Wolves ready to take on old rival Milwaukee
Whether it was years ago in the old International League or right now in the American Hockey League, the Chicago Wolves always have had a target on their back.
That's what happens to a franchise that pretty much knows nothing but success.
"You know what we are? We're the evil empire," Wolves coach John Anderson said Monday. "And I'm OK with that as long as we know we're the evil empire. Nobody is going to give us any easy games."
Especially the Milwaukee Admirals, the Wolves' longtime rivals from back in those IHL days and their first-round opponent in the AHL's Calder Cup playoffs that begin with Game 1 on Wednesday at the Allstate Arena.
The Wolves just finished a terrific regular season that saw them win the AHL's Western Conference crown with 53 wins and 111 points, earning them home ice for at least the first three rounds of the playoffs.
The Wolves will be going for their fourth league championship since 1998. They have reached the conference finals seven times in 13 all-time playoff appearances.
"I told the guys that we're on top of the mountain and it's hard to get there, but it's harder to stay because everybody's trying to knock you off," Anderson said. "I think we're set for it because we've seen that all year."
The Wolves were 6-3-1 against Milwaukee during the regular season, but those numbers don't tell the whole story. The Admirals are coming off a 44-win, 95-point season themselves.
"Milwaukee's a great team, and it's going to be a battle for us," Wolves center Jason Krog said.
If the Wolves have an edge it's offensively, where their AHL-leading goal total of 300 was 69 more than Milwaukee.
The line of Krog, Brett Sterling and Darren Haydar probably is the most dangerous in the AHL, Krog finishing with 39 goals and Sterling 38.
Krog was the league's most valuable player with his 39 goals and 112 points. He became only the third player in AHL history to lead the league in goals, assists and points.
"All that is in the past now, and we're moving on to the second season of the year," Krog said.
The matchup in goal should be a key. The Wolves' Ondrej Pavelec led all AHL rookies and ranked second in the league with 33 wins. Milwaukee's Pekka Rinne won 36 games.
Pavelec is confident his teammates are going to score enough goals for him to win.
"I know we have the guys who can score more than 5 goals," he said. "If I have a bad game, I know the guys are going to score 6 and we're going to win."