In AHL, Wolves thrive on rivalries
Everybody has them. Maybe yours is your older brother or sister. Or maybe it's your best friend or someone down the street.
They all start in different ways, but one thing is certain- there is no one you would rather beat than your biggest rival.
For years, there haven't been bigger rivals for the Chicago Wolves than the Rockford IceHogs and Milwaukee Admirals. Not only are they in the same division, which creates a lot of familiarity and animosity, the rivals are located just a short drive from each other.
“You want to 1-up the teams in your division and there's bad blood because you play so much,” Wolves general manager and former goaltender Wendell Young said. “The second thing is the proximity.”
For Young, who played for both the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins, it doesn't get any better than the Pennsylvania rivalry, and he compares that series to the Wolves with Rockford and Milwaukee.
“There's always extra hype. It's intense,” he said.
The American Hockey League does its part to help create these rivalries with a schedule set up to play division opponents frequently. The Wolves host Rockford at 7 p.m. Saturday at Allstate Arena, and they have played Milwaukee three times already this season.
“A lot of feelings build up each game,” said Wolves center Jared Ross. “You get excited to get back at them. “
Goaltender Drew MacIntyre has been in the AHL for 8 seasons, and has been on both sides of the Milwaukee-Chicago rivalry, hasn't played against some teams in the league.
“It's easy to get rivalries in the AHL. It's like baseball with the American and National Leagues. You play against the teams in your division a lot. I've barely played against half the teams,” he said.
But even with the traditional rivalries, newly hated foes can be picked up along the through the playoffs.
“True rivalries start in the playoffs,” said Young. “You lose one game; it's not a big deal. You lose a series and end your season, that's the worst.”
Last season the Wolves took on the Texas Stars in the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs and lost in 7 games, and the memories are still fresh in the mind of Chicago.
”They took something away from us and we want it back,” Young said. “It's like being in the schoolyard and someone takes something from you. The next day you want to take it back.”
MacIntyre doesn't doubt that when the two teams get together, old feelings of last year's playoffs will come back.
“Anytime you have a 7-game series, odds are next time the teams play, they're going to remember (what happened before.)”
And although Chicago and Texas don't have a long and storied rivalry, one could sure be in the works and the two could wind up matched together in the playoffs.
“With the team that Texas has, and the potential we have, we could meet in the playoffs again,” Ross said.