ROSEMONT, Ill. -- The Rockford IceHogs head to Rosemont to round out the regular season against the Chicago Wolves at Allstate Arena Saturday night. The Wolves escaped Rockford with a 6-4 victory in their meeting last night, and the two teams are set to matchup again in the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs.
Puck drop is at 7 p.m. and fans can tune in to all the action on Cozi TV 23.3 or Dish Network Channel 252, beginning with IceHogs Warmup at 6:30 p.m. IceHogs fans can also listen to the game at sportsfanradio1330.com or watch live at AHLlive.com (subscription required).
Matchup: The IceHogs (40-27-4-4, 4th Central) take on the Wolves having won seven of their last nine outings, despite dropping Friday’s contest against Chicago.
Defenseman Cody Franson bagged a goal and two assists on Friday to mark his second consecutive multi-point effort, and third in his last four outings. Franson enters Saturday with a season-high eight-game point streak and with 17 points (5g, 12a) over his last 15 games since March 11. Fellow blueliner Adam Clendening also tallied an assist in Friday’s defeat to rank first on the team and fourth overall in the league in assists since making his IceHogs season debut. Clendenig has totaled 26 assists in 37 contests during that stretch.
Chicago (41-22-7-4, 1st Central) extended their chances in the Illinois Lottery Cup series with a victory over Rockford last night. The Wolves still trail the IceHogs by one victory in the Illinois Lottery Cup standings entering tonight’s series finale in Rosemont.
The duo of Teemu Pulkkinen and T.J. Tynan combined for four markers against the Hogs on Friday. Pulkkinen now leads all Chicago skaters with 62 points (27g, 35a) in 73 games this season, while Tynan trails his fellow Wolves forward by just two points with a 60 points (15g, 45a) in 70 appearances in 2017-18.
In net, Oscar Dansk earned his first win of the season against the IceHogs with 32 saves on last night. The goaltender is now 13-2-4 with a 2.47 GAA and .917 save percentage in 19 AHL appearances on the year.
Next Home Game: Sunday, April 22 vs Chicago (Calder Cup Playoffs | Game 2/Ticket A)
The Rockford IceHogs open up their home slate of the 2017-18 Calder Cup Playoffs with Game 2 (Ticket A) against the Chicago Wolves. Tickets can be purchased at IceHogs.com, by calling (815) 968-5222 or in-person at the BMO Harris Bank Center Box Office beginning Monday morning at 10 a.m.