The Rockford IceHogs, the AHL affiliate for the Blackhawks, and the other 30 teams in the League won’t start play until at least Feb. 5, the AHL announced Wednesday.
In July, the AHL set a target start date of Dec. 4 but that has been pushed back two months and a day because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The date was the recommendation of the AHL’s Return to Play Task Force, which includes NHL executives and AHL officials.
The AHL normally starts its 76-game regular-season schedule in October. Of the AHL’s 31 teams, two are based in Illinois with the Rockford IceHogs and Chicago Wolves, who play at Allstate Arena in Rosemont.