The Rockford IceHogs enter the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the AHL. Rockford ended the regular season on a 23-7-3 run, finishing third in the Central Division. Just ahead of them are Grand Rapids, which should make for a fun playoff series next week.
The IceHogs begin what they hope could be an extended postseason run this weekend with a best-of-five series with the Griffins. After requiring play-in series victories to enter the main draw the past two seasons, Rockford has the week off while it prepares for their Central Division Semifinal.
How do things stand with this team heading into the playoffs? I’ll answer that question by answering some questions I’ve posed below.
Ten Questions As The IceHogs Enter The Postseason
Q: Who starts in goal for the IceHogs?
Rockford employed a tandem throughout the season and it would make sense to keep it in place through the playoffs. This would mean that Jaxson Stauber gets the net for Game One at the BMO Center, with Drew Commesso tending goal in Game Two.
Should Rockford elect to go with a single goalie in the playoffs, who gets the nod? That’s a tough call, as both Stauber and Commesso have been very good over the last few months. The recent stats would favor Stauber, but it may be a better idea to keep the tandem rolling.
Q: Is Rockford’s goaltending strong enough to go on a long run?
Yes, provided that Stauber and Commesso play to recent form. Dating back to February 2, here’s how they stack up:
Stauber: 13-1-1, 2.20 GAA, .919 save percentage
Commesso: 10-6-2, 2.67 GAA, .918 save percentage
Stauber is also 3-0 against Grand Rapids this season, with a 1.63 GAA and a .930 save percentage. The only potential mark against either Rockford goalie is their lack of AHL playoff experience.
Q: Who are the hottest Hogs at the moment?
Brett Seney, the IceHogs leading scorer and MVP this season (23 G, 40 A), ended with 5 goals and 13 assists in his last 13 games. Rem Pitlick, who is on fire since being assigned to Rockford in February, has eight goals and nine helpers in his last 13 games. Pitlick has 33 points (14 G, 19 A) in 27 games for the IceHogs.
Michal Teply has been a streaky player for Rockford the last three seasons. His latest goal surge has been the last seven games of the regular season, over which Teply has five goals.
Before his injury, Cole Guttman was a scoring machine for Rockford, with 26 points (13 G, 13 A) in a 17-game stretch.
Q: Will Cole Guttman return in time to be a factor for Rockford?
Guttman, despite appearing in just 39 games, is fourth in team scoring with 40 points (16 G, 24 A). He was a catalyst for the offense during Rockford’s surge this spring. However, Guttman has been out since taking a slash from the Griffins Taro Hirose on April 6.
In Tuesday’s media availability, IceHogs coach Anders Sorensen stated that Guttman could be returning from his upper-body injury at some point in the upcoming series with Grand Rapids. Rockford is also looking to get Zach Sanford back on the ice after the veteran forward took a puck to the face late in April 13’s game with Milwaukee.
Q: What impact will Lukas Reichel have for the IceHogs?
Reichel, a 50-point scorer in each of the two previous seasons for Rockford, struggled mightily with the Blackhawks this past season. Chicago sent him down for nine games starting in mid-February and assigned him to the IceHogs after the end of the NHL season.
The addition of Reichel certainly helps Rockford’s depth. His passing could really help the IceHogs in the playoffs. It would be unfair to expect a scoring explosion from Reichel, however; in ten career AHL postseason games, his output is three goals and no assists. Still, being a motivated young skater coming down from the NHL makes Reichel a player to keep an eye on.
Q: Is Luke Philp the IceHogs X-factor?
Philp was Rockford’s MVP in 2022-23 before missing the bulk of this season following Achillies surgery. He returned to action on March 16 and has two goals and four helpers in 15 games. Philp is a solid two-way player; if he is 100 percent back from his injury, his fresh legs entering the postseason is a plus.
Q: Where do the rookies fit into the Rockford lineup?
The rookie presence will be felt most on the blueline. Ethan Del Mastro (7 G, 30 A) and Wyatt Kaiser (4 G, 14 A) both play a big role for Rockford. Rookie Nolan Allan (5 G, 12 A) is recovering from a lower-body injury. Allan, who earned Defenseman of the Year honors from the IceHogs, is a question mark for the start of the series this weekend.
Of the rookie forwards, expect Colton Dach (11 G, 16 A), Jalen Luypen (4 G, 16 A), and Ryder Rolston (10 G, 9 A) to be regulars in the IceHogs lineup. Most of the contributions from this trio have come on the forecheck and on the penalty kill. However, Dach and Rolston have displayed a nose for the net this season, with Luypen coming on as a defensive force in the past few months.
Rockford’s strength has been waves of veteran scoring. If the IceHogs have to lean on the rookies to fill the scoresheet, it will be a short playoff run.
Q: Is the lack of home ice a big deal to Rockford?
Not really. The IceHogs are at the BMO Center for Game One against the Griffins on Saturday night. They’ve been slightly better on the road (20-13-2-1) than at home (19-13-3-1) this season. Rockford is 4-2 in Grand Rapids this season. This includes a 2-0 win over the Griffins in the last meeting between the teams on April 12.
Q: How far can the IceHogs go?
Rockford has the makings of a team that could match the IceHogs 2018 run. That spring, they reached the Western Conference Final before being defeated by Texas. Rockford split the regular season series with both Grand Rapids and Milwaukee, the Central’s top seeds. The IceHogs should not be intimidated by either the Griffins, the Admirals, or any Central Division opponent they may face.
Rockford is a team deep with veteran talent that has been playing together for most of the past three months. The goaltending has improved throughout the season, with two goalies playing their best heading into the postseason. On paper, the IceHogs are a team that could win a couple of series over the next few weeks.
Q: How far will the IceHogs go?
That’s a question that can only be answered on the ice, starting at the BMO Center Saturday night. The action begins in Game One at 7:00 p.m. CDT.
