Players to Watch: Rockford vs. Iowa (2/25/22)

After a few days off to lick their wounds from a rough weekend with the Griffins, the Rockford IceHogs are back in action Friday night when they visit the Iowa Wild. 2022 has been mostly kind to the IceHogs so far. They’ve played fairly consistently since the calendar flipped over; getting depth scoring and solid goaltending performances definitely helps. But, their place in the division is far from being secure. 

The IceHogs have to come ready to play this weekend. Losing two in a row after four straight games had to hurt, especially with Sunday’s loss where they got out to a 2-0 lead only to lose 5-2. Ouch. They can’t change those results now, but they can get back on track. Unfortunately, they’re facing two teams this weekend that are at the bottom of the division but always give them fits. 

As if back-to-back games against the Texas Stars on Saturday and Sunday didn’t seem difficult enough, they get to precede those two with a Friday night showdown with another tough divisional opponent. Iowa and Texas  sit sixth and seventh in the Central, respectively. A person could look at a fourth-place Rockford team and think they should have an easy time, grab some points, and be on their merry way. Not so, my friends. Not so. If the IceHogs are off their game at all, they could easily be sitting on a very poor five-game losing streak. 

Oh, and three of their top five scoring leaders won’t likely be in the lineup. Lukas Reichel and Alec Regula are hanging out with the Chicago Blackhawks, and Dylan McLaughlin is in concussion protocol. Sigh.

All they can do is take it one game at a time, so we shall as well. Let’s focus on Friday’s opponent: the Iowa Wild. 

Through 46 games, the Wild have a record of 20-20-3-3. That’s good for 46 points and sixth of seven teams in the Central. They’re 0-3-0-1 in their last four games, but 4-4-1-1 in their last 10. They appear to have hit a rough patch, but they always play the IceHogs hard and just love scoring goals on them. If Rockford doesn’t tighten up their defense and help out their goaltender, this could be a positive turning point for Iowa. 

To compare, the IceHogs have a record of 21-18-3-1 through 43 games. That’s good for 46 points and fourth in the Central. Rockford dropped their last two games to the Grand Rapids Griffins, but they’re 6-4-0-0 in their last 10. They had a four-game win streak going and then, unfortunately, streaked poorly. Their win streak started after a split weekend with the Wild, but also included a shootout win against them. The IceHogs look to kick off a new win streak, and a win against the Wild would be a great start. Fingers crossed.  

Here’s the goal differential for both teams! Fun!

Through 46 games, the Iowa Wild have allowed 133 goals while scoring 130 goals for a DIFF of -3. 

Through 43 games, the Rockford IceHogs have allowed 130 goals while scoring 120 for a DIFF of -10. Being out-scored 10-4 this past weekend did not do them any favors. 

Now that we know where the teams currently sit, I have three IceHogs to watch Friday night. 

Arvid Söderblom 

We don’t typically find out who is guarding the blue paint until warm ups, so we’ll see if I’m putting him in the right game preview or not. But, Arvid Söderblom just returned from NHL duties. He was mostly there on spot duty for Marc-André Fleury while Kevin Lankinen was out with an injury. He got one game in — a very not good one against the Columbus Blue Jackets, making 30 saves on 36 shots as the Blackhawks lost 7-4. 

Söderblom has been fantastic for Rockford this year, rocking a .925 SV% through 17 games. There’s no better time than this weekend to shake off the mess of that Columbus game and get back in the zone. 

Ian Mitchell

In Ian Mitchell‘s last ten games, he has five goals and three assists. He also had some big moments in the shootout. He may be one of the most important players for Rockford this weekend, as he’s counted on for both defense and offense. If his play of late is any indication, he will be up for the task. 

Brett Connolly

Before Sunday’s loss to the Griffins, Brett Connolly‘s last game with the IceHogs was a 2-1 win over Henderson. Then, to the taxi squad he went! Thankfully for him, he did get some games with the Blackhawks. Soon after the taxi squads were no longer, he was sent back to Rockford. We’ll just say he was happy to be back, because he scored in that Sunday game. With Reichel, McLaughlin, and Regula likely not in the lineup, Connolly needs to have another productive game Friday night. 

There are your three to keep an eye on. Since I’m generous, here are the point leaders for both squads. 

Rockford IceHogs

1. Lukas Reichel: 33 Games Played, 14 Goals, 19 Assists, 33 Points
2. Dylan McLaughlin: 37 Games Played, 6 Goals, 19 Assists, 25 Points
3. Ian Mitchell: 36 Games Played, 8 Goals, 13 Assists, 21 Points
4. Alec Regula: 25 Games Played, 2 Goal, 15 Assists, 17 Points
5. Evan Barratt: 37 Games Played, 6 Goals, 9 Assists, 15 Points
6. D.J. Busdeker: 38 Games Played, 3 Goals, 12 Assists, 15 Points
7. Andrei Altybarmakian: 38 Games Played, 3 Goals, 11 Assists, 14 Points
8. Mike Hardman: 16 Games Played, 8 Goals, 5 Assists, 13 Points
9. Michal Teplý: 34 Games Played, 7 Goals, 6 Assists, 13 Points
10. Isaak Phillips: 37 Games Played, 6 Goals, 7 Assists, 13 Points

Goalies:

• Collin Delia: 18 Games Played, 9-7-2, 2.82 GAA, .911 SV%
• Arvid Söderblom: 17 Games Played, 9-7-1, 2.57 GAA, .925 SV%

Iowa Wild

1. Marco Rossi: 38 Games Played, 14 Goals, 25 Assists, 39 Points
2. Mason Shaw: 41 Games Played, 13 Goals, 20 Assists, 33 Points
3. Kyle Rau: 34 Games Played, 13 Goals, 17 Assists, 30 Points
4. Adam Beckman: 42 Games Played, 8 Goals, 16 Assists, 24 Points
5. Nick Swaney: 36 Games Played, 9 Goals, 13 Assists, 22 Points
6. Joe Hicketts: 38 Games Played, 7 Goals, 15 Assists, 22 Points
7. Mitchell Chaffee: 24 Games Played, 11 Goals, 9 Assists, 20 Points
8. Calen Addison: 23 Games Played, 3 Goals, 14 Assists, 17 Points
9. Joseph Cramarossa: 41 Games Played, 8 Goals, 8 Assists, 16 Points
10. Nolan Stevens (total): 28 Games Played, 4 Goals, 11 Assists, 15 Points

Goalies:

• Zane McIntyre (w/ Iowa): 15 Games Played, 7-6-0, 2.34 GAA, .920 SV%
• Hunter Jones: 7 Games Played, 2-4-1, 3.41 GAA, .893 SV%

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The puck drops Friday night at 7:00 pm CST!