Wolves downed by Griffins in Game 1
Postseason hockey is all about doing the little things well.
Cash in on the power play. Stay out of the penalty box. Infuriate the opposing goalie by being an ever-persistant gnat in his face.
Hit hard and defend hard.
Whoever checks more of those boxes has an excellent chance to win, and Friday night at the Allstate Arena, the Grand Rapids Griffins delivered a strong message to the Chicago Wolves during a 5-1 victory in Game 1 of their best-of-five Calder Cup opening-round series.
"We are here for a reason," said a frustrated Tomas Hyka, who scored 16 goals in 43 games and also appeared in 17 games for the Vegas Golden Knights. "We played great in the regular season. If we think it's going to be (easy) in the playoffs, it's not going to happen.
"We've got to play harder and up our game. It's just frustrating to see a score like that."
Game 2 is at Allstate Arena on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Central Division-winning Wolves, who were swept by the Rockford IceHogs in the first round last season, impressed during the first 19 minutes and took a 1-0 lead on a Tye McGinn goal at 7:52.
But Grand Rapids took the wind out of the Wolves' sails when Colin Campbell put a loose puck past goalie Oscar Dansk with just 41.1 seconds remaining in the opening frame.
"That changed everything," Hyka said. "Some of the guys just stopped playing and it's unacceptable. It can't happen."
The Griffins grabbed a 2-1 lead midway through the second period, staved off a furious power-play effort by the Wolves early in the third and then went up 3-1 with 6:50 remaining. Grand Rapids' final 2 goals came with 2:54 and 2:21 left.
Coach Rocky Thompson was most disappointed with the way the Wolves responded after Grand Rapids' second goal.
"We were deflated after that goal went in," Thompson said. "It wasn't that we were getting dominated, but I didn't like our pushback. I thought we could have reestablished ourselves in how we were playing in the first, and that didn't happen."
Grand Rapids snapped a nine-game losing streak, while the Wolves have now dropped six straight playoff openers. The last time Chicago won a Game 1 came in the first round in 2014.
The Wolves had little net-front presence against the bigger Griffins and had a tough time getting anything going on their first two power-play chances.
Things could have turned early in the third period when Hyka's blast nearly beat Griffins goalie Harri Sateri, but the puck trickled just wide of the net.
Now we'll see if the Wolves can push back in Game 2, or if they'll head to Grand Rapids in a deep hole.
"(The playoffs are) so much different," Hyka said. "You have to work hard. If you don't work hard, you're not going to win a playoff game.
"That's what we didn't do today and we have to make sure we do it tomorrow because this series can end really quick. Some of the guys have to wake up and be at their best."
Huge honor:
Chicago Wolves forward Daniel Carr was named the American Hockey League's MVP on the strength of his 30-goal, 41-assist season. Carr, who has missed six weeks with an injury and did not play against Grand Rapids on Friday, compiled those numbers in just 52 games.