Coach Ted Dent recently celebrated his 175th win with the Rockford IceHogs. After three winning seasons under Dent, the IceHogs reached the playoffs last season for the first time in his tenure. This season, the IceHogs are in first place in the Western Conference (and obviously in the Central Division). Succeeding like this while supplying players to the Stanley Cup champions 3 of the last 6 years is no easy task.
I really like and respect Dent. At 46 years old, he still has plenty of time to land an NHL coaching job, if that is his goal. Otherwise, I'd love seeing him be a long time coach with the IceHogs.
Coach Dent always faces the media professionally. He doesn't duck questions and he always speaks candidly. You know what he is thinking because he lays it out there.
Obviously, he wasn't happy with the penalties, especially from Hartman, and he expressed this when asked. Also, when Johngy's Beat Hockey Correspondent Jason Fleigel asked him if he talked to Mark Visantan after pulling him midway through the second period, Dent's short "no" answer spoke volumes. He wasn't happy with Visantan's play, yet he wasn't going to brutalize him either.
Dent's IceHogs head into the Christmas break for a few days off. They return December 26 against the Admirals in Rockford. With the Admirals trailing them by one point, this is a big game. I won't be there, but I will be at plenty more games going forward.
I encourage everyone else to follow the IceHogs online and in person. Stay tuned to Johngy's Beat for continual coverage. Head over to IceHogs.com for more info, news and updates.
(Post-game media session video courtesy of IceHogs.com)
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