It has been a tale of two months this season for the Rockford IceHogs. In October, the Hogs went 6-2-0. When the calendar flipped to November, the winning disappeared. The Hogs went 1-5-2, brining their season record to 7-7-2. The sudden flip in momentum has created concern about this young team.
Will these Hogs flip the script? How will the winning ways return? To find out, it would help to investigate what has transpired this last month.
The investigation
Oliver Moore played his last game with Rockford on Nov. 2 against Grand Rapids before his call-up on Nov. 3. (Photo courtesy of Kristin Ostrowski / Rockford IceHogs)
The most obvious place to look for why Rockford has slipped is their offensive output. In October, the Hogs averaged 3.625 goals per game. That rate has slipped to a mere 1.75 goals per game in November. In this month, the IceHogs have scored more two goals once, which was in their lone November victory against the Iowa Wild on Nov. 9.
Why has the scoring dried up? The simple answer is Oliver Moore. On Nov. 3, Moore, after six goals in nine AHL games to start the season, was called up to the Chicago Blackhawks. Even now, no member of the Hogs has matched his team-leading nine goals, despite being with the Blackhawks for most of November.
His absence is missed most by his linemates. Captain Brett Seney and Nick Lardis, although still effective, no longer benefit from Moore’s intense speed and shot on their wing.
Besides the top six, the rest of the forward group and the defense have struggled to give Rockford offense. Four of the Hogs’ regular defensemen, Kevin Korchinski, Ryan Mast, Taige Harding and Nolan Allan, have yet to score a goal this season. Along with the defense, only four forwards on the current roster have recorded four or more goals on the season. Those forwards being Seney, Lardis, Dominic Toninato and Aidan Thompson.
“It’s a percentage thing,” Thompson said on Tuesday regarding scoring. ” [We have to] continue to have a little bit more high-quality chances.”
Those high-quality chances have been hard to come by, especially on the power play. Scoring at a 10% rate, Rockford’s power play ranks third from the bottom in the AHL.
The positives
Despite the tough stretch, Drew Commesso continues to shine, giving up only two goals in an overtime loss against the Milwaukee Admirals on Nov. 7. (Photo courtesy of Kristin Ostrowski / Rockford IceHogs)
With only one win in the month of November, it may be hard to find positives. Despite the tough month, there are positives that deserve a spotlight.
One positive that remains for the Hogs is the goaltending. Despite the losses, goaltenders Drew Commesso and Stanislav Berezhnoy continue to keep the Hogs in games.
Commesso, in his 11 starts this season, has recorded an outstanding .921 save percentage, while limiting opponents to a 2.39 goals against average (GAA).
Berezhnoy is not far behind Commesso in effectiveness. In four starts this season, Berezhnoy has recorded an astonishing .915 save percentage and a 2.74 GAA.
Another positive that deserves a spotlight are two left-handed defensemen, Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro.
Despite not recording a goal so far this season, Korchinski leads the Hogs’ defensemen in points. With 10 assists in 15 games so far, Korchinski has improved his ability to distribute the puck and be a force in the offensive zone.
Like Korchinski, Del Mastro has proved effective in the offensive zone. The only Hogs defenseman with a goal, Del Mastro currently has seven points on the season. Del Mastro also leads Rockford defensemen in plus/minus with +6. His two-way style of play has allowed Rockford to remain in the league’s top 10 in penalty kill, recording a mark of 83.9%.
The verdict
Despite the tough stretch, head coach Jared Nightingale looks to keep his roster focused. (Photo courtesy of Nathan Vestal / Rockford IceHogs)
“Process over outcome, it’s easy to say, it’s hard when you’re in the middle of it,” said head coach Jared Nightingale to the media on Tuesday about managing a losing stretch with this young team. “I do like the morale of our group … guys aren’t satisfied, we want to win hockey games … we’re constantly trying to show the guys the positive and teach along the way.”
It has not been perfect. The difficulty with having a young AHL roster full of prospects is when one of them shines, they get rewarded with a call up to Chicago. Life without Moore has proven difficult. His output masked a lot of early struggles with this young roster.
Even so, the problem is identifiable, and workable. Right now, the negatives are outweighing the positives. At the very least, positives still exist. With time, the Hogs can find a new way to get scoring from their entire roster. Once they do, the winning ways will return.
In the Central Division, there is no place to hide. The divisional gauntlet continues at home on Wednesday against the Grand Rapids Griffins.