Game Preview: IceHogs Visit Rosemont For Season Finale

Game Preview Presented by Roofers and Waterproofers Local 11

Rockford, IL.- The Rockford IceHogs conclude the 2024-25 regular season with a matchup against their in-state rival, the Chicago Wolves. Rockford will look to end the regular season with back-to-back wins following an emphatic 4-1 victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins last night. The season finale will begin at 7 p.m. at Allstate Arena in Rosemont.

Friday Night Fireworks:
The IceHogs wrapped up their season series with Grand Rapids last night in a high-octane showdown between the two bitter rivals. Neither team would find the back of the net until the 2nd period when Brett Seney set up Gavin Hayes on a 2-on-1 rush to break the ice. The goal at 4:50 of the middle period was the 5th of the season for Hayes. Zach Sanford would double the lead at the 9:07 mark of the second period for his 19th goal of the year. The BMO Center crowd of over 5,900 would erupt when both teams ended the second period with a line brawl after Griffins forward Austin Watson went after Drew Commesso after the buzzer sounded. All ten skaters on the ice would be involved in the confrontation, drawing 13 penalties at the conclusion of the period. Defenseman Cavan Fitzgerald would add to the lead in the 3rd period with his 8th goal of the season. Grand Rapids would beat Commesso later in the period but Jalen Luypen would put the finishing touches with an empty net goal. Commesso ended the night with 22 saves for his 18th win, matching his win total from last season. Interim Head Coach Mark Eaton was impressed by the IceHogs' effort Friday night.

"It was by-far the highest intensity game we've played this year. They tried to push us around but we were team tough and didn't backdown, it was a great team effort and it was a great precursor to what we are going to see next week, regardless of who we play," Eaton said.

2024-25 Records:
Rockford- 31-32-6-2, 70 points (5th Central Division)
Chicago- 36-31-4-0, 76 points (4th Central Division)

Tale Of The Tape:
Rockford will look to snap a two-game skid against their instate rival tonight at 7 p.m. Chicago took the last meeting with a 5-4 win in the shootout. Rockford trails the season series against Chicago with a 3-8 record through the first 11 meetings. Despite the 3-8 record, Rockford has gotten impressive outings against Chicago as three different players have recorded hat-tricks against the Wolves. Gerry Mayhew, Joey Anderson, and Jackson Cates have all tallied hat-tricks against Chicago. Anderson had a season-high five-point (4G, 1A) outing in Rosemont on Jan. 5. Going into the final game of the season, the IceHogs and Wolves are slated to meet in the first round of the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs. The last time the teams met in the postseason was in the 2021-22 season where Chicago would go on to win the Calder Cup.

Special Teams Showdown:
In what became a noticeable trend against Grand Rapids all season long, Rockford was tasked with a handful of penalty killing opportunities Friday night. Grand Rapids would get five chances on the man advantage and the IceHogs would go 4/5 on the penalty-kill. Both of the Griffins goals in their 2-1 win over Rockford on Wednesday came on the power-play but the man advantage struggled in the series finale with the IceHogs. Rockford was unable to take advantage when presented with seven chances on the power-play, including a two-man advantage which lasted for over a minute. The IceHogs' power-play has fallen to 21st in the AHL. The return of Kevin Korchinski and Artyom Levshunov is expected to bolster the Rockford man-advantage as both defenseman have led the back end on the power-play this season.

Scouting The Wolves:
Chicago enters the season finale having been shutout by the Milwaukee Admirals 5-0 Friday night. The Wolves have a 2-3 record over their last five games. Scott Morrow leads the way for the Wolves in meetings against Rockford, posting 13 points (5G, 8A) in 10 games. Justin Robidas and Bradley Nadeau also have 13 points against Rockford with Nadeau scoring the shootout winner the last time the two teams played on Mar. 25. Dustin Tokarski is 5-0 in five starts against Rockford this season, putting up a .924 save percentage over those five starts.

2024-25 Head to Head Matchups:
Nov. 2 vs Chicago L 2-3
Nov. 17 @ Chicago 3 p.m. L 0-4
Nov. 29 vs Chicago 7 p.m. L 3-5
Dec. 1 @ Chicago 3 p.m. W 6-3
Jan. 4 @ Chicago 7 p.m. L 0-4
Jan. 5 @ Chicago 3 p.m. W 5-3
Jan. 25 vs Chicago 7 p.m. L 2-3 OT
Jan. 31 vs Chicago 7 p.m. L 2-3
Feb. 14 vs Chicago 7 p.m. W 6-3
Feb. 23 @ Chicago 3 p.m. L 2-4
Mar. 25 vs Chicago 7 p.m. L 4-5 SO
Apr. 19 @ Chicago 7 p.m.