It was an eventful night in Rockford as the IceHogs opened their home portion of the 2019–20 season with a 4–2 loss against the Grand Rapids Griffins Saturday night. Prior to the puck dropping, the Chicago Blackhawks activated and assigned 2019 NHL Entry Draft third overall pick Kirby Dach to the IceHogs for a conditioning assignment. Dach made his professional debut with the IceHogs a few hours later.
Dach’s conditioning stint can only last a maximum of 14 days with the IceHogs, per the NHL CBA. He has a chance to play up to five games with Rockford over that 14-day period and it began on Saturday night against the Griffins.
Dach makes pro debut with IceHogs
In a game where 10 former first-round picks were dressed between the two teams, Dach was predictably noticeable very early on in his debut game, nearly getting his first goal as a pro on his second shift of the night. The IceHogs would get on the board first with a rebound goal coming from Anton Wedin midway through the first period, his first goal in his first game with Rockford.
Welcome to the AHL, Anton 🚨 pic.twitter.com/lw4ePr8DS5
— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) October 12, 2019
While the start to the first period was ideal for the IceHogs, the final five minutes saw the Griffins turn the momentum back in their favor, ending up with a game-tying goal coming from a scrum in front of Collin Delia. The period would end 1–1.
The Griffins took the momentum fully back just a minute into the second period as Delia was pulled from his net by a collision with Lucas Carlsson and Givani Smith, leaving Michael Rasmussen with an empty-net rebound goal to make it 2–1. Just two minutes later, Filip Zadina would make it 3–1 with a power play goal.
Needing a spark, Dylan Sikura fired a shot from between the circles with heavy traffic in front of Griffins goaltender Filip Larsson and it found the back of the net to make it a 3–2 game. Sikura’s second goal of the season, picking up where he left off last season as one of the top point-producers for Rockford.
Dyl pickle has us back within one! 🥒 pic.twitter.com/DE0sJ6oTqe
— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) October 13, 2019
The IceHogs used the Sikura goal to build some pressure on the Griffins in the second period and had some decent looks on their first power play of the game, but nothing came of it. Grand Rapids would capitalize on a chance off a face off late in the second period to make it a 4–2 game heading into the third.
Not helping their own cause, the IceHogs took two early penalties to begin the third period, putting themselves on a five-on-three penalty kill, but were able to kill both off. Rockford would have their own power play chance near the midway point of the third, but would not get a quality chance on it, even giving up a chance against for the Griffins off an Adam Boqvist turnover.
Rockford was unable to get much momentum back in the remainder of the final frame and would fall 4–2 to the Griffins. Delia made 24 saves on 28 shots, Sikura and Wedin were named third and first stars of the game, respectively.
Final score aside, the main attraction of the night was the debut of Dach. He played with a decent pace, given this was his first game action since playing in the Traverse City rookie tournament. IceHogs head coach Derek King gave him the opportunities to have an impact on the game, playing him on the power play and giving his line with Brandon Hagel and Nick Moutrey a hefty amount of ice time. Dach will have a few more games to play with the IceHogs before Chicago needs to make another move regarding his playing status.
To sum up his game in one sentence would be to say he is not afraid to mix things up right away and has the speed and skill to play at the pro level. But, those things were already evident. He will need to build over the next two weeks, but it is a start.
What’s next?
The Rockford IceHogs are back in action on Monday afternoon as they host Laval Rocket. Puck drop for Monday’s Columbus Day matinee is set for 1 p.m. CDT. It is the first-ever meeting between the teams.