Week 1 Recap: The Rockford IceHogs opened the 2011-12 campaign on a high note, defeating the Grand Rapids Griffins at home on opening night and outlasting the Peoria Rivermen on the road to open the season 2-0-0-0. Now in their fifth year of AHL hockey, the perfect start marks a first for Rockford. The IceHogs are on the road to take on the Abbotsford Heat in week two.
Week 1 Results
Saturday, Oct. 8: Grand Rapids 2 vs. Rockford 3
Sunday, Oct. 9: Rockford 5 at Peoria 3
Week 2 Schedule
Friday, Oct. 14: at Abbotsford 9 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 16: at Abbotsford 3 p.m.
Bacon Bits:
New IceHogs head coach Ted Dent notched a pair of career milestones Saturday, grabbing the win over the Grand Rapids Griffins in his first ever game as head coach
The IceHogs are 2-0-0-0 for the first time during the team’s AHL era and for the first time since 2005-06 when Rockford started 9-0-0 in the UHL.
Dating back to the final five games of the 2010-11 season, the IceHogs are on a seven-game winning streak, setting a new team record in the club’s AHL era. The previous record was six games, achieved from 10/12/08 to 10/26/08 and from 1/11/08 to 1/19/08.
Rockford’s opening night win evened their all-time opening night record to 6-6-1-0
The IceHogs have never missed the playoffs in a season where they’ve won on opening night
With their home win on Saturday, the IceHogs also set a team AHL mark for most consecutive home wins (7) dating back to March 23
Rockford is currently tied with the Springfield Falcons and Charlotte Checkers for second in the league with eight goals for. The Norfolk Admirals lead the pack with 10.
Rob Klinkhammer’s five points (2g-3a) over the weekend is the most points accumulated by an IceHogs skater during the first two games in the team’s AHL era
Goalie Alec Richards has 22 career AHL wins with seven of them coming against Grand Rapids after Saturday’s victory over the Griffins
Brandon Segal became the first player in IceHogs history to suit up and play for both the AHL and UHL versions of the IceHogs
Rockford led both of this past weekend’s games after the two periods and held on for victories in both
Last season, Rockford led after 40-minutes of hockey just 25 times (22-1-1-2) during their 80-game schedule
Byron Froese, Andrew Shaw, Rob Flick and Ben Youds all made their professional debuts during Week 1 for Rockford
Chris DiDomenico scored his first career AHL goal on Saturday
Hot Hog: Week 1:
Rob Klinkhammer Right Wing
Coming off a career-year in 2010-11, winger Rob Klinkhammer picked up where he left off to start 2011-12 with a pair of multi-point games in leading the IceHogs to a 2-0-0-0 start. Klinkhammer chipped in two assists on opening night against Grand Rapids, including the primary assist on the game-winning goal late in the third period. On Sunday, the forward strung together a three-point night with two goals and an assist in Rockford’s 5-3 win at Peoria.
Upcoming Games:
Friday, Oct. 14 at Abbotsford Heat: The puck gets on the ice at 9 p.m. Rockford makes their annual trip west to take on the Abbotsford Heat in the front end of back-to-back contests at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre. The game is the first of four on the year between the two clubs.
Sunday, Oct. 16 at Abbotsford Heat: Game time is 3 p.m. The IceHogs complete a two-game weekend set in British Columbia against the Abbotsford Heat. The game is the second of four on the season series between the two clubs with two games remaining at the BMO Harris Bank Center.