Wolves playoff tickets on sale Friday

Chicago Wolves playoff tickets for the first round of the 2011 Calder Cup Playoffs will go on sale at 11 a.m. Friday.

The dates, times and opponents for the postseason remain to be determined.

With six regular-season games remaining, the Wolves (37-28-3-6) are locked in a three-way tie for the fourth and final guaranteed playoff spot in the West Division with 83 points in 74 games. The Peoria Rivermen (38-29-2-5), who also have played 74 games, and Oklahoma City Barons (36-28-2-9), who have played 75 games, share the fourth spot with Chicago. The San Antonio Rampage (38-30-3-2) sit in seventh place, but are just two points back, with 81 points in 73 games.

If the fifth-place team in the West Division finishes the season with more points than the fourth-place team in the North Division, it would cross over and compete in the North Division playoffs. The Toronto Marlies (35-28-1-10) currently occupy the fourth slot in the North with 81 points in 74 games.

The Wolves will travel to Texas this week to face the Houston Aeros, who are tied for first place, on Thursday at 7 p.m., and the third-place Texas Stars on Friday at 7:30 p.m., before returning home to host Houston at the Allstate Arena on Saturday at 7 p.m.

To purchase a playoff package or playoff flex packs, call 1-800-THE-WOLVES. Individual tickets for playoff games at the Allstate Arena also can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000, visiting any Ticketmaster outlet or the Allstate Arena box office, or online at chicagowolves.com or ticketmaster.com.