CHICAGO, Ill – After missing the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history last season, the Chicago Wolves will face a familiar foe in the Milwaukee Admirals. The Wolves (49-24-1-6) finished first in the West Division and second in the conference, while the Ads (41-30-2-1) finished fourth and sixth, respectively. The teams have met in the playoffs five times, with the Wolves winning all but one of their contests. That one year that the Admirals won, they went on to win the Calder Cup championship. The Wolves have posted an 18-9 record against the Admirals in postseason play that goes back to the old International Hockey League. This season, the Wolves won the regular season battle going 7-2-1-0. With this battle, Chicago won the inaugural Amtrak Rivalry that pitted the two teams together this year. In this series, look for a battle to go on in the crease. It features two top 10 goaltenders and one of the best team tandems in the league. Milwaukee’s Mark Dekanich has complied 27 wins in 49 games played and a .914 save percentage but has only mustered three wins in the eight games played against the Wolves. Admiral’s backup Chet Pickard has played in 36 games this season, facing the Wolves four times with no wins. As for the Wolves, Peter Mannino has turned in an excellent season, compiling a 26-5-1 record in 38 games played with a .921 save percentage. Equally up to the task, former Admiral Drew MacIntyre went 20-17-2 in 41 games and a .917 save percentage. Mannino won five of the seven games against Milwaukee. Defensively the both teams have great players. From a scoring standpoint, the Admirals have two of the top tier players in the league in Robert Dietrich and rookie Jonathon Blum. As offensive threats, they were both in the top four in team scoring. Chicago looks to the tandem of 48-year-old veteran Chris Chelios and 21-year-old Arturs Kulda, both of whom are returning after late season call-ups with the parent club, Atlanta Thrashers. As a pairing, the duo combined for a plus-minus of a +81. Mike Santorelli leads the forwards for the Admirals, but look for the Wolves to bring the experience that the team had just a mere two years ago, when they went all the way to win the Calder Cup. Team Captain Jason Krog leads the likes of offensive-minded Brett Sterling and Joey Crabb. Another contributor is local product Tim Stapleton, who had a career-high 30 goals with the Wolves and two with the Thrashers for the season. Even though Chicago Wolves has dominated the season series, head coach Don Lever notes his team has struggled to play a complete 60 minutes of hockey during the last few weeks of the season. But look for the team to get all of their pieces back together as players return from their NHL teams. West Division Semifinal – Series “G” (best-of-7) W1-Chicago Wolves vs. W4-Milwaukee Admirals Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 14 – Milwaukee at Chicago, 7:00 Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 16 – Milwaukee at Chicago, 7:30 Game 3 – Sat., Apr. 17 – Chicago at Milwaukee, 7:00 Game 4 – Mon., Apr. 19 – Chicago at Milwaukee, 7:00 *Game 5 – Wed., Apr. 21 – Milwaukee at Chicago, 7:00 *Game 6 – TBA – Chicago at Milwaukee, 7:00 *Game 7 – Mon., Apr. 26 – Milwaukee at Chicago, 7:00 * If necessary All times Central Contact the author matt.chin@prohockeynews.com
