Rockford, IL- The Rockford IceHogs (16-26-2-2) will play the first of three consecutive games  against the Milwaukee Admirals (19-19-2-2) tonight at at 6 p.m. The IceHogs enter the matchup with a chance to close the gap against Milwaukee for the fifth seed in the Central division standings. 

The Matchup:

All Time Series: 85-82-15-12

Season Series: 3-3-2-0

Last Time Out: Rockford will look to get back into the win column after starting the weekend with a 5-2 loss to the Iowa Wild. Rockford had a strong start to the opening 20 minutes and took the lead when Dominic Toninato tallied his 10th goal of the season at 7:03. The IceHogs would be denied by goalie Cal Peterson who made a series of big saves to keep the score at just 1-0 at the conclusion of the opening frame. Iowa would take the lead with back-to-back goals less than a minute apart in the middle period before Toninato would respond with his second goal of the night. Iowa would pull away in the third, scoring three times to pick up their first win over Rockford this season. Rockford was unable to register a power play tally in six chances. 

Team Leaders: 

Milwaukee:

 Points- Ryan Ufko - 40 points 

 Goals- Daniel Carr- 16G 

 Assists- Ryan Ufko- 30A

Rockford:

 Points- Brett Seney- 33 points 

 Goals- Rem Pitlick- 13G

 Assists- Brett Seney- 23A

Three Things to Know:

Rinzel Returns: The Chicago Blackhawks announced this week that they have assigned defenseman Sam Rinzel to Rockford. Rinzel, 21, has skated in 20 games with the IceHogs this season recording two goals and ten assists. The 2022 first round selection has two goals and seven assists in 31 games with the Blackhawks this season. Rinzel tallied two assists in his AHL debut against the Iowa Wild on Dec. 10. Rinzel tallied two assists in last nights game against the Wild. 

Season Series: The IceHogs and Admirals will face-off for three consecutive games starting tonight at UW-M Panther Arena. Milwaukee has taken the last two meetings, most recently posting a 5-3 win last week. The Hogs enter tonight's contest six points behind the Admirals for the final playoff position in the division with 26 games remaining. Rockford is led by Ethan Del Mastro who has seven points against Milwaukee this season while Nick Lardis and Brett Seney both have three goals against their Central division rival this season. 

You're An All-Star: The Screw City is making the final preparations for the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic which will take place next week. The IceHogs announced that Wayne Messmer will perform the “Star-Spangled Banner" for the Skills Competition on Feb. 10.  Jim Cornelison will perform “O Canada” and the “Star-Spangled Banner" for the All-Star Classic. The Hogs will be represented on the ice by Kevin Korchinski, who was the 2025 All-Star Classic MVP, and Nick Lardis. A complete schedule of the events can be found here. 

The IceHogs and BMO Center will host the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic beginning with the Skills Competition next Tuesday, February 10. The All-Star Challenge will take place Wednesday, February 11. A limited amount of tickets are still available for each event and available at icehogs.com.