IceHogs Series Preview: Division Semifinals vs. Texas

After sweeping the Iowa Wild in the First Round of the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs with back-to-back overtime wins, the Rockford IceHogs now face the Central Division Champion Texas Stars in the Division Semifinals for a best-of-three series starting on Friday at the BMO Center.

GAME 1: Friday, Apr. 28 at BMO Center, 7 p.m.

GAME 2: Sunday, Apr. 30 at BMO Center, 4 p.m.

GAME 3: Wednesday, May 3 at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park, 7 p.m.

GAME 4*: Friday, May 5 at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park, 7 p.m.

GAME 5*: Saturday, May 6 at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park, 7 p.m.

*if necessary

The Hogs needed two overtime victories against the Wild in Game 1 and Game 2 of the First Round to advance past Iowa and meet Texas. The Stars were one of three Central Division teams (Manitoba, Milwaukee) to avoid the First Round and earn automatic qualification to the Division Semifinals by virtue of a top-three finish in the standings.

Rockford and Texas met eight times during the regular season. Below is a look at how the two teams stack up against each other.

IceHogs Profile

The Hogs battled through two tight games against Iowa to arrive at the Division Semifinals. Goaltender Arvid Soderblom started both First Round games for Rockford, along with the last seven games of the regular season. The IceHogs have won seven of those last nine contests between the regular season and postseason combined, and Soderblom has a .920 save percentage in that span.

Stars Profile

Texas finished the regular campaign with 92 points to rank fifth in the AHL. The Stars were remarkably consistent during the season and never lost more than two consecutive games in regulation. Including overtime losses, they only suffered three straight defeats once from Nov. 6 to Nov. 9. Even during that three-game losing stretch, Texas still managed to pick up points in two of the games with a pair of overtime losses. The hottest stretch of the season for the Stars came in the form of an eight-game win streak from Dec. 2 to Dec. 20. The IceHogs ended the streak on Dec. 21 with an overtime win. Texas finished the season with a 6-2-0-0 record in April.

Riley Barber led the Stars in scoring with 64 points, and his 32 goals ranked fourth in the AHL just behind Rockford’s Rocco Grimaldi with 33. Texas featured a balanced offensive attack with three scorers over 50 points and eight players over 40 points. The Stars’ backend was as versatile as any team that Rockford faced in the regular season. The blue line combo of Ryan Shea and Alex Petrovic was particularly effective this season with each defenseman posting a rating of +37 and +34 respectively to lead the league.

The Matchup

Rockford and Texas met eight times during the regular season, and the IceHogs won the season series with a 5-3-0-0 record against their division rivals. Prior to the Stars claiming a 5-3 victory on Feb. 22 in the series finale, Rockford had won three straight matchups against Texas. Five of the eight games were decided by one goal, and three of the games were decided in overtime. The IceHogs won all three of the overtime contests. Rockford’s power play operated at 21.7% (5/23) against Texas, up significantly from its 16.3% mark that it posted throughout the regular season.

David Gust and Luke Philp were two of Rockford’s biggest standouts against Texas. Gust turned in 12 points (8G, 4A) during the eight games against the Stars, including two two-goal efforts. Philp appeared in just six matches against the Stars but racked up 10 points (4G, 6A) in those games. Former IceHog Tanner Kero led the Stars with nine points (5G, 4A) in eight games against his old teams.

Who’s Hot

RFD- David Gust is the only IceHogs skater to record goals in each of the games against Iowa in the First Round. Gust now has 18 points (7G, 11A) in 30 career Calder Cup Playoff games.

RFD- Defenseman Alex Vlasic posted his first two career Calder Cup Playoff points with a pair of assists in Game 2 against Iowa. The rookie blueliner assisted on Buddy Robinson’s game-winning goal in overtime to clinch the series.

TEX- Stars captain Curtis McKenzie had racked up points in six straight games before failing to contribute to a goal in the last game of the regular season. McKenzie racked up eight total points (2G, 6A) in that six-game span.

TEX- Mavrik Borque started the month of April on a wild tear for the Stars. The forward scored seven goals in a span of four games from Apr. 1 against San Jose to Apr. 11 against Manitoba, including a hat trick on Apr. 7 against Tucson. Borque was named the AHL Player of the week for the period ending Apr. 9.

Special Teams

Rockford’s power play received a big boost from Isaak Phillips when the defenseman scored on the man-advantage in the first period of Game 2 against Iowa. Through two games in the First Round, the IceHogs’ power play posted a 1-6 mark. Luke Philp led the IceHogs with 11 power-play goals during the regular season, and Lukas Reichel led the club with 21 power-play points (5G, 16A).

Texas ranked 20^th on the power play during the regular campaign at 18.2%. The Stars’ penalty kill was sharp throughout the season and finished with the league’s fifth-best mark at 83.7%. They also managed to produce 13 shorthanded goals throughout the season, tying them for the most in the league. Three of the Stars’ shorties came against the Hogs. Riley Barber leads Texas with nine power-play goals during the regular campaign, and Will Butcher leads the team with 20 power-play points (2G, 18A).

In the Crease

After making 29 saves in Game 1 against Iowa and 26 saves in Game 2, Rockford’s Arvid Soderblom is now 4-0 in First Round Calder Cup Playoff games. He won his first two Calder Cup Playoff appearances last season against Texas in the First Round and posted a 36-save shutout in Game 2 against the Stars to clinch the series. The blanking was the first ever IceHogs AHL postseason shutout.

Texas’ Matthew Murray played extremely well opposite Soderblom in last season’s First Round matchup. The Stars’ backstop repelled 59 of 62 IceHogs shots in the two-game series but was tagged with two losses. In his first full professional campaign in 2022-23, Murray earned the role of No. 1 goaltender with an 18-10-3-2 record, 2.37 goals-against average, and a .911 save percentage. Down the stretch, Murray split the crease with rookie Remi Poirier who spent most of the season in the ECHL with the Idaho Steelheads. Poirier was solid in his first career AHL action with a 9-5-2-0 record, 2.74 goals-against average, and a .907 save percentage.

Interestingly enough, both No. 1 goaltenders in this series were winless against the opposition during the regular season. Soderblom lost both of his appearances against Texas on Dec. 20 (6-1) and Feb. 22 (5-3). Murray lost two games in regulation on Nov. 13 and Nov. 23 to the Hogs and one game in overtime on Feb. 17.

Home Ice Advantage

During the 2022-23 regular season, the IceHogs held a 3-1-0-0 advantage over the Stars at the BMO Center. Rockford finished with an 18-14-1-3 record at home during the regular season. Texas is a strong road team and published a 19-9-7-1 record when playing away from the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. Home teams posted a 13-5 record in the First Round of the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Historical Perspective

The 2023 Central Division Semifinals marks the fifth time that Rockford and Texas have met in the Calder Cup Playoffs. The Stars are the IceHogs’ most common opponent, and Rockford owns a 7-8 record in 15 previous appearances against Texas. The two sides first met in the post season in the 2010 Calder Cup Playoffs when Texas swept Rockford in four games in the opening round. The Hogs returned the favor in 2015 by sweeping the Stars in three games during the first round. The 2018 Western Conference Finals between Rockford and Texas reached six games before the Stars claimed a 4-2 series win. Rockford fell behind three games to none before battling back with two consecutive victories. Last season, the Hogs claimed a two-game series sweep against Texas. Arvid Soderblom allowed just one goal in the two-game series, and Dylan McLaughlin scored the series-clinching overtime winner in Game 2.