, but comes with Jeff Glass getting recalled to the Blackhawks in his place. Glass won both games he started after Delia was recalled, and has gone 5-4-0 since returning to Rockford in February from his own first NHL call up.
Jeff Glass makes a glove save against the Milwaukee Admirals. (Courtesy: Todd Reicher)
With Glass being recalled, the IceHogs will go with Delia and J.F. Berube in net for the next week before the NHL season comes to a close and Glass is eligible to return to Rockford for what seems to be a Calder Cup Playoff run. It will be an interesting situation for head coach Jeremy Colliton to navigate as he has rotated goalies pretty evenly all season with Glass getting 27 starts, Delia having 24 starts, and Berube having 15 starts with the IceHogs.
What’s Next?
There are only six games remaining for the IceHogs, five of which are on the road. Coming up for Rockford is a four-game road trip that starts on Wednesday night in San Antonio against the Rampage. Puck drop for Wednesday’s game is set for 7pm Central Time. After Wednesday’s contest, the IceHogs take on the Texas Stars for back-to-back games in Cedar Park Texas on Friday and Saturday. Friday’s puck drop is set for 7:30 pm Central time, with Saturday’s game set for a 7pm Central Time puck drop.