Wolves - IceHogs Recap: The RIGHT Team Won

Fan Commentary, by Gumbo
May 16, 2008

The first ever postseason clash between the Chicago Wolves and the affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks - now the Rockford IceHogs following a deal inked during the summer of 2007 - is now in the books. It was an epic 7-game war that is about as good as it gets in the American Hockey League and it's time for a review of the series. For those who don't know, I have been a Wolves season-ticket holder for 9 seasons and I also have Comcast Cable (the exclusive home of Wolves TV broadcasts) - so given that I attended all 4 games at Allstate Arena and watched all 3 games in Rockford, who better than me to provide the review? But reviewing a 7-game series plus a 10-game regular season series, which developed the rivalry in the first place, requires more than even I could include in a single post in the message boards (I'm famous around here for my war-and-peace length posts) so I figured it was also time for my first ever fan commentary.

Where to begin? How about some simple totals. In the regular season, the Wolves won 6 games to the IceHogs' 4, including all 5 battles at Allstate Arena. Most of the games were close but there were a few one-sided affairs. 3 games went to OT and one of those went to the skills competition (won by Rockford). Each Rockford victory in the season series was a 1-goal victory (or a phantom goal in the case of the shootout game) while the Wolves had victories of 8-3 and 7-1. That 7-1 game came on the final weekend of the regular season and featured plenty of extracurricular activity including several ejections and a fight between the goalies.

The Wolves outscored Rockford 43 to 28 in the 10 games. The Wolves led the league in scoring (only team to light the lamp 300 times) and the Hogs were tied with 2 other teams for 5th overall. The teams were just 5 goals apart in goals-against, and were in the middle of the pack in terms of team defense. The Wolves also led the league with 100 power play tallies. Power play was a key difference maker in the season series between the teams. The Wolves netted an absolutely ricockulous 22 power play strikes in the 10 games against the IceHogs. For those not keeping score at home, that's 22% of their total power play goals in 12.5% (10 out of 80) of their games. The Wolves had a power play conversion rate of 30% against the IceHogs.

Take that out and the Wolves and IceHogs were pretty evenly matched. The IceHogs actually had the lead in the West Division standings for awhile but the constant shuttle between the Rockford MetroCentre and the United Center eventually caught up to the Hogs a little bit. The Wolves, who had a fairly stable roster during the season compared to the Hogs, got super hot in February, passed the Hogs, and never looked back - finishing 13 points ahead of the Hogs for the West Division championship and home ice that would prove to be crucial in the postseason series. If the Blackhawks had had fewer injuries, one would think the IceHogs would've won at least a couple more games so the West Division race could easily have been neck-and-neck.

To set up their postseason clash, the Wolves faced long-time nemesis Milwaukee in the first round while the IceHogs drew the Houston Aeros. The mighty Wolves offense was shut out only 3 times during the regular season, and Milwaukee (and Nashville's goalie of the future Pekka Rinne) accounted for 2 of those, so it's no secret that the Wolves were in for a battle. Rinne would pitch 1 shutout in the series in game 4 - in what was probably the Wolves' best performance of the entire series. They completely dominated but could get nothing past Rinne while the Admirals converted 2 breakaways for the game's only scoring. The Wolves managed to score only 16 goals in the series while Milwaukee scored 11.

After the game 4 shutout, the series was tied 2 games apiece. The tide turned when the Wolves managed to get one past Rinne in the 2nd minute of game 5. Wolves goalie Ondrej Pavelec allowed only a fluke goal on a shot from the red line with 8 seconds left in regulation as the Wolves won 4-1. In game 6, Pavelec once again took a shutout into the final minute of regulation and this time completed it for a 3-0 Wolves victory. He was the #1 star of the game, and deservedly so.

Meanwhile, Rockford eliminated Houston in 5 games. Houston had a very defense-oriented team. They led the league in goals-against but were near the bottom of the league in goals-for. Their defensive style gave the Wolves fits during the regular season, so frankly I was glad that the Aeros did not draw the Wolves in the first round. Goals were hard to come by in the Rockford - Houston series. The Hogs scored 12 goals and their lone loss in the series came in OT with a final score of 1-0. Houston only managed to put 6 pucks past Corey Crawford in the entire series and neither team converted so much as 1 power play opportunity in the series. Houston's lone victory came in Rockford and the IceHogs proceeded to close out the series by winning 3 straight in Houston.

Now hockey fans know very well that regular season generally means very very little when the chase for the Cup rolls around - whether it be the Stanley Cup or one of the minor league Cups, in this case, the Calder Cup. Nevertheless, it was clear that the Hogs were going to have to work a bit harder to hold the Wolves off the scoresheet than they had to work against Houston in that first round series. The Wolves scored over 100 more goals during the regular season than Houston did. But Rockford also scored more goals than Milwaukee did during the regular season and, as already noted, Rockford found themselves quite undermanned for a good part of the season because of all the call-ups to the Blackhawks. With the Hawks missing the NHL playoffs, the postseason version of the IceHogs had a more complete roster so it was also clear that the Wolves were going to have to work harder to hold down the Hogs than they had to work in their first round series with Milwaukee - and they had to work plenty hard to get rid of the pesky Fagmirals.

There was one aspect of the Wolves - IceHogs season series that continued to ring true in the postseason series… the dominance of the Wolves' power play. The Wolves had trouble getting much going on the power play against Milwaukee (although it did come through with a pivotal conversion for the OT game-winner in game 3 of the series) so they had to be licking their chops when the IceHogs came to town. The Wolves outscored the Hogs 23 to 19 in the playoffs. But the Wolves converted 13 more power plays and scored a shortie in game 2. The Hogs converted 7 power plays, plus added a shorthanded goal in game 5. So at even strength, the Wolves scored 9 goals and the Hogs scored 11. Add in the fact that 2 of the Wolves' even strength markers were empty netters, and if anything, the Hogs outplayed the Wolves 5-on-5 in the series.

But the importance of the power play goes deeper than that. In the Wolves' 4 victories, they were 11 for 24 on the power play plus they scored a shortie. This includes 4 power play goals when they avoided elimination in game 6 with a 4-3 victory. In the Hogs 3 victories, the Wolves were 2 for 20 on the power play and allowed a shortie. So when the Wolves won, they converted nearly 50% of their PP opportunities. When the Hogs were able to control the Wolves' power play, they emerged victorious. In a post-game interview after game 7, Wolves announcer Judd Sirott (who's back to do some ice-level commentary during the games following the end of his NHL gig on HDNet for the season) asked Wolves' forward Bryan Little if power play was the difference in the series. Um… DUH! The Wolves scored a combined 4 goals in the 3 losses. They scored 19 goals in the 4 wins and had a near 50% PP conversion rate. I like Judd Sirott, but that was one of the stupidest questions ever! You're goddamn right it was the difference in the series!

When they weren't allowing power play goals against, the IceHogs played very well. Corey Crawford might've gotten a little whiplash from watching 7 pucks sail past him in game 2 (more than he allowed in the entire 5-game series with Houston) but he rebounded to hold the Wolves to a combined 4 goals in the next 3 games, all Rockford victories. The Wolves badly outplayed Rockford in the first period of game 5 but the game was scoreless thanks to Crawford. The Hogs came out stronger in the 2nd period of game 5 and when they eventually scored the first goal of the game, the Wolves really got out of sorts.

When the game 5 score was 2-0 Hogs, the Wolves got a much-needed power play opportunity. But instead of cutting into the Hogs lead and getting back in the game, the Wolves power play sputtered and Troy Brouwer extended the Hogs' lead to 3-0 with a shortie off a nifty feed from Martin St Pierre. That was a backbreaker for the Wolves and the Hogs rolled on to a 5-1 victory. The other Hogs victories were by scores of 3-1 and 3-2 - but they had 3-0 leads in both games. In fact, here's a quirky stat for a playoff series. In every single game, the winning team had a 3-goal lead at some point in the game. The Wolves had a strong 3rd period in game 4 and narrowly missed tying the game in the final minute as Crawford made a sprawling save on league MVP Jason Krog to preserve the victory for the Hogs. In game 6, the Hogs came back from a 4-1 deficit to get within a goal at 4-3, but could get no closer.

Troy Brouwer led the way offensively for the Hogs with 4 goals in the series - 2 each in games 4 and 5. Petri Kontiola also had 4 while Kris Versteeg chipped in 3. Jack Skille had 2, and Jim Fahey, Bryan Bickell, Derek Nesbitt, Martin St Pierre, Colin Fraser, and Adam Berti had 1 each. Jordan Hendry returned to action in game 7 sporting a full cage to protect the facial injury that had kept him out of action. He was one of the Hogs' top d-men during the season but he wasn't able to provide enough of a spark as the Hogs dropped the decisive game 7.

For the Wolves, league MVP Jason Krog had 4 goals and 2007 league MVP Darren Haydar had 3. Bryan Little and Joel Kwiatkowski also chipped in 3 apiece. Jesse Schultz and Colin Stuart had 2 each, and Nathan Oystrick, Brian Fahey, Joe Motzko, Steve Martins, Boris Valabik (1 regular season goal all year and 3 so far in the playoffs…) and Brett Sterling had 1 each. Joe Motzko is also having nightmares about some missed opportunities. He had the game's first goal on his stick in game 5 but was unable to lift a backhander over a sprawling Crawford. He had the game's first goal on his stick in game 7 as well following a nifty feed on a 3-on-2 rush but he chipped a one-timer wide of a wide open cage. Game 5 just might have turned out differently if he had converted that opportunity since frustration crept in when the Wolves eventually fell behind in that game. His missed opportunity did not come back to haunt the Wolves in game 7.

The story of the final game was the Wolves power play, which staked them to a 2-0 lead, and the goaltending of Ondrej Pavelec. The Hogs were putting the puck toward the net at every opportunity and outshot the Wolves 39-23. But only Versteeg's goal with 6 minutes left in the game eluded Pavelec and by then it was too little, too late for the Hogs. It was a hard-fought, intense series, but also a relatively clean series. There wasn't much in the way of extracurricular activity except at the end of games 5 and 6. When game 7 ended, the Hogs showed the ultimate in sportsmanship as it appeared that several of them were chatting with the Wolves in the handshake line, congratulating them on the victory and wishing them well in the next round.

When it was 2-0 in the 2nd period of game 7, the Hogs had a goal disallowed when the referee lost sight of the puck in a scramble in front of the Wolves' net and blew the whistle before the puck went in. The Hogs briefly tried to plead their case that the puck had never been frozen but then they just got back to the business of trying to get back in the game. The Hogs would've had some momentum if that goal had counted and instead the Wolves had a little more wind in their sails. Fans have the right to gripe about poor officiating, but players have to understand that it's their job to play the game the right way and try to win in spite of the officiating. Thankfully this call went the Wolves way (I wouldn't say it was necessarily a poor call, just an unfortunate one for the Hogs - the referee was in proper position and he is supposed to blow the play dead if he can't see the puck) and it probably helped them win the game and the series.

Yes, I said thankfully. This is where the recap turns into commentary. Those of you who know me know I am a Hawks fan - a former season ticket holder for 5 seasons including their memorable run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1992. Their sweep of Detroit (Sucks) in those playoffs is right at the top of the list for the most fun I've ever had at a hockey game. So why am I rooting for the Wolves instead of the IceHogs? Well, this may begin to sound like a broken record since I've laid out those reasons in the forum, but the main reason can be summed up in 2 words... Bill Wirtz.

The Hawks fan in me is happy that the IceHogs had a strong season and played well in the playoffs. Brouwer, Versteeg, and St Pierre played well and Corey Crawford did everything he could to help the Hogs win. Of course, the penalty killing is an obvious concern, although the Hogs PK was obviously not as bad against the rest of the league as it was against the Wolves. But you're gonna run up against some strong power play units in the playoffs and if you can't contain it, you're gonna get beat. It's the key reason the Wolves survived this series, and I can name at least 1 NHL series where special teams were key factors in the outcome - Dallas' first round victory over Anaheim. The Ducks would not have been Stanley Cup Champs last year if their PK was as bad as it was in their series with the Starts this year.

Anyway, truth be told, I rooted for the Hogs when they weren't playing the Wolves. I'd just as soon see them beat the hell out of the rest of the league. But I just can't root for them over the Wolves. Sure, there's the obvious attachment that I have with the Wolves after having season tickets for 9 seasons, dating back to when they were an independent team in the old IHL. But it's more than that. It's simply absurd that the Wolves are not the Hawks affiliate. Period. End of story.

Ask the Hawks about it, and their propaganda artists will try to put a spin on it to make it sound like it's the Wolves fault. But believe me when I tell you, Wirtz wanted to have nothing to do with the Wolves and that is the ONLY reason that the teams are not affiliated. And if you believe the Hawks' propaganda that the Wolves were the ones responsible for the lack of an affiliation agreement (they actually did discuss it several years ago before the Hawks found a home in Norfolk, VA), then I can only say that you are exactly the kind of fan Wirtz loved - brainwashed and completely willing to buy whatever crap Wirtz tried to feed you.

Don't get me wrong. I've boycotted Hawks games for years but I don't hold any grudges against people who continued to attend games at the UC despite having literally nothing worthwhile to root for. I know that minor league hockey isn't the same thing as NHL hockey for a lot of people. Really, that's true for me as well. I've seen the Wolves win 3 championships, and loved it, but I'd trade in all 3 of those Cups for one lousy sip from the Stanley Cup. That's the ultimate.

But it's also why I chose to boycott the Hawks. Specifically, I boycotted all things Wirtz. I gave him a lot of my hard earned money over the years and I realized that I never got anything in return for my loyalty. (Neither did Wayne Messmer and Pat Foley, but that's another column altogether.) The Wolves have continually gone out of their way to show their appreciation for my support so it's easy for me to continue to support them until the Hawks are worth supporting again.

In terms of my rooting for the Wolves over the Hogs, my boycott of all things Wirtz says it all. The man may be dead, but his legacy lives on - and the Ice Hogs have his grubby fingerprints all over their very foundation. They absolutely reek of one last ditch attempt by the old man to screw the Wolves. They fell one victory short of succeeding. Let's face it. The IceHogs jumped to the AHL from the fledgling United Hockey League. Without the backing of the Hawks, that jump would not have been possible. If the Hawks and Wolves had been affiliated as they should have been, it's not likely any other NHL team would've wanted to have an affiliation in Rockford badly enough to provide the backing that the IceHogs would need so a Wolves - IceHogs series would not have even been possible if Wirtz wasn't such a stubborn, shortsighted dickhead. The Wolves would've been playing someone else in the playoffs and we all could've joined together in supporting the Wolves in the hopes that future Blackhawks would do well. Dollar Bill's vision - or complete lack thereof - was to force fans like me to make a choice. I despise the fact that I had to make such a choice - but the choice itself was easy to make.

The Stanley Cup is indeed the ultimate, and Wirtz clearly was not interested in trying to bring it to Chicago. He was more interested in driving away a fan base that at one time made Hawks games at the Chicago Stadium a true event. I cannot and will not support the way Wirtz drove an original 6 franchise with a proud tradition into the ground - and the Rockford IceHogs are an extension Wirtz's ownership style and that's all there is to it.

Rocky's righted a lot of wrongs since he took over on West Madison (although I have to say the price increase is kind of baffling - at least in terms of the timing of it and the way they announced it without giving season ticket holders any advanced warning). Hopefully sometime the opportunity will present itself for the Hawks to move their affiliation to the Wolves and Rocky will get that one right too. Until then, I support the Wolves. And the Hawks - at least from a distance, although I may very well go back to the UC next season. But the IceHogs are a different story. Until those guys become Hawks, I can't support them ahead of the Wolves. Sorry folks - I know it's an unpopular opinion around here. But the right team won the Wolves - IceHogs series. I just hope they'll have enough left in the tank after surviving Rockford to win 2 more series and bring the Cup home to Chicago!

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