Week 11 Report: Hogs Topple Two Titans
BACON BITS
-The Rockford IceHogs won two of three games last week, downing the AHL's top-ranked Milwaukee Admirals and the North Division's second-ranked Toronto Marlies. Rockford has won six of its last eight games and has now gone 19 consecutive contests without suffering back-to-back losses (13-5-0-1 over that stretch).
-The IceHogs are perfect on the penalty kill over the last five games, killing 18 consecutive power plays over that span. Dating further back to Nov. 30, Rockford has killed 26 of the last 27 opposing power plays (96.3%) over the last seven games.
-Rockford improved to 13-0-0-1 when scoring at least three goals with a 4-2 win over Toronto. Dating to the beginning of last season, the IceHogs have won 43 of 48 games when scoring more than two goals. The Hogs also have points in 46 of those 48 games with a record of 43-2-1-2 when tallying at least three markers.
-Rockford faced the second-most shots of any team in the AHL thus far in the 2019-20 season when Milwaukee fired 56 shots on goal Tuesday at the BMO. However, the IceHogs responded with allowing the fewest shots of any team in the league this season when they limited Toronto to just 13 shots on goal during Sunday's game.
-Philipp Kurashev posted his first multi-point effort of his AHL career with a goal and two assists Sunday at Toronto. He notched just five points over his first 16 games but has since notched eight points (2g, 6a) over his last eight tilts. Kurashev tallied points in each of the two wins last week and Rockford is now 9-2-0-0 when he logs a point.
-Kevin Lankinen went 2-0-0 last week while stopping 66 of 69 shots with a 1.49 GAA and .957 save percentage. He set Rockford's AHL single-game saves record with 55 saves on 56 shots in Tuesday's win over the Admirals.
-Ben Youds signed a PTO with the IceHogs on Dec. 9 and has picked up at least one assist in each of his first three contests with the IceHogs. His four total helpers since joining Rockford are tied for the most in the league and his four total points are tied for first among all AHL defensemen in that span.
UPCOMING GAMES
Tuesday, Dec. 17 | Rockford at Laval (6 p.m.) The IceHogs cap their Canada swing with a road matchup at Laval on Tuesday. The IceHogs are 0-1-0-0 in the series after dropping the first matchup 3-1 on Oct. 14 at the BMO.
Friday, Dec. 20 | Rockford vs. Texas (7 p.m.) Rockford returns home to host a Central Division showdown against the Texas Stars on Friday. The first 1,500 fans will receive a free IceHogs winter hat, courtesy of Pepsi.
Saturday, Dec. 21 | Rockford vs. Cleveland (6 p.m.) The IceHogs conclude a weekend set with the return of Stars Wars Night at the BMO. The 501st Legion will be on-hand with several costumed Star Wars characters, and fans can purchase a special ticket package to receive a limited-edition jedi Hammy.