Here's everything you need to know as Rockford IceHogs battle for 2nd seed in AHL playoffs
The Rockford IceHogs locked in a berth in the 2024 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs earlier this month. But they have played so well of late, with three games left in the regular season, they are still fighting for the No. 2 seed out of the Central Division and home ice throughout the first round.
"We're excited, and now it's just wait and see," Hogs coach Anders Sorensen said Wednesday during the team's weekly press conference. "Everybody has that win-the-next-game mentality, though."
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The Hogs have won 18 of their last 22 games and are now just one point behind the second-place Grand Rapids in the Central Division standing. Both teams have three games left, and regardless of what happens, they will both then meet in the first round of the AHL playoffs. The question that remains is which team will have the No. 2 seed, and which will hold home-ice advantage.
Either way, the Hogs feel like they're ready for anything.
"There's a really good vibe going here right now," said center Rem Pitlick, second on the team with 55 points. "There's a lot of skilled players here and we're making a lot of good plays as a team. It's just very positive here, and it's really refreshing... We're ready for the playoffs."
What's left?
Rockford hosts the Chicago Wolves at the BMO Harris Center at 7 p.m. Friday in the regular-season home finale, with $2 beers and sodas on tap. The Hogs are then at Milwaukee on Saturday and close out the regular season at Chicago on Sunday.
Seney leads the way
Forward Brett Seney is having a historic season with 22 goals and 38 assists through 66 games, and he just recently became the sixth player in the Hogs' AHL era to reach 60 points. His 60 points are the most by a winger in Rockford’s AHL history, and it ranks him seventh in the AHL, while his 11 power-play goals are tied for sixth. Seney is on pace to be the first Hogs player to finish in the top 20 of league scoring since Brandon Pirri led the AHL with 75 points in 76 games in 2012-13. He had 22 goals that year.
Goalies stay hot
Jaxson Stauber just stopped 25 of 27 shots to earn his 13th straight win in a 4-2 victory on Sunday over the Milwaukee Admirals. Stauber, who is 18-7-3 and has a 2.77 goals-against average, also picked up an assist on Kindopp’s goal and now has five points on the season, including assists in his last two games. Drew Commesso has also had some hot streaks in the crease for the Hogs this season, and he is currently at 16-16-4 overall with a 2.69 goals-against average.
If Hogs finish third:
Game 1 will be at 7 p.m. on April 27 in Rockford; Game 2 will be at 6 p.m. May 1 at Grand Rapids (Michigan); Game 3 will be at 6 p.m. May 3 in Grand Rapids; Game 4, if necessary, will be at 4 p.m. May 5 in Rockford; Game 5, if necessary, will be at 6 p.m. May 10 in Grand Rapids.
If Hogs finish second:
Game 1 will be at 7 p.m. April 26 in Rockford; Game 2 will be at 7 p.m. April 27 in Rockford; Game 3 will be at 6 p.m. May 1 in Grand Rapids; Game 4, if necessary, will be at 6 p.m. May 3 in Grand Rapids; Game 5, if necessary, will be at 4 p.m. May 5 in Grand Rapids.
How to watch, listen to playoffs
Early-round playoff tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday. If you can not make it in person, all playoff games will be on IceHogs.com and on the IceHogs app, and they can be watched live on AHLTV and on cable at 19.2. Fans can also tune in on the radio at 104.9 FM, B103 FM, 95.3 FM and 100.5 FM.
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a wide variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears to youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star, and for over 30 years altogether.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford IceHogs have No. 2 seed in AHL Calder Cup Playoffs in sight
