After a brief streak of competence, the Icehogs have plummeted back down to the depths of the AHL. They lost all three games last week, only earning a point in one.
That piles on the back of two losses in the previous week, making for a tidy little five-game losing streak.
Last Tuesday, the Hogs took on St. Louis's AHL team, the Peoria Rivermen. They went down 3-2, with Brandon Pirri getting both the goals.
We've talked about Pirri before. He was a freshman at RPI last year and was yanked out of there after to ply his trade as a pro. It was a move that left a lot of us scratching our heads.
Hopefully this is a sign that he's finally getting it, as he's been clueless all season according to various reports.
Last Friday, Rockford was simply lit up in Grand Rapids by the Wings AHL team. Ryan Potulny grabbed both the goals this time, but Alec Richards saw four fly past him on 28 shots, with the Griffins adding an empty netter.
On Saturday, the Hogs took the Milwaukee Admirals -- the Predators' affiliate - to OT in Rockford but surrendered in the extra frame. Jeff Taffe and Mattias Olimb scored for the Hogs, and Hannu Toivonen was pulled after giving up two goals in five minutes. Richards came in and steadied the ship, stopping 19 of 20 he saw.
The Icehogs continue to be paced in scoring by journeyman Jeff Taffe, who has 28 points in 40 games. Kyle Beach is stuck on nine goals. The Hogs are stapled to the basement in their division, 11 points adrift of the Chicago Wolves, the next team above them.
