Wolves Martins familiar with seventh games
Not since the 1998 Turner Cup Finals have the Chicago Wolves hosted a Game 7 at the Allstate Arena.
Steve Martins was in uniform that night when the Wolves beat the Detroit Vipors before a packed house to claim the International League title, their first of three championships.
The 36-year-old Martins will be back on the same ice tonight playing for the Wolves when they meet the Rockford IceHogs in the seventh and deciding game of their back-and-forth Calder Cup West Division final series.
"Playoffs themselves show how great our sport is, how great hockey is," Martins said Monday. "But a Game 7, you can't beat it as a fan or a player."
Martins has appeared in three seventh games in his pro career, two with the Wolves and one with the Ottawa Senators in the Stanley Cup playoffs against Toronto.
The Wolves got here by rallying to defeat the IceHogs 4-3 on Sunday in a must-win Game 6 in Rockford.
Trailing 1-0 after a lethargic first period, the Wolves got an earful from coach John Anderson at intermission then came out and scored 4 straight power-play goals in the second period.
"I don't know if we even felt our way through the first period; we just got beat up and outplayed," Wolves center Jason Krog said. "Our coach pretty much gave it to us after the first period. He said it was embarrassing, with our backs against the wall to come out and play like that.
"Once we got that first goal it gave us some life and some momentum. We were fortunate to get some power plays and capitalize on them."
Krog scored 2 of the goals, giving him 3 in the last two games after going his first 10 playoffs games with none. Getting goals from Krog, the American Hockey League's regular-season leader and MVP, is a good sign for the Wolves going into tonight's Game 7.
"Obviously, I'm looked upon to contribute offensively," Krog said. "The frustrating part was I was getting good shots, I thought, and getting opportunities. Sometimes those shots go in and sometimes they don't. It's nice a couple have gone my way and hopefully I can contribute."
It's probably only fitting that the series will be settled in a seventh game after the way the Wolves and the IceHogs have battled each other all season. Tonight's game will be the 17th between the tollway rivals.
"They're a good hockey team and every game with them has been difficult," Anderson said. "With their skill and our skill you're seeing great hockey out there."
The Wolves are 7-1 against Rockford in Rosemont, but the IceHogs did win Game 5 on Friday.
"We feel that much more comfortable at Allstate, knowing the rink and the ice," Krog said. "Hopefully we'll have a good crowd.
"The fans have been great throughout the playoffs. Even though it's not packed, they're still loud and the extra energy and push that they give us, it's a little bit of an edge for us.
"But at the same time, in a one-game series, anything can happen and we have to play our best."