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Rockford IceHogs roll past Chicago Wolves in 'do-or-die, playoff-type game'

charlie roumeliotis
·6 min read
3

IceHogs roll past Wolves in 'do-or-die, playoff-type game' originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

ROCKFORD, Ill. — The Rockford IceHogs played one of their biggest games of the season on Tuesday against the Chicago Wolves at BMO Harris Bank Center, with a one-point difference separating the two from the final playoff spot going into the day. You could feel the magnitude of it leading up to puck drop.

"It's a playoff-type game, for sure," IceHogs head coach Anders Sorensen said before the game. "Big points up for grabs here."

David Gust concurred: "You don't want to put all your eggs in one basket ... but it kind of has that do-or-die feel to it, for sure."

The stakes were so high that Lukas Reichel was reassigned by the Blackhawks — along with Alex Vlasic — earlier than expected for additional reinforcements. Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson and the management group were also in attendance, presumably to closely watch which players would stand out in a high-pressure tilt.

The IceHogs delivered in a massive way, rolling past the Wolves 6-3 and giving themselves some breathing room in the playoff race. They now hold a three-point advantage following Tuesday's win with three games left for both teams.

"It was huge," Reichel said. "It was a really big game for us. I think we all played pretty well. All four lines were pretty good. Good team win."

The IceHogs absolutely dominated the first period, outshooting the Wolves 17-4. If it wasn't for goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov — who looks to be a future NHL star in the making — the score could have been much worse than 1-1.

The IceHogs pulled away in the second period, which got chippy. In total, they finished with 39 shots and allowed only 16, showing just how lopsided this game actually was.

Luke Philp registered his first career professional hat trick, which included a shorthanded goal, and also an assist. Michal Teply scored a goal and added two primary assists. Brett Seney found the back of the net, as did Rocco Grimaldi, who quietly had a three-point night. Vlasic played almost half the game, no exaggeration. Reichel shined, as usual. It was a solid overall win for the IceHogs.

"It's hard to put into words," Sorensen said of the importance of the win. "Huge. Really happy with it. ... It was probably our best 60 minutes all season, I would say, in terms of how we competed and how we played the right way, so to speak."

With the win, the IceHogs can perhaps start to shift their attention to the No. 4 spot and put the Wolves in the rearview mirror. They are one point behind the Iowa Wild for home-ice advantage in the potential play-in series, although the schedule won't do them any favors down the stretch. They play three games in three nights with a road-home-road finish.

"The games are only going to get harder and tougher," said Philp. "We have three in three nights to finish the season here. We've got to make sure we're good for these games and make sure we're doing everything we can to be ready and get that last playoff spot."

It's been a tale of two halves this season for the IceHogs, who had a really strong first half following a 1-3-0 start out of the gates. Since the calendar flipped to 2023, however, it's been a grind, and it's mostly due to the roster turnover:

  • Reichel, most notably, spent more than a month with the Blackhawks after the trade deadline, and he was Rockford's leading scorer at the time of the call-up.

  • Cole Guttman, who ranked third on the team in goals and fifth in points, was also brought up by the Blackhawks and his season got cut short because of a shoulder injury.

  • Gust, Philp and Seney, all three of whom are Top 4 on the IceHogs in scoring, were each rewarded with call-ups to the Blackhawks, combining for 14 games.

  • Isaak Phillips and Vlasic, who have been two of the best defensemen not just for Rockford this season but the entire AHL, played a combined 22 games with the Blackhawks. Filip Roos also appeared in 17 contests.

  • Mike Hardman recently earned a call-up and played eight games with the Blackhawks before heading back to Rockford.

That's a long transactions list, and I still haven't mentioned the injuries the IceHogs dealt with. At one point earlier in the season, Arvid Soderblom and Jaxson Stauber were the two goaltenders for the Blackhawks due after Petr Mrazek and Alex Stalock were out with injuries. And when Soderblom returned to Rockford, he got hurt and missed multiple weeks with a groin injury. Not an ideal situation.

"It seems like the timing of it, we had injuries, they had injuries up top, and when we got guys back then those guys got injured," Sorensen said. "It's been a little bit of a juggle, for sure."

Nobody's trying to make excuses. Every team goes through it; it's more-so just highlighting the challenges that an AHL team has to deal with, and it seemed to be more abnormal than usually this season for Rockford.

The IceHogs not only went into the season with playoff-type aspirations but they wanted to play deep into the spring, too. They still can, even though their rhythm has been disrupted with players coming and going at random times because of a trickle-down effect with the big club.

Tuesday was the first time in months that the IceHogs essentially had a full lineup. It showed, too. They elevated their game and picked up just their fifth win in regulation since the start of January.

The win and getting bodies back could perhaps serve as a springboard for the IceHogs as they look to make a playoff run, which would be a valuable experience for the Blackhawks' young prospects.

"It is a hard league," said Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson, who served as an AHL head coach for four years with the Binghamton Senators. "It’s obviously the next league to here. They know there’ll be lots of eyes on them watching, so that’s going to put added pressure on them to play the right way and to push.

"But it’s a fun time of year. Playoffs are so fun in hockey. You get on a roll, there’s nothing like, you don’t practice much, you go to the rink, you have a short practice, you have a meeting, you’re outside, the sun’s shining, the weather’s getting warmer and you go in the next night and you win again. I think you can get on a roll like that. That’d be great for them to have that opportunity. It’s a good scenario if they can get in and go on a bit of a run there."

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