Players to Watch: Rockford vs. Milwaukee (3/11/22)

The Rockford IceHogs are in action Friday night when they take on Central Division rival Milwaukee Admirals. After an abysmal weekend in Manitoba, the IceHogs look to get back in the win column and try to climb back up the standings. They aren’t in for an easy ride, as the Admirals are a tough team ever since they righted their early season struggles. 

Through 56 games, the Milwaukee Admirals have a record of 29-21-4-2. That’s good for 64 points and third of seven teams in the Central. They’re 6-2-2-0 in their last 10 games, but 3-0-1-0 in their last four. Can the IceHogs spoil their four-game point streak? The Admirals started the season in a rough way. If you recall, they were part of a two-headed monster in the abbreviated 2020-21 season as they combined squads with the Chicago Wolves. The “Admirals” appeared to be the best of the bunch on that team, but it’s the real Wolves that have soared to annoying success this year. Milwaukee is working their way back up the standings to where we all expected them to be. 

Meanwhile . . . 

Through 48 games, the IceHogs have a record of 22-22-3-1. That’s good for 48 points and fifth in the Central. As predicted, Rockford has not been able to scratch and claw their way to wins lately. They’ve also dropped a place in the Central, giving up that fourth spot to the Grand Rapids Griffins (who they lost back-to-back games to near the end of February). That four-game winning streak seems to have cursed the IceHogs. It felt so nice at the time, but it’s been pain ever since. They’re 4-6-0-0 in their last ten games and 1-6 since ending that streak. I know I keep mentioning it, but it’s truly amazing (in a horrendous way) what they’ve managed to do recently. Sigh. 

Goal Differential? Goal Differential!

Through 56 games, the Milwaukee Admirals have allowed 167 goals while scoring 168 goals for a DIFF of +1. 

Through 48 games, the Rockford IceHogs have allowed 153 goals while scoring 137 for a DIFF of -16. It was -9 before they went to Manitoba . . .

Let’s get out of the pit of misery. Now, your players to watch!

Reese Johnson

Reese Johnson! You didn’t forget about him, did you? It’s been awhile since we’ve seen him. Unfortunately, it’s not because he was setting the world on fire with the Blackhawks. Quite the opposite. He suffered a broken clavicle in early December in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. But, he’s back! The Chicago Blackhawks activated him off of LTIR on March 10 and sent him back to Rockford. Of course, it remains to be seen whether he will play Friday night. But, if he was activated from IR, one would have to assume he’s cleared to play. It’ll be a huge boost to the IceHogs when he gets back in the lineup. 

D.J. Busdeker

D.J. Busdeker deserves more love. He’s the unsung hero of this IceHogs squad and quietly putting together a great season for himself. When I say quiet, I mean in the media (yes, I’m guilty as charged) and not on the ice. On the ice, Busdeker is everywhere — setting up plays (16 assists), forechecking hard, using his deceptive speed to break away from the opposition, and chipping in four goals of his own.

Busdeker isn’t one of the flashy players. You won’t hear about him more than a Lukas Reichel or Ian Mitchell, but he’s fourth on the team in points (20). He’s the true definition of “player to watch” because you might miss him if you aren’t an IceHogs fan or paying close attention (and not because he’s only 5’10”). He plays bigger than his size, but uses it to his advantage to maximize his escapability. 

Lukas Reichel

Now, it’s not fair to come into this season counting on the rookie to carry the load of the offense for the IceHogs. But, Lukas Reichel has shown he is up to the task, leading the team in points with 16 goals and 20 assists. That said, in Reichel’s four games since returning from the Blackhawks, he has only two goals and one assist. It’s no wonder the Piggies have only won one game in that time — the 7-4 offense outpour against the Texas Stars where Reichel somehow only notched one point. At least it was a goal?

All of this to say, the IceHogs need to score goals. Mike Hardman and Michal Teplý have been doing a great job lately, with another honorable mention to Andrei Altybarmakian for his beautiful snipe against the Stars. But, the offense runs through Lukas Reichel and he needs to get on the scoresheet in a serious way to break his team out of this terrible rut they’re in.  

Those are your three players to watch. Now, here are the scoring leaders for both squads!

Rockford IceHogs

1. Lukas Reichel: 37 Games Played, 16 Goals, 20 Assists, 36 Points
2. Ian Mitchell: 41 Games Played, 8 Goals, 17 Assists, 25 Points
3. Dylan McLaughlin: 37 Games Played, 6 Goals, 19 Assists, 25 Points
4. D.J. Busdeker: 43 Games Played, 4 Goals, 16 Assists, 20 Points
5. Mike Hardman: 21 Games Played, 12 Goals, 7 Assists, 19 Points
6. Brett Connolly: 22 Games Played, 7 Goals, 11 Assists, 18 Points
7. Michal Teplý: 39 Games Played, 9 Goals, 8 Assists, 17 Points
8. Alec Regula: 27 Games Played, 2 Goal, 15 Assists, 17 Points
9. Evan Barratt: 41 Games Played, 7 Goals, 9 Assists, 16 Points
10. Andrei Altybarmakian: 42 Games Played, 4 Goals, 12 Assists, 16 Points

Goalies:

• Collin Delia: 20 Games Played, 10-8-2, 3.09 GAA, .905 sv%
• Arvid Söderblom: 20 Games Played, 9-10-1, 2.80 GAA, .918 sv%

Milwaukee Admirals

1. Rocco Grimaldi: 42 Games Played, 25 Goals, 24 Assists, 49 Points
2. Cole Schneider: 54 Games Played, 23 Goals, 25 Assists, 48 Points
3. Cody Glass: 49 Games Played, 10 Goals, 33 Assists, 43 Points
4. Matt Luff: 30 Games Played, 14 Goals, 17 Assists, 31 Points
5. Matt Donovan: 56 Games Played, 7 Goals, 21 Assists, 28 Points
6. Jeremy Davies: 50 Games Played, 4 Goals, 24 Assists, 28 Points
7. Cole Smith: 41 Games Played, 12 Goals, 14 Assists, 26 Points
8. Egor Afanasyev: 54 Games Played, 9 Goals, 14 Assists, 23 Points
9. Jimmy Huntington (total): 42 Games Played, 7 Goals, 14 Assists, 21 Points
10. Graham Knott: 42 Games Played, 9 Goals, 10 Assists, 19 Points

Goalies:

• Connor Ingram: 41 Games played, 23-13-5, 2.62 GAA, .917 SV%
• Devin Cooley: 17 Games Played, 6-7-1, 3.29 GAA, .894 SV%

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