The Rockford IceHogs are riding a hot streak right now, winning the last seven games in a row and gaining points from the last eight games. Sweeping the weekend against the Milwaukee Admirals, the Hogs are trying to keep their Playoff dreams alive. They sit overall in 12th place in the Western Conference and 5th in the Midwest Division.
Saturday night the Admirals hosted the IceHogs in Milwaukee, with the Hogs winning 4-1. Then the IceHogs returned to Rockford to host the Admirals on Sunday, with the IceHogs sweeping the weekend 3-2.
Carter Hutton has the hot glove right now and the starting status for the IceHogs. He was named Rebok’s Player of the Week for the AHL for the second time this season and received his award before the game Sunday.
The IceHogs have been playing recently with several key players out with injuries. Brandon Pirri was sidelined with a lower body injury, but is expected to be back in the lineup for Friday’s game against the Aeros in Houston. Ben Smith is out for the season with a libral tear to his right hip and a hernia. He is expected to be out for about 16 weeks and is scheduled for endoscopic surgery on March 15th according to Chicago Blackhawks Head Team Physician Dr Michael Terry. Kyle Beach continues to remain out with a upper body injury.
In other IceHogs news, Brian Fahey was recently named Captain and Ryan Stanton & Rostislav Olesz were both named Alternate Captains. All of the top leadership positions had been vacated by recent trades.
The IceHogs return home on March 20th when they host the Hamilton Bulldogs. Puck drops at 7:05pm.
