The Thrashers goalie woes of 2005-06 are the thing of hockey legend now. Five starting goalies in the first ten games of the season. Two goalies (Mike Dunham and Steve Shields) had to be signed due to injuries. When both of them went down the team leaned on rookie call-ups Michael Garnett and Adam Berkhoel who shared goaltending duties through the fall until Garnett emerged as the steadier of the pair. When both Kari Lehtonen and Mike Dunham returned from injuries by late December Garnett went back to the Chicago Wolves, returning only at the end of the season for spot duty when Lehtonen's ankle was injured. Garnett's 10-7-4 record in Atlanta helped the team stay in the playoff hunt right up until the end of the season, even if his 3.44 GAA and .885 save percentage weren't sparkling. When Garnett was on his game he was unbeatable, as his back-to-back shutouts in late December showed. When he wasn't sharp? Let's just say that it's hard to keep your GAA down when you give up five or more goals in 20 percent of your games.

Two weeks ago I had the chance to catch up with Michael Garnett as the Chicago Wolves prepared for Game One of the AHL's Western Conference Finals. Here's what the 24 year-old netminder who  had to say about his 2006-07 season in Chicago and his time in Atlanta with the parent club.

On his year with the Wolves:

"I thought that over the course of the year I was pretty consistent. I feel like every month my record was pretty close to being the same. I was happy with that- it was one of my goals for the year. Everyone really turned it up in the playoffs and our team goals against has gotten lower. It reflects a personal stat for me but it's really our team playing better defense than anything."

On his NHL experience:

I look at my time in Atlanta and it was a bit of a learning curve for me but in my last ten games I was 7-0-3 and it was definitely disappointing being sent down last year (Note: Salary cap restrictions didn't leave the Thrashers room to carry three healthy goalies, forcing Garnett's reassignment to the AHL). I think looking at the big picture though, knowing that I can go up there and compete up there and be at the top of my game playing at the NHL level has really given me a lot of confidence. I know it's a place that I can play and that I can fit in."

On sharing goaltending duties with veteran Fred Brathwaite:

"He's a guy that just kind of understands where I'm coming from. He's been playing the game for so long that anything I could possibly be going through during the year- he's been there and done that- and he can relate to that and help me out. If you know Freddy he's a real fun guy with a great personality and real positive. He's been great to have around."

On the stability of staying in Chicago all year versus being called up and sent back down multiple times:

"Your whole life kind of gets tossed around when you go to a different team, whether it's a trade or a call-up or whatever. Your whole life gets thrown for a loop. Having that consistency has definitely been nice. Consistency off the ice translates to consistency on the ice."

Garnett's strong play at the end of the regular season earned him the starting role for the Wolves heading into the AHL Calder Cup playoffs where he went 7-0 in his first seven games before going 1-3 in his final four appearances and giving up the starting role to Brathwaite as the Wolves fell to Hamilton in the Western Conference Finals. The big challenge for Garnett as he continues his pro career is to find a level of stability that allows him to keep giving his chance to win even when he isn't at the top of his game.

Well, I'm back from Chicago, and I have a feeling I'll never be allowed to go on the road again. Sure, the Wolves games I went to on Friday and Sunday weren't technically road games since the team was playing at home, but I was on the road the Chicago lost both. that makes me 0-4 at post-season games I've attended outside of Atlanta this season. Maybe I'll just see if we can send Jennifer in my place next time.

The Wolves are in an 0-2 hole and they're going to have their work cut out for them trying to get out of it.

The bright side is that they've bounced back from 0-2 deficits twice in the past, including in 2000 when they lost the first two games at home and went on to win four straight, eliminating Houston. They're also the best road team in the AHL, so they have that going for them. And they've been averaging 4.00 goals per game in the post-season, so I'd be surprised if Hamilton can limit them to two goals again like they did yesterday. If the Wolves can get to Carey Price and score four or five goals like they're used to doing they'll bounce back. Both Chicago goalies are capable of shutting down Hamilton's offense, and I don't expect Kyle Chipchura to keep playing at the pace he played on the weekend when he almost single-handedly beat the Wolves. The ship will get righted and the Wolves will return to their winning ways. Don't forget to check in on the Wolves Playoff Blog as the series continues in Hamilton without me.

Here are Jsaon Krog's thoughts on what the Wolves need to do:

"We need to focus on the little things and stop going for the big play. Do what got us here. We have the best road record in the league so we just have to forget about the series record and go to Hamilton with the attitude that we can win on the road. Just take it one game at a time."

As for my actual trip- it was great to get caught up with all of the young prospects who should be competing for spots with the Thrashers in the near future. I'll be writing up the interviews and posting them on the site over the coming days and weeks as we head towards prospect camp, so keep checking back. The first one (with Bryan Little) is already up. I talked to a lot of guys, but I'm most looking forward to writing up the interviews with Boris Valabik (who is anxious to prove himself this summer after having what he described as the most disappointing and worst season of his career due to injuries) and Jordan LaVallee (who is very thoughtful in interviews and who had some interesting things to say about how playing for Patrick Roy in Quebec City has given him a leg up on the competition).

LaVallee struck me as the most NHL-ready of the young forwards, and that's not a knock against Sterling, Little, Stuart or any of the other young prospects. In the brief time I got to see him play (two games isn't a lot of time for someone who isn't a trained scout to evaluate a player) he did a great job both with and without the puck. He won puck battles in the corner at both ends of the ice and while some players look lost without the puck he doesn't. He was always going to the net, screening the opposing goalie, or banging along the boards. the question for LaVallee shouldn't be if he'll make the NHL, but when he'll make it. He can easily turn into a good utility forward who can play on a checking line or energy line and jump up to contribute on offense when it's needed. He's just a smart hockey player (who knows his way around computer repairs and GPS coding), and a great find as a fourth-round pick.

That's it for now, but make sure you check out Craig Custance's Monday Beat Blog entry, as well as his article on Mark Popovic.

Brett Sterling just broke into the Hamilton with the puck but didn't have anyone to dish to. He was in alone, 2-on-1 and couldn't get to open ice to fire off a shot. He did the sensible thing and stayed along the boards, keeping control of the puck while he waited for help. Nothing worth writing home about there. What was great about it was that he was able to protect the puck between himself and the boards while he had 6-4, 217 lbs defenseman Andrew archer draped all over him.

The only question about Sterling is whether his size, or lack thereof, will be an issue in the NHL. That play was a good sign.

It's now 2-1 early in the second period here in Chicago. Matt D'Agostini danced around Brian Sipotz and beat Fred Brathwaite with a beautiful shot before Mark Popovic could stop him.

Nathan Oystrick laid a nice heavy open-ice hit off of the ensuing faceoff, trying to send the message that the Wolves aren't backing down. I like what I'm seeing from Oystrick this afternoon, especially since he had a subpar game on Friday.

1-1. Niko Dimitrakos flew down the right wing and wired a shot on net. Price mad the save but Jordan LaVallee was streaking down the left and one-timed the rebound from an incredibly sharp angle, beating Price before he could scramble back into position.

Funny moment during a stoppage in play. The Wolves do a regular "Who Am I?" feature with a player's face blurred out as they do a voiceover giving clue about themselves. The picture slowly comes into partial focus and a selected fan has one chance name the player. Today's player- Fred Brathwaite. Everyone wad laughing, given that blurring Brathwaite's picture doesn't do much to hide his identity.

Well, I have the lineup sheet for this afternoon's Wolves game and it looks like Bryan Little is a scratch. It's tough to say if it's because of his play or because of the nasty hit he took last night. He got drilled along the boards and went head over heels, landing on his back. Here's what he had to say about it after the fact:

"I thought he was going to hip check me or something and at the last minute he put his shoulder into me and caught me off guard. It probably looked pretty big, because it felt pretty big too."

Boris "the Spider" Valabik is out too, but he didn't play last night. I was hoping to see him play, and I'm a bit surprised he wasn't put in given how nasty things got last night in the second period.

The other change is between the pipes. After going 5-0 to start the playoffs Michael Garnett has gone 3-3 over his last six. He was less than stellar last night, so he's being replaced by seasoned veteran and all round good guy, Freddy Brathwaite.

Game on.

The second period saw the Wolves go from trailing 2-1 to leading 4-2. Not too shabby. Darren Haydar has been busy, picking up two goals and two penalties. Cory Larose has a goal and an assist and Mark Popovic has two assists.

The Wolves dodged a bullet at the end of the second as they killed off one penalty and held off the Bulldogs for the first part of another. The Wolves had six straight power plays before taking back-to-back minors. They'll start the third down a man with Haydar in the box.

We haven't seen much of Bryan Little yet, but when he's on the ice he's out with Crabb and Schell. Little-Crabb- Schell. Hilarious.

I expect big things from this opening. The Wolf head is in place in front of the gate and there are paws that shoot fire placed in front of it. I'm all for things that shoot fire.

True story here- the first time I went to a Thrashers game (Thrashers vs. Penguins in January of 2003) I sat down in the college student seats in the 320's with my friend at the time (who became my girlfriend who became my fiancée who became my wife) and when I looked up at the bird heads I actually said- I swear this is true- "Wouldn't it be cool of those opened and shot fire every time they scored?" I honestly didn't know ahead of time.

Alright... here we go- live form Chicago!

You know you're not in Atlanta anymore when they're playing The Tragically Hip ("Freak Turbulence") during warmups.

The Bulldogs and the Wolves are out on the ice. I'll do my best to figure out who's in the lineup before they leave the ice. There are at least seven scratches so this could be tricky.

In no particular order we have:

Michael Garnett
Fred Brathwaite
Colin Stuart
Cory Larose
Bryan Little
Brian Sipotz
Brett Sterling
Darren Haydar
Jason Krog
Brad Schell
Nathan Oystrick
Andre Deveaux
Brian Fahey
Matt Anderson
Jordan LaVallee
Mark Popovic
Trevor Byrne
Niko Dimitrakos
Kevin Doell
Joey Crabb
Andy Delmore

I think that's it. That would mean the scratches are:

Jimmy Sharrow
Curtis Fraser
Guillaume Desbiens
Steve Martins
Boris Valabik
Tomas Pospisil
Colton Fretter
Scott Lehman
Dan Turple

I was hoping to see Boris in action since his only preseason games with the Thrashers were on the road. I've yet to see him play live and I want to see what he can do. Hopefully (for my purposes) he's back in for Sunday.

And it took me about eight minutes worth off warm-up time for me to sort out the lineup. Off they go.

I've only spent an hour or so in the building so far, and I haven't even seen the concourse yet, but I already like Allstate Arena.

I'm sure it's great for arena football (the Chicago Rush call it home) and NCAA basketball (DePaul) but I can already tell it's an outstanding hockey rink. The sight-lines are great, the seats are decent and there are banners everywhere, including the ones below. I never had the privilege of meeting Dan Snyder, so I don't feel like there's anything I can say about him, but it was touching to see the banner up there honoring his time with the team.

One nice touch that I like which is incredibly rare these days is the bare wood ceilings. That's old school.

An interesting note on Wendell Young, who's number is retired by the Wolves. He's currently an assistant coach with Chicago and he keeps all of the former junior players (and anyone else in earshot I imagine) up to date on everything going on in the QMJHL playoffs, and he'll keep doing it through the Memorial Cup tournament (which starts tonight). Why? According to Jordan LaVallee he's a part-owner of the Lewiston MAINEiacs and he's rightfully proud of how his squad is doing. LaVallee has extra incentive to keep on top of Lewiston's run- his friend and former teammate with the Memorial Cup winning Quebec Remparts last year, Simon Courcelles, was traded to Lewiston during the summer and he now has a chance to win back-to-back Memorial Cups.

Here's wishing the MAINEiacs well. Wouldn't it be nice if LaVallee and Denny could compare rings at prospect camp in July?

One final tidbit about Young- he is the only player who has ever won the Memorial Cup (CHL), Turner Cup (IHL), Calder Cup (AHL) and the Stanley Cup (NHL).
As for the Wolves themselves- they're loose and confident. Everyone I talked to today mentioned how much fun they're having and how great of a year it has been for the team, and what an interesting team it is.

There are currently 30 players on the Wolves' roster, which means that on any given night there's more than a starting lineup worth of players watching in street clothes. The only stable line is the top scoring line of Brett Sterling, Jason Krog and Darren Haydar. Lately everyone else's spot has been up for grabs (although Larose, Dimitrakos usually have LaVallee on their line), but the team makes it work. Part of the secret to their team bond is the Black Aces game. After practices and morning skates the scratches (some of them are practice players called up from Gwinnett to get a taste of AHL life) play a short intra-squad game with a couple of coaches joining in. The black team and white team have been battling each other regularly during the playoffs, and as you can read in today's Wolves Playoff Blog entry the series is now knotted at 3-3.

Another factor in the closeness of the Wolves players is their pre-existing familiarity with each other. Darren Haydar and Jason Krog play together on the top line and were teammates at the University of New Hampshire. Linemates Cory Larose and Niko Dimitrakos played college hockey together at Maine. And then there's the trio of Brett Sterling, Joey Crabb and Colin Stuart who were together for a few years at Colorado College (Sterling and Crabb were teammates for a full four years. Stuart was there for the first two of those seasons). Throw in the familiarity of gained through Thrashers prospect camps and time together for some of these guys in Gwinnett and you have a core group of players who were very familiar with each other before they even got to Chicago for the first time.

Game One of the Western Conference Final kicks off tonight at 7:30 local time, so 8:30 for everyone back in Atlanta. I'll be blogging during the game and getting caught up with some prospects afterwards. Keep checking back throughout the weekend.

I love looking at the layout of cities I fly into and out of. It's striking how different Atlanta and Chicago are.

Atlanta is a hub or spoke with winding roads going in all directions out from the downtown core. It's clearly a city that was built and rebuilt without too much of a plan for expansion. People build where there's room and that's that.

Then there's Chicago which is a ridiculously organized grid that stretches for miles and miles in every direction with occasional diagonal streets bi-secting the regular blocks until they hit the hulking skyscrapers downtown that are towering over the edge of Lake Michigan. I suppose all of those straight lines make it easier to plow the streets when the Windy City gets nailed by blizzard after blizzard.

Allstate Arena- nice and close to O'Hare International Airport

Anyway- I'm here in Chicago and I can see Allstate Arena from my hotel room window. It's time to head out the door for the Wolves' morning skate. I wonder if I can snag a ride over with the Bulldogs? I'm staying in the same hotel as them so they must be around somewhere.

So... what are you up to this weekend?

I'll be in Chicago to see the Wolves take on the Hamilton Bulldogs in the opening games of the Western Conference Final. I haven't been to Chicago in years, and I've never had the chance to see the Wolves play in person, so it should be lots of fun. While I'm there I'll be covering the actual games (look for live blog entries during the games on Friday night and Sunday afternoon) and interviewing various wolves- especially our top prospects and guys that are expected to fights for roster spots in the fall.

If you have any questions for our guys that you'd like me to ask feel free to leave them in the comments.