Chicago Wolves Going Four Another AHL Title

When looking back at all the success the Chicago Wolves have had over the past eleven seasons, it’s hard to argue that they’ve been the only team in town to win consistently during the last decade.

While every other local team has had success at least a few times in that period (except maybe the Blackhawks), the Wolves have accumulated five championship round appearances, winning three times in two different leagues. 

Tonight, they begin the final step in winning number four.

The Wolves didn’t meet the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins during the regular season, but they know they have the offensive weapons to match up against a team whose parent club is fighting for a championship of their own (some cup named after a guy named Stanley).

Jason Krog, the AHL’s scoring champion during the regular season, is also leading the postseason with 28 points and 19 assists.  17 of those points, nine of which assists, have come during a nine-game scoring streak. 

Darren Haydar, on an eight-game scoring streak, is not too far behind, tied for second in points with 20 and leading the postseason with seven power play goals. 

Joel Kwiatkowski, the second-highest scoring defenseman this postseason, has lit the lamp seven times, six on the power play, more than anyone else in both categories at his position.  The Wolves have had more power plays than anyone else, and have made the most of them, leading the league in power play success.  With the Penguins ranked only 14th out of 16 playoff teams in penalty killing, that could spell trouble for the opposition.

However, the Penguins have some scorers of their own.  

Tim Brent and Chris Minard are the one-two leaders in postseason goals, scoring 11 and 10 respectively. 

Two of the four players Brent is tied for second in points with are Haydar and rookie teammate Alex Goligoski, the top-scoring defenseman who leads all rookies with 17 assists, just two behind Krog in the overall leaderboard.  Third in assists with 13 is Kurtis McLean.

The scorers on both teams will be challenges for rookie goaltenders John Curry and Ondrej Pavelec, who leads goalies this postseason with 503 saves.  Curry is third with 414.  The two of them rank first and second in minutes played.

A few players on the Wolves’ roster have won titles of their own.  Steve Martins won the Turner Cup with the Wolves in 1998.  Darren Haydar captained the Milwaukee Admirals to the Calder Cup in 2004 and Joe Motzko won a Stanley Cup ring with the Anaheim Ducks just last season.  The championship experience is there.

For years, it has been surprising that for all the success head coach John Anderson and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff have had in Chicago, they have yet to move up to the NHL.  That could change this offseason as Anderson might be a candidate for the head jobs in Atlanta and Toronto and Cheveldayoff could go elsewhere. 

If this is the final year with the organization for one or both of them, nothing would be a more appropriate sendoff than bringing home the Calder Cup once again.