Previous Week’s Record: 2-1-0-0

Wednesday, Apr. 28 at Grand Rapids
Forward Dylan McLaughlin struck on the power play and rookie Mitch Fossier converted on a third-period penalty shot, but the Grand Rapids Griffins (12-7-3-0) held on for a 3-2 win over the Rockford IceHogs (9-15-1-0) at Van Andel Arena Wednesday night. Recap & Highlights

Saturday, May 1 vs. Grand Rapids
For the first time in 422 days, the Rockford IceHogs (10-15-1-0) welcomed Season Ticket Holders back inside BMO Harris Bank Center as they took on the Grand Rapids Griffins (12-9-3-0), earning an energetic 3-2 victory Saturday night. Forward Dylan McLaughlin recorded a goal and an assist and forward Brandon Pirri extended his point streak to a team season-high five games with
a power-play goal. Recap & Highlights

Monday, May 3 at Grand Rapids
Forwards Evan Barratt (one goal, one assist), Andrei Altybarmakian (two assists), and Chad Yetman (one goal, one assist) each recorded two-point games and forward Tim Soderlund and defenseman Cody Franson dazzled in the shootout to send the Rockford IceHogs (11-15-1-0) over the Grand Rapids Griffins (12-9-3-1), 3-2, at Van Andel Arena Monday night. Recap & Highlights

Record: 11-15-1-0 (6th Place, Central Division)
Home: 7-8-0-0
Away: 4-7-1-0
Last 10 Games: 5-5-0-0
Streak: 2-0-0-0
Goals: Chris Wilkie, Dylan McLaughlin (7)
Assists: Cody Franson (13)
Points: Dylan McLaughlin (19)
Penalty Minutes: Reese Johnson (40)
Power-Play Goals: Dylan McLaughlin (3)
Power-Play Assists: Cody Franson (8)
Power-Play Points: Cody Franson (9)
Shorthanded Goals: Chris Wilkie (3)
Shorthanded Assists: Dylan McLaughlin (2)
Shorthanded Points: Chris Wilkie, Dylan McLaughlin (3)
Game-Winning Goals: Dylan McLaughlin (3)
Wins: Matt Tomkins (4)
GAA: Cale Morris (2.52)
SPCT: Cale Morris (.923)

Defenseman Cody Franson is tied for sixth among AHL defensemen with 17 points (four goals, 13 assists), tied for second among league blueliners with eight power-play assists and tied for fourth with nine power-play points.

Forward Chris Wilkie is tied for first in the AHL with three shorthanded goals and tied for second with three shorthanded points.

Forward Dylan McLaughlin is tied for second in the league with two shorthanded assists and three shorthanded points (one goal, two assists).

Forward Riley McKay is tied for third among AHL rookies with three major penalties.

Hogs Welcome Season Ticket Holders for the First Time in Over A Year
Saturday’s showdown against the Grand Rapids Griffins at BMO Harris Bank Center marked the end of a long 422-day drought of in-person IceHogs entertainment in the Stateline as the organization welcomed fans, 2021 Season Ticket Holders, into the building for the first time. Prior to the evening, the final IceHogs home game in front of fans was March 6, 2020, a 4-0 win over the Griffins.

Meijer First Goal Frenzy Continues to Rise After Weekend vs. Grand Rapids
Forward Brandon Pirri's first-period goal on Saturday vs. Grand Rapids and Evan Barratt's goal in the opening period on Monday at Grand Rapids to open the game scoring and added to the Meijer First Goal Frenzy donation! When the IceHogs score the first goal of each game this season, Meijer will donate $50 to Rock House Kids, a 501(c)(3) foundation helping feed Rockford’s inner-city youth in a safe nurturing environment. Fans can guess who scores the first IceHogs goal of the game on the IceHogs mobile app for a chance to win a $25 gift card to Meijer. Download the App and Play!

Meijer First Goal Frenzy Total: $650

Hogs Wrap Up Season Series with Griffins in Thrilling Shootout
On Monday, the IceHogs closed their eight-game season series against the Grand Rapids Griffins with a thrilling 3-2 shootout win at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, MI. The IceHogs completed the series with a 4-4-0-0 head-to-head record including a 3-1-0 record in Grand Rapids. All three IceHogs wins in West Michigan were decided beyond regulation time (Pair of 2-1 overtime wins on Mar. 13 and Mar. 16 and the shootout win on May 3).

Goals? If You Guessed a Handful, You’d Be Correct
Each of the last three games for the IceHogs and four of their last five have been decided by 3-2 scores. The IceHogs fell 3-2 at Iowa on Apr. 23 and to Grand Rapids on Apr. 28 and claimed back-to-back 3-2 wins on May 1 and May 3 against the Griffins.

Power of Three
Reaching the three-goal mark (or more) in a game has played a major key for success for teams over the seasons, especially during the 2021 campaign. In the last six consecutive IceHogs games and in 18 of the 27 IceHogs games played this season, a team (IceHogs or the opposition) has scored exactly three goals. The IceHogs are 4-4-0-0 this season when scoring three goals in a game and 4-5-1-0 when allowing three goals in a contest. Looking at a bigger picture, the IceHogs are 9-7-0-0 when scoring three or more goals in a game this season.

It’s A Two-Point Party
Monday’s game at Grand Rapids featured three skaters earning two-point contests as forwards Evan Barratt (one goal, one assist), Andrei Altybarmakian (two assists), and Chad Yetman (one goal, one assist) helped the IceHogs to their 3-2 shootout win. The accomplishment is the third time this season three skaters have earned multi-point games in a single contest (Mar. 3 vs. Grand Rapids: Kalynuk, Beaudin, Pirri; Mar. 28 vs. Chicago: Franson, Barratt, Kalynuk) and one skater shy of the season-high four players in a single game with multiple points (Mar. 22 vs. Iowa: McLaughlin, Johnson, Wilkie, Beaudin).

Yeti and Tomkins Keep Their Cool
Playing in their first IceHogs games since early April, Yetman (first IceHogs game since Apr. 7 vs. Chicago) and goaltender Matt Tomkins (Apr. 7 vs. Chicago) played star roles in the IceHogs’ win on Monday at Grand Rapids. Yetman scored his second goal of the season (first since Opening Day vs. Chicago on Feb. 6) and added an assist and Tomkins made 24 saves and stopped 2-of-3 attempts in the shootout.

IceHogs and Wild Close Season Series This Week
The IceHogs and Wild wrap up their 10-game season series this week with a home-and-home battle on Friday at Sunday between Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, IA and BMO Harris Bank Center. Both clubs hold matching 4-3-1-0 head-to-head records heading into Friday night in Des Moines. The IceHogs earned a 5-3 win in Iowa in their most recent meeting with the Wild on Apr. 24. The victory snapped the Wild’s nine-game home winning streak against the IceHogs dating back to Nov. 4, 2018.

Power of Three – 2.0
In the head-to-head series against the Wild, four IceHogs skaters are tied for the team lead with three goals against the Central Division foe. Defenseman Cody Franson and forwards Chris Wilkie, D.J. Busdeker, and Garrett Mitchell are all locked up with three goals each against the Wild. Franson (three goals, three assists), defenseman Nicolas Beaudin (two goals, four assists; currently with the Chicago Blackhawks) and forwards Reese Johnson (two goals, four assists) and Dylan McLaughlin (one goal, five assists) are tied for the team lead with six points against the Wild.

IceHogs at Iowa Wild
Friday, May 7
7:00 p.m. CT
Wells Fargo Arena – Des Moines, IA
Watch Live: AHL TV, SportsFanRadio 1330 AM, Sportsfanradio1330.com, IceHogs.com, IceHogs app
Preview: Ninth of 10 meetings; 4-3-1-0 series record

IceHogs vs. Iowa Wild
Welcome Back, IceHogs Season Ticket Holders & Happy Mother’s Day
Sunday, May 9
4:00 p.m. CT
BMO Harris Bank Center
Watch Live: AHL TV, SportsFanRadio 1330 AM, Sportsfanradio1330.com, IceHogs.com, IceHogs app
Preview: 10th of 10 meetings; Season series finale

IceHogs at Chicago Wolves
Monday, May 10
2:00 p.m. CT
Triphahn Center Ice Arena – Hoffman Estates, IL
Watch Live: AHL TV, SportsFanRadio 1330 AM, Sportsfanradio1330.com, IceHogs.com, IceHogs app
Preview: Ninth of 11 meetings; 2-6-0-0 series record; IceHogs winners of last two meetings