IceHogs Lose Cole Guttman To Upper Body Injury As Playoffs Loom

First it was Nolan Allan. Now it’s Cole Guttman missing time due to injury.

The Rockford IceHogs announced that forward Cole Guttman is out three to four weeks as a result of a shot he took the other night–which was perhaps the worst birthday gift he could have received.

Medical Update:

F Cole Guttman is expected to miss 3-4 weeks with an upper body injury.

— x – Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) April 9, 2024

Guttman was slashed by Grand Rapids’ Taro Hirose, which you can see from the clip below. Hirose was recently suspended by the AHL for two games as a result of that whack, which might explain the severity of the suspension. In the video, you can see Guttman favoring his arm following Hirose’s misdeed.

Taro Hirose will be out of the lineup for the Griffins for Friday and Saturdays game.

He’s been suspended by the AHL for this slashing penalty that happened during the game in Rockford on Saturday…

Do you think Taro deserved two games?#GoGRG #LGRW pic.twitter.com/vr9fn42CYr

— X – Hockeytown West Podcast (@HockeytownWpod) April 9, 2024

Cole Guttman, Nolan Allan Lost for Weeks As IceHogs Ready for the Playoffs

It’s been a string of bad luck for the IceHogs, who have benefitted from strong play of both Allan and Guttman. Allan had been a minutes eater before he was ruled out for three-four weeks last week. Guttman, on the other hand, had been on a tear and was recently named the AHL player of the week and month for March.

When asked about the loss of Allan, head coach Anders Sorensen

“He’s been good for us all year for us defensively and grown a lot of his game,” Sorensen told Chicago Hockey Now. “Other guys will get opportunities, and it’s a next man up mentality.”

With Wyatt Kaiser recently being brought back to Rockford, that will help the blue line a bit. But Guttman’s absence will definitely leave a hole for a team that has seen a surge in large part to his play. The IceHogs punched their ticket for the playoffs already and have seven games remaining in the season–including one tonight against Iowa on the road.

Allan is already a week into recovery but the time Guttman could return would be likely three weeks into the AHL playoffs. One interesting angle is if the Blackhawks sign the University of Michigan’s Frank Nazar once its Frozen Four journey is over, could he jump right in to the fray?

It’ll definitely be a next man up mentality as the IceHogs ready for their playoff push. But it’s certainly a string of bad luck for Rockford as the season winds down.

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