The Wolves, the Western Conference’s 2nd seed and Midwest Division champions, finally learned their playoff fate on Saturday night and will face the 7th-seeded Rochester Americans in the best-of-five first round; Chicago has never faced Rochester in the postseason, but split this season’s two-game series and are 6-7-1-0-0 all-time against the Amerks.
THIS WEEK:
Game 1 – Western Conference Quarterfinals
Fri., April 25*
at Rochester Americans
Blue Cross Arena
6 p.m.
Game 2 – Western Conference Quarterfinals
Sat., April 26*
at Rochester Americans
Blue Cross Arena
6 p.m.
*U-Too
GAMES WILL BE TELECAST LIVE ON THE U-TOO OR WCIU
Log on to ChicagoWolves.com for broadcast schedule, or to watch or listen to the action live online
EYE ON THE PRIZE
The Wolves, the Western Conference’s 2nd seed and Midwest Division champions, finally learned their playoff fate on Saturday night and will face the 7th-seeded Rochester Americans in the best-of-five first round; Chicago has never faced Rochester in the postseason, but split this season’s two-game series and are 6-7-1-0-0 all-time against the Amerks.
WOLVES HEADLINERS
— Jake Allen: Extended his win streak to four games with a 6-0 win over Milwaukee on Saturday and has not dropped a regulation contest since March 30 … Set the Wolves franchise record for shutouts by a goaltender in a single season with his seventh whitewash on Saturday, surpassing teammate Matt Climie and general manager WENDELL YOUNG … Was named the 2013-14 recipient of the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the league’s top goaltender and was selected to the AHL’s First All-Star Team … Became just the second netminder since 1984-85 to finish the season with the “Triple Crown”, leading league goaltenders in wins (33), goals-against average (2.03), and save percentage (.928) … Also finished the season leading the league in games (52), minutes (3,138:21), and shutouts (7) … Is the fourth goaltender in Wolves history to record 30 wins and posted the second-best regular-season goals-against average in team history (minimum 3 games played) behind RICHARD SHULMISTRA’S 1.89 in 2000-01
— Ty Rattie: Dented the net twice on Saturday to finish the season with 31 goals and 48 points, pacing the Wolves … Became the first Wolves rookie to lead the team in points during the regular season … Tied Grand Rapids’ Teemu Pulkkinen for first in the league for rookie goal-scoring and finished eighth among first-year pros for overall points … Is the first Wolves player to record a 30-goal season since Mark Mancari in 2011-12 and the first rookie to do so since Brett Sterling’s 55-goal year in 2006-07 … Appeared in two scoreless games for St. Louis this month, including his NHL debut on April 11 in Dallas
— Michael Davies: Dented the net on Saturday to extend his goal streak to four games, a career-high … Has put up points in 14 of 19 games since the beginning of March, more than doubling his season point production in that span … Set career-highs in both assists (18) and points (31) in just 46 games, the fewest in his four professional seasons … Was awarded the Wolves’ Dan Snyder Man of the Year Award for the second season in a row … Sits one point away from his 100th regular-season AHL point
— Shane Harper: Recorded a point for the fourth game in a row on Saturday and has contributed on the scoresheet in 6 of 8 games in April, posting 2 goals and 7 points … Set AHL career-highs in assists (20) and points (33) and tied his career-high in goals (13) … Sits fifth on the Wolves in goals and points and fourth with a +19 plus/minus rating
WOLF TRACKS
— Chicago collected six of a possible six points last week and closed out the regular season with four straight wins, the second-best finish to the year in franchise history behind the 1997-98 squad that won its last five contests.
— The Wolves trailed division leaders Grand Rapids for 167 days, per the AHL, before overtaking them on the final night of the season on Saturday; it is Chicago’s ninth division title and second since joining the realigned Midwest Division in 2011-12.
— Of the nine seasons in which the Wolves have captured the division title, they have a .627 winning percentage in the playoffs, going 84-50, and have made it to the Turner or Calder Cup final five times; three of the team’s four championships have followed division titles.
— The Wolves hold a 6-8 record in playoff series in which they start on the road, however they are 5-3 in this situation since joining the American Hockey League; because of the distance between Chicago and Rochester, the Wolves had the option of starting the series with two games at home then three in Rochester or two in Rochester then three at Allstate Arena, electing for the latter.
WOLVES REWIND (3-0-0-0)
Saturday, April 19
(at) Chicago 6, Milwaukee 0
— The Wolves scored thrice in each of the final two periods to close out the season with a dominant win over Milwaukee at Allstate Arena
— Ty Rattie and Eric Selleck both tallied twice while Sebastian Wannstrom (SH/GW) and Michael Davies also dented the net
— Goaltender Jake Allen’S 20-save shutout set a franchise record for shutouts by a goaltender in a single season
Friday, April 18
Chicago 5, (at) Rockford 3
— The Wolves rallied after trailing during the second period and scored the last three goals of the game for a win in Rockford
— Sergey Andronov, Michael Davies, Tyler Shattock, Nathan Longpre, and Alexandre Bolduc (PP/EN) all scored for Chicago
— Goaltender Matt Climie stopped 32 of 35 shots
Wednesday, April 16
Chicago 4, (at) Iowa 3 (SO)
— The Wolves prevailed in extra time during a back-and-forth game at Wells Fargo Arena
— Michael Davies, Shane Harper, and Pat Cannone scored in regulation while HARPER and Alexandre Bolduc tallied in the shootout
— Goaltender Matt Climie stopped 41 shots, his season-high, and five of six in the extra session
