Week 18 Report: Hogs Kick Off Playoff Push with Shootout Loss

BACON BITS

A TALE OF TWO SEASONS
From the IceHogs' season-opener on Oct. 4 through Dec. 20, the IceHogs held an overall record of 17-10-0-1 and reached as high as second place in the Central Division. However, since Dec. 21, Rockford has won just three matchups, going 3-14-1-1 in that span and falling to a tie for sixth place in the Central. The Hogs won a season-high four straight games two times prior to Dec. 21, with the first reaching from Oct. 30-Nov. 6 and the second spanning from Nov. 29-Dec. 6. Alternatively, Rockford set a season-long six-game losing streak from Dec. 21-Jan. 5 and is now in the midst of a six-game winless streak that began on Jan. 20.

MAKE IT COUNT
The IceHogs sat dead last in the American Hockey League with a power-play conversion rate of 10.3% after going five straight games without a goal on the man-advantage from Jan. 15-Jan. 22. However, the Hogs buried four power-play goals on twelve attempts in a home-and-home series against the league-leading Admirals from Jan. 24-25 and followed it up with another power-play goal on three chances Friday against the Moose. Rockford is now 5-for-18 (27.8%) with the extra man across their last four matchups and has jumped to 30th in the league with an 11.9% success rate on the season.

DYL PICKLE
Dylan Sikura dished an assist in Saturday's loss to the Admirals to increase his point streak to four games in which he's deposited two goals and tossed four assists. The streak tied the club's season-long point streak. He kicked off the current stretch on Jan. 24 when he scored a goal and added two assists against the Admirals. That effort marked just his second multi-point outing of the campaign despite leading the roster in points per game this season (.79). His first multi-point game came in the form of a three-goal, one-assist performance against the Chicago Wolves on Nov. 3.

HOT SHOT HAGEL
After weathering a six-game goalless skid from Jan. 10 - 22, Brandon Hagel has since netted three goals in the last four games, including a goal against the Milwaukee Admirals on Jan. 24 and scores Friday against Manitoba and last night against Milwaukee. With the tallies, Hagel has now jumped into sole possession of sixth in the American Hockey League in rookie goal-scoring with 16 tallies.

THREE FOR ME
The IceHogs have only managed to score three goals in a game four times in the last 19 contests. The club holds a record of 16-2-0-2 record when scoring more than two goals this year and is 4-22-1-0 when tallying two or fewer goals. Dating to last season, the Hogs have won 46 of 54 games when scoring more than two goals (46-4-1-3).

BACK-TO-BACK
The IceHogs have 11 sets of back-to-back games in the final two and a half months of the season, including three instances in which the team plays three games in three days. So far in 2019-20, Rockford is 6-6-0-2 in the first half of back-to-backs and 6-6-1-0 in the back half of back-to-backs.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS

Tuesday, Feb. 4 vs. Texas Stars | 7 p.m.

With the purchase of a Taco Tuesday ticket package, fans will receive an upper level ticket, one 12 oz. margarita and two tacos. The package can be purchased HERE for just $15. Additionally, fans attending the game on Tuesday can enjoy discounted tacos and craft beer, with tacos going for only $2 and select craft beer options available for just $5.

Friday, Feb. 7 vs. San Antonio Rampage | 7 p.m.

The Rockford IceHogs are hosting Blackhawks Night on Friday at the BMO Harris Bank Center. The evening will feature special Blackhawks Winter Classic-inspired jerseys worn by the IceHogs as well as appearances by Jim Cornelison, Tommy Hawk and the Blackhawks Ice Crew. Tickets to the game can be purchased at the BMO Harris Bank Center Box Office or at any Ticketmaster location, by phone at (815) 968-5222 or by clicking HERE.

Saturday, Feb. 8 vs. San Antonio Rampage | 6 p.m.

Saturday is Sock Monkey Madness Night presented by Midway Village Museum. As a part of the evening, sock monkey bobbleheads will be given away to the first 1,500 fans in the arena. Standard tickets can be purchased HERE while Hogs & Hops tickets, in which fans 21+ will receive two drink tickets and one upper endzone ticket for just $22, can be purchased HERE.