Official site of the Rockford IceHogs
Proud Affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks

HOGS PICK UP A WIN IN WEEK 20

Vs LE Morin
Rockford goes 1-2-0-0 in three games

Week 20 Recap:
Alexander Salak didn’t look like he had missed nearly two months of game action when he returned from a lower-body injury in Week 20, but the IceHogs only came away with one win. Lake Erie bested Rockford 4-3 on Wednesday despite late goals from Dylan Olsen and Ben Smith, but Salak was solid in net on Friday, carrying the IceHogs to a 2-1 win over the Wolves. Chicago would not allow a weekend sweep, however, notching three second period goals en route to a 6-2 win on Saturday.


Week 20 Results
Wednesday, Feb. 8: Lake Erie 4 vs. Rockford 3
Friday, Feb. 10: Chicago 1 vs. Rockford 2
Saturday, Feb. 11: Chicago 6 vs. Rockford 2

Week 21 Schedule
Wednesday, Feb. 15 vs. Peoria, 7:05 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 17 at Toronto, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 18 at Hamilton, 6 p.m.


Bacon Bits:
Rockford hasn’t scored more than three goals in a game in 14 straight contests dating back to Jan. 7

Rockford is 8-5-0-1 during those 14 games

Winger Jimmy Hayes is riding a five-game point streak dating back to Dec. 26, totaling 3g-3a during his hot streak

Center Peter LeBlanc has points in four-straight games (1g-5a) and in six of his last seven contests going back to Jan. 26, accumulating 5g-5a

LeBlanc now has 31 points, including 16g-15a, in 46 games to surpass his rookie point production of 12g-18a-30pts in 57 games a season ago

Rockford’s power play has tallied a goal in a season-high six-straight games dating back to Jan. 27, going 8-29 (27.6%)

During that six-game stretch, the IceHogs have raised their power play from 15.8% to 17.3% and now rank 17th in the league on the PP

The six-game streak is the longest since a six game power-play scoring streak last season from Dec. 8 to Dec. 18 when the IceHogs went 7-32 (21.9%)

Goalie Alexander Salak made his first appearance since Dec. 2 on Friday and went 1-0-0-0 with a .977 save percentage and a 0.66 goals against average over the weekend

After going 7-1-1 with a .934 SPCT and a 1.86 GAA in January, Carter Hutton is 0-3-0 with a .814 SPCT and a 5.33 GAA in three February appearances

Winger Brandon Bollig was whistled for 17 penalty minutes on Saturday and is fourth in the AHL with 149 PIMs on the season

When trailing after two periods on the road this season, Rockford is 4-8-1-1, but 0-11-0-0 when losing after 40 minutes on home ice

Rockford has played the Chicago Wolves six times since Jan. 11 and the two clubs have split the six games 3-3-0-0

Through 10 games of their 12-game regular season set with the Wolves, every contest has finished in regulation


Hot Hog: Week 19:
Peter LeBlanc, Center
Center Peter LeBlanc tallied assists in all three of Rockford’s games during Week 20, totaling five assists overall, and climbs to third in scoring on the IceHogs. LeBlanc opened the week by assisting on both of Rockford’s goals in a 4-2 loss to Lake Erie on Wednesday. On Friday, the second-year center marked a helper in the Hogs 2-1 win over the Wolves and then added two more assists on Saturday against Chicago. Overall this season, LeBlanc now has 16g-15a-31pts.

Upcoming Games:
Wednesday, Feb. 15 vs. Peoria Rivermen. Midwest Division rival Peoria comes to town for another Illinois Lottery Cup tilt at 7:05 p.m. The mathcup is the 10th of 12 between Rockford and Peoria, who have not played each other since Dec. 31. Fans can take advantage of another Taco Bell Dollar Day by purchasing beers, hot dogs, soft drinks and companion tickets for one dollar each.

Friday, Feb. 17 at Toronto Marlies. Rockford travels to Toronto for the first and only time this season to take on the Marlies. Game time is 6 p.m. It is the second and final meeting between the two clubs in 2011-12. Friday’s game is also the first of a two-game trip in Canada for the IceHogs.

Saturday, Feb. 18 at Hamilton Bulldogs. The second leg of the IceHogs’ trip to Canada finds them in Hamilton to take on the Bulldogs. Puck drop is at 6 p.m. It is the first of two contests between the teams this season. Hamilton will make the trip to the BMO Harris Bank Center on March 20.

Bud Light Hog Talk Returns To Granite City Tonight:
Bud Light Hog Talk makes its weekly appearance tonight at Granite City Food and Brewery. Stephen Nelson hosts IceHogs Head Coach Ted Dent, forward Rostislav Olesz and goalie Alexander Salak. Granite City is located at 7140 Harrison Ave. next to CherryVale Mall. Fans can join Mike Peck or Stephen Nelson from 6-7 p.m. most Mondays as they chat with IceHogs skaters and coaches. Stop by to take advantage of food and Bud Light specials. If you can't make it to Granite City, tune into 100.5 NTA FM or 1330 AM WNTA.

The IceHogs Broadcasting Network:
Rockford IceHogs fans can catch all of the IceHogs regular and post-season games on the Hogs’ flagship radio station, Rockford’s Voice 100.5 NTA FM and 1330 AM WNTA, and 30 regular season games on ESPN Radio 1380 AM WTJK. Fans can also watch and listen to the Hogs on the World Wide Web with AHL Live! Visit the IceHogs website (icehogs.com) and click on the “click here to watch the AHL Live” icon, and for just $7 you can catch all of the IceHogs action on your computer. Also, fans with Comcast Cable television in Rockford can tune in to Channel 57 for all the IceHogs hockey action at the BMO Harris Bank Center this season. All Saturday home games will also be televised on My Network TV digital subchannel 17.2 along with Comcast and Charter Cable channel 16. The broadcast begins with the U.S. Cellular Pregame Show 30 minutes before the puck drops. Make sure to give your opinion during the Comcast Post-Game Call-In Show following each game at (815) 874-8255.

Tickets Now On Sale!

IceHogs individual game tickets are now on sale! Call (815) 968-5222 to reserve your seats for any IceHogs regular season game during the 2011-12 season. Tickets can also be purchased in person at the BMO Harris Bank Center Box Office in downtown Rockford or on the Web at www.theBMOHarrisBankCenter.com. Tickets start at just $7.


llinois Lottery Cup Series Standings
Teams Record Points
Peoria 10-6-0-1 21
Chicago 10-5-0-0 20
Rockford 7-11-1-0 15

Rockford vs. Peoria 3-5-1-0
Rockford vs. Chicago 4-6-0-0


Upcoming Illinois Lottery Cup Games:
Feb. 15 vs. Peoria