Rockford, IL- The Rockford IceHogs (18-27-2-2) begin a two game set with the San Diego Gulls (22-15-6-4) tonight at 7 p.m. at the BMO Center. The two teams have not met since the 2023-24 season. 

The Matchup:

All Time Series: 87-82-15-12

Season Series: N/A

Tale of the Tape: The IceHogs take on the San Diego Gulls for the first of four games through the 2025-26 season. The Gulls fell in the shootout Wednesday night against the San Jose Barracuda to maintain their sixth-place spot in the Pacific Division. A few IceHogs got a close up look at San Diego netminder Calle Clang who was in net for the Pacific Division All-Stars last week at the BMO Center. In 19 games Clang has an 11-3-4 record and a 2.39 goals against average. Drew Commesso is expected to make his fourth consecutive start for Rockford this evening. Commesso has nine wins on the season with a .904 save percentage. 

Team Leaders: 

San Diego:

 Points- Sasha Pastujov- 34 points 

 Goals- Justin Bailey- 17G 

 Assists- Sasha Pastujov- 24A

Rockford:

 Points- Brett Seney- 36 points 

 Goals- Nick Lardis- 16G

 Assists- Brett Seney- 26A

Three Things to Know:

Playoff Picture: Both Rockford and San Diego are looking to solidify thier playoff position as we head into the final stretch of the regular season. The IceHogs enter the weekend trailing Milwaukee by five points for the final playoff spot in the Central Division. The Gulls have an eight point cushion for a playoff spot in the Pacific sitting in the sixth spot.

Olympic Connection: The IceHogs had seven former skaters and former head coach represent their respective nations in the 2026 Winter Games. Gustav Forsling, Henri Jokiharju, Philipp Kurashev, Kevin Lankinen, Lukas Reichel, Jan Rutta, and Teuvo Teravainen skated in at least one game during this years tournament. Former Head Coach Anders Sörensen served as an assistant coach for team Sweden. Current goaltender Drew Commesso reflected on becoming the youngest starting goalie for Team USA in the 2022 Winter Games. Commesso posted a 2-0 record as a 19-year-old in the 2022 Olympic games in Beijing. 

Roster Moves: Earlier this week the Blackhawks recalled defensemen Kevin Korchinski and Sam Rinzel. Korchinski, 21, has 23 points (2G, 21A) in 45 AHL games with Rockford and has one assist in two games with the Blackhawks this season. Rinzel has picked up14 points (2G, 12A) in 23 AHL games with Rockford this season. The IceHogs recalled defenseman Jérémie Bucheler from the Indy Fuel. Bucheler has skated in 15 games with the Fuel in his second professional season. 

2025-26 Matchups:

The IceHogs open a two game series with the San Diego Gulls tonight a 7 p.m. The first 2,500 fans will receive a Drew Commesso bobblehead. Tickets are available at icehogs.com.