Rockford, Il- The Rockford IceHogs (19-28-2-2) return to action tonight as they host the Hershey Bears (23-20-6-2) tonight for a 7 p.m. puck drop. The IceHogs and Bears met back in January with Hershey taking both games. 

The Matchup: 

All-Time Series: 3-2-0-1

Season Series: 0-2-0-0

Tale of the Tape: The IceHogs will welcome in the Hershey Bears for the first time since the 2018-19 season. The IceHogs are 2-0 against Hershey at the BMO Center, last hosting the Bears on October 14, 2018 where the hometown Hogs secured a 5-2 win. The IceHogs dropped both games in Hershey last month with 5-4 and 5-2 losses. Both the IceHogs and Bears head into tonight's game with wins in their previous contest. Rockford took down San Diego with a late go-ahead goal from Brett Seney to down the Gulls 2-1. The Bears used a three-goal middle period to defeat the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 6-3 Wednesday night. 

Team Leaders: 

Hershey:

 Points- Ilya Protas- 40 points 

 Goals- Ilya Protas- 19G 

 Assists- Andrew Cristall- 29A

Rockford:

Points- Brett Seney- 39 points  

Goals- Nick Lardis- 16G

Assists- Brett Seney- 28A

Three Things To Know: 

Top Rookies Square Off: Three of the top ten scoring rookies will face-off this weekend at the BMO Center. Nick Lardis is 8th among AHL rookies in scoring despite spending 21 games with the Blackhawks earlier this season. Hershey has two rookies in the top five with Ilya Protas and Andrew Cristall. Lardis is fourth on the IceHogs with 30 points (16G, 14A) in 31 games. The Rockford rookie tallied a season-high four-point game Oct. 19 against the Chicago Wolves. 

Rodrigue Joins Rockford: Earlier this week the Chicago Blackhawks signed goaltender Olivier Rodrigue to a one-year, two way contract and later assigned him to Rockford. Rodrigue, 25, appeared between the pipes in 131 games over five seasons with the Bakersfield Condors. Rodrigue appeared in two games with the Edmonton Oilers, making his NHL debut on March 27, 2025 against the Seattle Kraken. Most recently the Quebec native spent time with Nur-Sultan Barys in the KHL. Rodrigue was originally drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2nd round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. 

Clutch Captain: Brett Seney gave Rockford a late lead when he found the back of the net at the 17:35 mark of the third period against San Diego. It would end up being the decisive goal to give Seney his 15th game-winning goal as an IceHog. The goal ties former IceHog Brandon Pirri for the most game winning goals in franchise history. Seney heads into the weekend series against Hershey with five points over his last five games. The third-year IceHog leads the team with 39 points (11G, 28A) this season. 

2025-26 Matchups: 

The IceHogs are back in action at the BMO Center tonight at 7:00 p.m. against the Hershey Bears for a $2 Beer and soft drink night presented by Bud Light. Rockford will close out the weekend against Hershey Saturday February, 28. Tickets for both games are available at icehogs.com