The Vegas Golden Knights' AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, defeated the Iowa Wild in six games to advance to the Western Conference Finals in the Calder Cup Playoffs on Monday night in Chicago.
The Wolves, who finished first in the Western Conference with 98 points during the regular season, will face the San Diego Gulls in the third round. That series opens Friday at 5 p.m. PT in Chicago.
Head Coach Rocky Thompson said reaching the conference finals is the latest summit the team has reached and, while they're excited to be there, they know there is still a climb to complete.
"It's always a process," Thompson said. "You're always growing, especially in the playoffs. You want to get better and you're trying to improve yourself every day because you know that once you're done with one mountain, you're going to have a breath, you're going to be happy and you're going to look ahead and you're going to see another mountain that's even taller than the first one."
One of the most rewarding parts of Chicago's journey for Thompson this season has been the team's ability to step up when called upon. When players like Brandon Pirri and Daniel Carr were called up to the Golden Knights for stretches of the season, other players had to fill in their shoes to make sure the Chicago ship stayed afloat.
Chicago Wolves Advance To Western Conference Finals
AHL affiliate of the Golden Knights reaches final four