Over fall break, two of Beloit’s finest sports writers made a treacherous journey down to the BMO Center in Rockford to watch the Rockford Icehogs, the American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. What ensued was a mixture of shock, awe, heartbreak, and very bad officiating. The game would ultimately end in a 2-0 defeat for the Icehogs at the hands of the Iowa Wild, and would serve as the start of Elliot’s losing weekend, with both the Raiders and Beloit College football coming up short in heartbreaking results over the next two days. Icehogs superfan Sam was also thoroughly disappointed, but not entirely surprised, with the lackluster performance. The rest of this article will be split into both Elliot’s and Sam’s experiences at the game.
Elliot: As someone who doesn’t watch hockey much, I really enjoyed my first ever professional hockey game. Even if the Icehogs lost in spectacular fashion, I thought the stadium where they played was cool. I had also never been to downtown Rockford before, and it was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. However, we can’t talk about the experience without talking about the actual game itself. I didn’t know if the Icehogs were good or not, but after this game, I can see what Sam was talking about. It was terrible. Iowa seemed to be hitting more shots on target than the Icehogs, and it was almost as if the Icehogs were afraid of shooting on target. They spent more time passing (and missing said passes) than actually trying to make attempts on goal. Don’t even get me started on the refs. The first goal of the game shouldn’t have even been a goal, since the actual goalpost came off its hinges just before the puck went in. The crowd REALLY didn’t like that one. Especially considering that the Wild goalie was probably messing with it before the game started. I was happy to contribute to a bit of booing at the ref, especially for a call like that. I wouldn’t class myself as an Icehogs fan, but I got a nice hat out of it, so for that, thank you Icehogs.
Sam: Fire everyone, fire the coaches, fire the refs, fire the players. It’s the same thing every single year: the Icehogs look good for the first five minutes before crapping the bed and forgetting how to skate. Our head coach is about as competent as a bag of rocks, especially when it comes to getting shots on net. Like Elliot stated, the Icehogs weren’t playing greedy. They were passing the puck at every opportunity, ESPECIALLY ON THE POWERPLAY. I went to FIFTEEN games last season, I watched us win TWICE. You would assume at the start of a new season, they’d have something figured out, but clearly not. The reffing was some of the worst I have ever seen as well. Multiple missed calls were committed by the Wild, but every time an Icehogs breathed near a Wild player it was a penalty. Thankfully, the Icehogs penalty kill is still amazing, leaving the game without conceding a goal on a penalty kill. HOWEVER, a very obvious goal that should have stood for the Icehogs was called back because the Wild goalie kicked the net off its stands, ruining the Icehogs’ scoring chance — and let me say, I was very proud to be apart of the Ref You Suck chant that filled the entire BMO. But on a lighter note, definitely go check out a game; tickets are relatively cheap for a professional sport and it’s a fun way to kill a night, whether the team plays like peewee or cup champs.
Featured image: Elliot Ave-Lallemant’27
Leave a Reply