Competition Grows Ahead of FanFest Scrimmage

After an exciting scrimmage yesterday, the IceHogs and their 40-man training camp roster returned to normal workouts with adjustments to the Team A/Team B lineup.

With defensemen Carl Dahlstrom and Joni Tuulola joining camp on Tuesday and forwards Matthew Highmore, Alexandre Fortin and Victor Ejdsell arriving Wednesday, Team A for Wednesday had a high-caliber lineup:

Team A

FWs: Louis, Highmore, Fortin, Iacopelli, Schroeder, Nilsson, Sikura, Knott, Ejdsell, Samuelsson, Noel

D: Campbell, Snuggerud, Carlsson, Tuulola, Dahlstrom, Raddysh

G: Tomkins, Lankinen

Clean offensive zone entries and execution a focus today. Plenty of work Lankinen and Tomkins on both sides of the ice. Sikura working with Broadhurst and Fortin. Highmore, Samuelsson and Nilsson together. Iacopelli-Noel-Knott trio. Schroeder with Louis and Ejdsell.

After a few rounds, the forwards and defense split. Forwards play “keep away” 2-on-3 with emphasis on puck movement, defensive positioning in the high slot and point positions and communication.

Today’s Team B will have some bite going into tomorrow’s FanFest scrimmage. We shall see who rises from the group and what changes/additions will be made come the weekend.

Team B

FWs: Sandler, Bomhower, Kurker, Moynihan, Welychka, Dufour, Maloney, Bondra, Schmalz

D: Gilbert, Hillman, Manning, DeBrincat, McArdle, Schurhamer, Powers

G: Iles, Pawloski

FanFest is TOMORROW night starting at 6 PM here at the BMO. The intrasquad scrimmage will be a full game and the final scrimmage ahead of the 2018-19 regular-season opener in Cleveland on October 5 and 6. Puck drops at 7 and warmups starting around 6:30.

The FanFest is FREE and the entire team will be signing autographs after the scrimmage. The IceHogs will also be giving away Blackhawks tickets and have new merchandise up for grabs in Oink Outfitters. Add food trucks and ice-level access to watch the game to the mix and it is going to be a fun night.