Rockford IceHogs have sights set on Calder Cup playoffs
There's nothing like playoff hockey.
The hits, the intensity, the speed - they all ramp up to a completely different level.
Come April, the Blackhawks will not experience any of this, but their minor-league club - the Rockford IceHogs - are fighting tooth and nail to qualify for the Calder Cup playoffs.
The IceHogs, which squeaked a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Wolves at the Allstate Arena on Saturday, are 32-24-4-4 and in fifth place in the Central Division. The top four teams get in, and Rockford is just 1 point behind Grand Rapids, 2 behind Iowa and 5 behind the Wolves.
"It's really important to be in it right until the end," said coach Jeremy Colliton. "We want these guys to play big games. We want them to understand what it takes to have success, how to prepare and how to deliver.
"If you want to win championships, which is obviously the goal, you need to be comfortable in these situations. And part of it is experience."
Rockford is an interesting mix, with seasoned NHL veterans such as Cody Franson, Adam Clendening, Lance Bouma and Andreas Martinsen playing with up-and-coming hopefuls such as forwards Tyler Sikura, Matheson Iacopelli, Anthony Louis, Luke Johnson, Alexandre Fortin and defensemen Luc Snuggerud, Robin Norell, Darren Raddysh and Carl Dahlstrom.
Tanner Kero and Gustav Forsling have missed 10 and five games, respectively, while nursing injuries.
"It's not easy to have a group this young and be able to accomplish what we have so far," said Franson, who believes Colliton has done a fantastic job in his first season in Rockford. "The group acts quite mature in a lot of situations compared to how a lot of other teams would act. That's a testament to how he's done things."
With Vinnie Hinostroza, Matthew Highmore and Tomas Jurco all with the Blackhawks, Colliton said his team knows it isn't going to win many high-scoring affairs.
"We've got to win 2-1, 3-2," he said. "That's the kind of team we have. They have embraced that."
And they proved it Saturday by hanging tough after falling behind the Wolves 1-0 early in the first period. Colliton's squad proceeded to kill off a 5-on-3 power play, stayed patient, then tied the score on an Iacopelli power-play goal with 2:07 left in the second period.
Sikura - on a crazy short-handed goal that came courtesy of Wolves goalie Oscar Dansk missing a puck 40 feet from his net - made it 2-1 early in the third, and Louis scored 2.5 minutes later to make it 3-1.
Rockford (7-2-1-1 in its last 11) plays eight of its final 12 games on the road, including the season finale against the Wolves on April 14.
After that, Colliton hopes his team is preparing for even more hockey.
"You don't get a crack at (the playoffs) every year," Colliton said, "so you want to take advantage when you have the opportunity. … You don't want to let that slip away.
"As far as the pressure, you've got to love it. I say the same thing to these guys before every game now - this is fun, these are fun games. Let's get excited."