It took more than two decades, but the Chicago Wolves finally lost more games than they won in a season.

The minor league hockey team last week finished its first losing season in franchise history, ending a streak that dates back to its inaugural season in 1994.

Luckily, missing the Calder Cup playoffs has little to do with how the independently owned American Hockey League team fared at the gate.

The Wolves' paid attendance this year was virtually flat, rising by five people per game to an average of 7,963. It's the fifth straight year the franchise has hovered around 8,000 tickets sold per game over the course of its 38 home games at Allstate Arena.

But that consistency has trailed a growth trend among the league's 30 NHL farm teams. Paid attendance across the AHL this season rose by 8.6 percent to 5,982 fans per game—a record high.

The novelty of franchises moving to new markets on the West Coast to be closer to their NHL partners helped boost that number. Franchises in San Diego and Ontario were among the top five in the league in ticket sales this season.

As a result, the Wolves slipped to eighth in the league in paid attendance from sixth a year ago, their lowest mark in more than a decade.

Here's how ticket sales for the Wolves and AHL have fared over the past 10 years: