Chelios 'fabulous' in Wolves debut, despite loss to Manitoba

His was the first face to appear on the video screen prior to the game.

He was the first starter to be introduced and skate his way through the ginormous Wolf's head.

He was the first to send a shot on net, a blistering slapper from the blue line less than 30 seconds into the game.

And a few minutes later, the first - courtesy of a bruising check along the boards on Dustin Collins - to send an opponent sprawling to the ice.

But in his first game as a member of the Chicago Wolves, what defenseman Chris Chelios was most proud of was playing a part in helping his new team pick up a much-needed point despite falling 1-0 in a shootout to Manitoba in front of 5,023 at the Allstate Arena.

"It would have been great to get the 2 points, but this is a start in the right direction," said Chelios, who by most estimates played between 15-20 minutes against the Moose. Not too shabby for a 47-year-old.

"Cheli was fabulous," said coach Don Lever, who was also experiencing a first Friday; his debut behind the Wolves bench. "He sits back there and reads. A couple of times he was leading the young kids up the ice - that's why I know it looks like we need a little bit of conditioning work."

"Physically, for myself, I felt pretty good," Chelios said. "About as good as I could expect."

Though he appeared cool as a cucumber, even his 25 years in the NHL and his numerous Stanley Cup appearances couldn't calm him down leading up to Friday's game.

"I've been nervous; couldn't sleep today," Chelios said. "I was really excited about coming back. I know a lot of my friends were here. I've been looking forward to it."

Chelios' biggest contribution of the night came in the third period with the game scoreless. That's when he made a diving save and swipe of the puck from the crease to save Manny Legace's shutout.

"I was just trying to keep it simple and fortunately I fell the right way there and got a quick whistle," Chelios said.

As for the hit on Miller early in the game?

"I don't know how physical I can be every game, especially at my age, but I'm trying to do the best I can," he said. "When I get an opportunity I will."

The Wolves came out storming in the first period, peppering Moose goalie Cory Schneider continually en route to an 11-5 shots-on-goal edge after one period. But the Moose turned it around and finished up with a 31-24 advantage in shots.

"I think as a team we were concentrating on playing defense and that took away from our offense towards the end of the game," Chelios said.

"I was happy with the way we competed; we played a real solid first period," Lever said. "But we still have a lot of work to do."