ROCKFORD - The Rockford IceHogs came into Wednesday night's game against the Milwaukee Admirals with a 4-0 record in the playoffs. They swept the Chicago Wolves in the first round and took a 2-0 series lead over the Milwaukee Admirals in the second round to get to that point.

In an attempt to innovate, the young Professional Women’s Hockey League allows the top-seeded team in its four-team playoffs to choose its first-round opponent. A year ago, Toronto chose a fourth-seeded Minnesota team that had lost its final five regular-season games,

There's another Minnesota team with playoff fever this spring: the Frost. State of play: The reigning Professional Women's Hockey League champs open their best-of-five semifinal series Wednesday night against the Toronto Sceptres.