Wolves Teach Hogs a Few New Tricks

Divisional rivals, the Rockford IceHogs and the Chicago Wolves met last night for their final matchup of the season at the AllState Arena. It was Apopt-A-Dog night and apparently the Hogs were taught a few new tricks by the Wolves. The Wolves proved their Alpha Dog skills, dominating the Hogs to a 5-2 victory. The AllState was packed to the rafters with a reported 16,019 fans in attendence. This fan must add that she always has a good experience mingling with the Wolves fans at the AA. Yes, every arena has a few of "those fans" who are donkeys. We always treat opposing fans the way we want to be treated in return. You have to give respect, in order to get it back. Rivalries can be fun when kept in perspective. With this loss, Rockford now has to wait out the results of the Houston Aeros remaining game this weekend, before knowing where they will be seeded in the playoffs. Chicago, on the other hand, will miss playoffs this year. By the middle of next week they will scheduling tee times.

We left the arena personally questioning the reasoning behind Coach Peters' line choices for the game. The Hogs' top line players were scratched, giving them the night off. Apparently a few of them were a bit banged up from Friday night's game and needed a rest. This left the team manned with very few experienced & skilled players. The game started with a bang when the Hogs handed the first 2 goals to Chicago wrapped up with a pretty bow. Both Mike Brennan and Sean McMorrow received penalties at 1:50 of the 1st frame to give Chicago a 5 on 3 advantage. McMorrow received 4 minutes for attempted head butting and Brennan got 2 minutes for interference. McMorrow did go over to IceHogs goalie Antti Niemi immediately after leaving the box to say a few words, hopefully to appologise. Brennan appeared to continue to help the Wolves score in that ill fated 1st frame when he crashed into the back of Antti Niemi, knocking him out of the crease.

Blackhawks prospects, Kyle Beach and Akim Aliu both played last night for the IceHogs. Aliu scored his first professional regulation goal at 17:32 of the 2nd frame. He tallied a 2nd goal in the 3rd frame at 1:45. With time and maturity, he's got the skills & talent to take him far in this sport. Beach's night was cut short after delivering a questionable check to Alex Brooks during the 2nd frame. Brooks received a laceration to his face. Beach received a Boarding Major and a Game Misconduct for that hit. After receiving medical attention, Brooks was able to return to the game. All in all, Referee David Banfield handed out 31 pim/10 inf to Rockford and 14 pim/7 inf to Chicago. Blackhawks President, John McDonough was in attendence, along with Al MacIsaacs. They were seen sitting with Wolves owner Don Levin during the game.

Game Delayed By Missing Gear

After a long morning of traveling, Rockford's starting goaltender Antti Niemi was faced with the major dilemma. As the fans were starting to arrive at the MetroCentre, Niemi, along with two other IceHogs players, were anxiously awaiting the arrival of their missing gear. It seems several bags of gear didn't arrive from San Antonio with the team. Niemi participated in warm ups wearing an old set of pads and a mask borrowed from teammate Corey Crawford. With the AHL's consent, game time was pushed back by 30 minutes to allow the missing gear to arrive for the players. The missing bags were delivered during warm ups and Niemi was able to start the game wearing his own gear.

Despite the baggage snafu, it was another stellar night in goal for Niemi, stopping 29 of 30 shots. Niemi seems to have found that much needed confidence that has been missing for many games. It looked like he was headed for a shutout until Houston's Morten Madsen found the back of the net at 17:35 of the 3rd frame. Rockford's Jack Skille left the game during the 1st period with a upper body injury. Word is he may be out possibly 4-6 weeks, if the initial diagnosis holds true.

Houston pulled goaltender Nolan Schaefer late in the 3rd to give them the extra skater advantage, but it wasn't enough. Rockford takes the win, 2-1. This puts Rockford in 3rd place with 80 points in the West, right behind Houston and Peoria who are tied for 2nd place with 82 points each. According to the AHL website, the Milwaukee Admirals have clinched the West Division title. With just 2 weeks left in the regular season, it's going to be a tight race to secure those remaining playoff spots within the west division.