Underachieving Wolves hope new coach makes difference

      The Chicago Wolves fired general manager/coach Grant Mulvey on Friday and replaced him, on an interim basis, with Finnish coach Alpo Suhonen.
      Mulvey, a minority owner of the Wolves, began the season with the titles of president, general manager and coach. He was removed as president earlier this season, and owner Don Levin decided to take away the other jobs on Friday.
      The Wolves, one of the most highly paid clubs in the International Hockey League (along with the Detroit Vipers), fancied themselves as Turner Cup contenders but were 30-30-5 at the time of Mulvey's dismissal.
      Gene Ubriaco, whom Mulvey replaced as coach last season, was interim coach Saturday and will do the same tonight. Suhonen, a former Winnipeg Jets assistant, arrives in Chicago on Monday and will take over the team for the remainder of the season. Levin said Ubriaco will be the interim general manager.
      "This has been coming the last couple of weeks," Levin said. "We had some real complaints from our fans about the team and what was happening with it. The truth of the problem is that it is my fault. When Grant asked to coach last year, I should have said no.
      "He was not experienced as a coach. That's a tough position to be put in in this league because it is so competitive. You really have to know what you're doing. Grant was committed to winning, and he had a lot of good ideas, but he had difficulty getting them from inside of him to the ice. It was a problem, and the players were really getting frustrated."
      The 48-year-old Suhonen coached Zurich in the Swiss Elite League, which recently completed its season. He was an assistant coach for the NHL's Winnipeg Jets in 1989-90 and 1991-92 and was the interim coach of the Moncton Hawks of the American Hockey League for four months in 1989.
      He said by telephone from Zurich that he was intrigued by the opportunity with the Wolves. He is under contract to the Zurich team for next season, but said his contract has an out clause. However, Levin said the appointment was strictly for the remainder of this season, at which point things would be reevaluated.
      "It's an interesting challenge, but there isn't a lot of time left," Suphonen said. "I've always wanted to come back to North American hockey, and when this opportunity came up, I wanted to at least give it a chance and see what I could do.
      "I don't really know much about what has gone on there in Chicago, but I guess it has been bad. I've heard there has been a bad atmosphere and a lot of frustration. The situation has controlled the team and the players more than is right."
      Levin said he is comfortable with the Wolves' personnel, but said the team might make a move before the March 18 trading deadline. He said the Wolves were committed to competing for the championship.
      "There are a lot of horses here ready to run," Levin said. "We have a very talented team, but it is not playing well. I guess we're like anyone else, and we feel like we may be one or two players away. But we like what we have and feel we had to do something to get this turned around."
      -- VIPER VENOM -- The Detroit Vipers have taken general manager Rick Dudley into familiar territory. His veteran-laden team, which recently won 12 straight and vaulted to the top of the overall standings, has reminded Dudley of one of his favorite former teams.
      "This group has so much discipline, and the only team that I can remember that was as disciplined as this group was that team I had in San Diego (in 1992-93)," Dudley said.
      The San Diego Gulls achieved a league-record 132 points that year. After 64 games, the Vipers had 95 points, putting them on pace for 122.
      The Vipers are allowing just 2.41 goals per game, which would be the lowest average in the league since the 1956-57 Cincinnati Mohawks averaged 1.88.
      Other than Cincinnati, no team in IHL history has allowed fewer than 2.70 goals a game.
      "We have guys on this team who play on both sides of the puck," Detroit coach Steve Ludzik said. "There is so much character and leadership on this team, they demand guys do that.
      "I remember very distinctly a conversation Rick and I had in the summer. He said he had a new philosophy and would only sign high-character, no-maintenance players. Guys like (ex-Viper Daniel) Shank had to go. The game plan obviously has worked."
      Detroit has a superb defense, led by Brad Shaw, whom Dudley calls the best player in the league. Its forwards don't score much, but all three lines have potential.
      Dudley may have solved the scoring woes. The Vipers signed center Jimmy Carson on March 1. Carson, who had two 100-point seasons in the NHL, was working as a financial advisor in Southfield, Mich.
      He had been practicing with the team and decided he missed playing.
      "After not playing for six months for the first time since I was 6 years old, I really missed the game and found that my desire to play professional hockey was back," said Carson, who had an assist against Quebec in his Vipers debut.
      -- TIDBITS -- Fort Wayne traded defenseman Shawn Evans and left wing Craig Duncanson to Cincinnati on March 3 for defenseman Marc Laniel and left wing Jeff McLean. ... Richard Adler, former president of the Atlanta Knights (now Quebec Rafales), is expected to take a similar position with the Milwaukee Admirals. ... Fort Wayne snapped a 10-game losing streak Friday against San Antonio, a game which featured a major brawl and will likely result in a number of suspensions. ... Manitoba went 8-2-1 in its first 11 games under new GM/coach Randy Carlyle, moving into playoff contention. ... Kip Miller of Indianapolis was named the Player of the Month for February. In 12 games, Miller had 19 points and was plus-13. Mike Tamburro of Cleveland was chosen the Goaltender of the Month. He was 6-1-0 with a 1.99 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage.