The Wolves completely dominated the Rockford Icehogs in Round 1. A 3-0 series sweep and winning every game by at least three goal (6-2, 4-1, 4-1). They outshot Rockford 38-20, 49-16 and 40-30 in those three games.
Milwaukee on the other hand went all five games in their series with the Manitoba Moose. The Admirals won the first two (3-2 and 2-1), before dropping the next two (5-2 and 7-3) and then taking game 5 (2-1). But you could make the argument they got outplayed in all 5. They were outshot in every game and some of them weren’t even close. Shots were 42-21, 44-16, 35-23, 44-25 and 28-21 Manitoba across the series.
Below we can see where the Wolves and Admirals plot out for this year in terms of goals scored and goals allowed.
The Wolves were the most dominant team in the league and they’ve only continued to show that so far in the playoffs. The Admirals were pretty much middle of the pack, not all that different than the Icehogs were.
Cole Schneider led Milwaukee in goals this season and he had one against Manitoba (4 points). Cody Glass led the Admirals in points, but he has just one so far in the postseason. Tommy Novak has led the way with six points on this playoff run and Brayden Burke leads the way in goals with three so far.
For the Wolves, no surprise the league’s leading point getter, Andrew Poturalski, led the way against Rockford with five points. League goal-scoring leader Stefan Noesen netted two goals, as did Jack Drury and CJ Smith.
Goalie Matchup
Chicago Wolves
| Goalie | Game | Saves | Shots | Save % |
| Alex Lyon | 1 vs RCK | 18 | 20 | 90.0% |
| Alex Lyon | 2 vs RCK | 15 | 16 | 93.8% |
| Alex Lyon | 3 @ RCK | 29 | 30 | 96.7% |
Milwaukee Admirals
| Goalie | Game | Saves | Shots | Save % |
| Devin Cooley | 1 vs MAN | 40 | 42 | 95.2% |
| Devin Cooley | 2 vs MAN | 43 | 44 | 97.7% |
| Devin Cooley | 3 @ MAN | 30 | 35 | 85.7% |
| Connor Ingram | 4 @ MAN | 37 | 44 | 84.1% |
| Connor Ingram | 5 @ MAN | 27 | 28 | 96.1% |
Alex Lyon will be the man in net for Chicago. He started all three against Rockford, but really wasn’t tested a whole lot. Milwaukee started Devin Cooley the first three games against Manitoba, but then went to Connor Ingram for the final two, so they have more of a question about who will start in net. Ingram started the most games in net during the regular season so he may be the favorite, but either one could start.
Below are all the matchups between Chicago and Milwaukee this year. Chicago was 9-3 against the Admirals (5-1 at home, 4-2 on the road).
Everything points to this being an easy series for the Wolves on paper, but come playoff time you can’t expect to win anything. I’m excited to see if the Wolves can keep this great season going and reach the Western Conference Finals! Game 1 is Saturday night at 7 PM at Allstate Arena.
Central Division Finals Schedule
| Game 1 | Saturday, May 21 | 7 PM @ CHI |
| Game 2 | Sunday, May 22 | 3 PM @ CHI |
| Game 3 | Wednesday, May 25 | 7 PM @ MIL |
| Game 4* | Friday, May 27 | 7 PM @ MIL |
| Game 5* | Sunday, May 29 | 3 PM @ CHI |