Jeremy Morin waits for the Brandon Pirri feed that will lead to him scoring the game winning, shorthanded goal on Friday night against the Chicago Wolves. (Photo Credit: Kim Wrona)

For the second straight weekend, the IceHogs faced a three-games-in-three-nights situation. This time in week 23, they faced the Chicago Wolves twice and the Peoria Rivermen. With these big Midwest Division games, the Hogs needed to take, at the bare minimum, 4 out of the 6 points to be right on the cusp of making it into the playoffs; with 6 out of 6 points, they could be in the top 8.

» Continue reading “IceHogs Tuesday: Fiery Week 23 For Rockford”

IceHogs forward Brandon Svendsen, who has been a key component to the penalty kill, wins a faceoff on Sunday. (Photo Credit: Kim Wrona)

The IceHogs faced their first 3-games-in-3-nights set since December 7th – 9th. In that set of 3 games, the Hogs went 1-2-0-0 against the Milwaukee Admirals, Chicago Wolves and Grand Rapids Griffins. The playoff-pushing Hogs looked to do better in week 22′s 3-in-3 set as they took on the Oklahoma City Barons and the Wolves.

» Continue reading “IceHogs Tuesday: Hat Tip To The Hogs”

IceHogs captain Martin St. Pierre brings the puck into the Wolves’ zone during Sunday’s contest. (Photo Credit: Kim Wrona)

Week 20 brought three games for the IceHogs. All three were against Midwest Division rivals. In order to catch up in the playoff race, they needed to take all six points at stake–and they did.

» Continue reading “IceHogs Tuesday: A Winning Week”

Shawn Lalonde celebrates his shorthanded goal on Saturday with Brandon Pirri, Jeremy Morin, and Joe Lavin. (Photo Credit: Kim Wrona)

The IceHogs broke out into a much needed offensive explosion in week 19 that propelled them into some favorable results against some extremely tough opponents.

» Continue reading “IceHogs Tuesday: They’re On A Roll”

Joe Lavin directs traffic, just like he directed the game tying goal tonight. (Photo Credit: Kim Wrona)

The fall down the slippery slope continued for the IceHogs in week 17 as they took on some Texas teams. The Hogs set a new franchise record for consecutive losses with their tilts down South. Guess it only makes sense since everything’s bigger in Texas, right? That also makes a win just as big.

» Continue reading “IceHogs Tuesday: There Are No Words”

I’m dreaming of a Walleye Christmas.

Let’s be honest, folks. It’s been difficult for me to write up much of anything while the lockout drags on. I’ve gone from hopeful to despairing to apathetic, and that’s put a damper on my writing.

But now I’ve found the perfect article to break the dry spell — a ridiculous video of the Toledo Walleye miming along to the Drifters’ version of White Christmas. (Thanks to Puck Daddy for finding it.)

» Continue reading “On The Farm: Walleye Get Into The Holiday Spirit”

Kent Simpson – Obligatory Goalie Photo / Photo by: Andy Morrison / Toledo Blade

Sadly, I’d prefer a banana split, but the season’s still young.

After playing their season opener on the 13th, the Walleye had to wait nearly a week to play game number two on the year. Go ECHL scheduling, go! Toledo finally laced up the skates again last Friday at home vs. the Cincinnati Cyclones and traveled to Kalamazoo on Saturday to take on the Wings.

» Continue reading “Walleye Monday: Weekend Split”

Here fishy, fishy – Photo by: the_mel / Flickr

Some of you may remember me as your erstwhile Chicago Express reporter. Well, as we all know, the Express went to the big ice rink in the sky shortly after the conclusion of their inaugural season. So what is a newly minted Chicago-area ECHL fan to do?

The upcoming 2012-13 ECHL season has seen four new teams added to the league, including two “local” entities, the Fort Wayne Komets and Evansville IceMen. I say “local” because in reality, Kalamazoo is closer to either one of those locations from Chicago, and it’ll be a cold day in hell before I root for the Wings (*gag*).

So my allegiances (and somewhat limited reporting skillz) has fallen behind the Toledo Walleye, the farm team of the Blackhawks and dreaded Detroit Red Wings. What sadist in the Toledo front office came up with that marriage made in Hades?

» Continue reading “Toledo Walleye Season Preview”

Going back to Portland. (Photo Credit: the_mel/flickr)

The Rockford IceHogs trimmed six players from their roster today.

• Terry Broadhurst (reassigned to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye)
• Byron Froese (reassigned to the Toledo Walleye)
• Kent Simpson (reassigned to the Toledo Walleye)
• David Gilbert (reassigned to the CHL (Central Hockey League)’s Bloomington Blaze)
• Mac Carruth (reassigned to the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks)
• Chris DeSousa (released from training camp try-out agreement)

The IceHogs take on the Peoria Rivermen tonight in Peoria at 7:05pm for their last preseason game. Follow Runs On Duncan‘s own Kim Wrona on Twitter at @kimwrona7 for live updates during the game.

Actually, let’s be honest. This was the last time Lebda was ever relevant. (Photo: Michael Righi/flickr)

On The Farm provides news from the Chicago Blackhawks‘ farm teams: the Rockford IceHogs and Toledo Walleye.

The Rockford IceHogs signed Brett Lebda to a Professional Try Out contract today to round out their training camp roster.

While Lebda, a native of Buffalo Grove, would probably like you to remember him as a former Stanley Cup champion with the Detroit Red Wings, it’s more likely that you remember his disastrous stint as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. My favorite “Lebda being Lebda” moment was when the Maple Leafs beat the holy hell out of the Atlanta Thrashers 9-3 — but he somehow managed to still be a minus-3 on the night.

He then signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier this year — mostly because the Blue Jackets had, like, two healthy defensemen left at that point.

It’s safe to say that Lebda won’t make it anywhere near the Blackhawks even after the lockout, but if he can crack the IceHogs’ roster and provide some veteran leadership, more power to him.

» Continue reading “On The Farm: Lebda Still Relevant, Kind Of”