IceHogs’ power play has Wolves on the brink of elimination

The Wolves don’t think they’re finished. Coach Rocky Thompson made that point very clear.

‘‘We’re far from done,’’ Thompson said. ‘‘We’re coming home. We have an unreal home record in Allstate Arena. We have a great group of guys who care about each other that have been battling from down this entire year.

‘‘This is nothing new for our group, and it wasn’t even something that needed to be said to them. They know it. There’s a belief in our locker room that we’re going to be OK.’’

Thompson and the Wolves trail the IceHogs 2-0 in their best-of-five first-round playoff series. Game 3 is Thursday in Rosemont, and the IceHogs have the first of three chances to eliminate their intrastate rivals.

IceHogs coach Jeremy Colliton doesn’t expect it to be easy.

‘‘This is it for them; they have to win,’’ Colliton said. ‘‘We’ll expect them to reach another level as far as the urgency in their game. We’ll talk about it and prepare as best we can for it, and hopefully we can answer the bell.’’

The first two games haven’t been lopsided, but they have been defined by tight officiating and trips to the penalty box. The Wolves have had to kill 12 power plays, and the IceHogs have been short-handed 10 times.

That’s something of a departure for the teams, both of whom were among the most disciplined during the regular season. Of the 24 American Hockey League teams that played a full 76-game schedule, the IceHogs’ 292 times short-handed were the fourth-fewest in the league. The Wolves were short-handed 295 times, tied for the fifth-fewest.

The difference has been the IceHogs’ power play, which scored both goals in their 2-1 victory in Game 1 and added three more in their 5-2 victory in Game 2.

‘‘You have to give [Rockford] credit where credit is due, and they’ve done a good job there, for sure,’’ Thompson said. ‘‘At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what power play you’re facing. If you give them six opportunities in a game, it’s going to be the difference-maker, for sure.’’

The IceHogs wouldn’t mind taking fewer penalties themselves. That’s one of the areas they have to improve to finish off the series.

‘‘We got the start we wanted,’’ Colliton said. ‘‘We’re fairly satisfied with how we played, yet I think we can be better, too, so that’s a good feeling. I think we’re going to have to be better. We’re expecting their best game, and we’ll need to respond.’’

If necessary, Game 4 would be Sunday in Rockford and Game 5 would be Monday at Allstate Arena.