The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

It's that time again, when all of the hockey community gathers to see the new up and coming talent play in one of the greatest hockey tournaments, the World Junior Hockey Championships or as I call it the WJCs. The site of this year's tournament is none other than the hometown of USA Hockey & Chicago Blackhawks star, Patrick Kane & where American goalie Ryan Miller plays in the NHL: Buffalo, New York.

What makes this year so different though is that for the first time in five years and only the second time in the history of the tournament the United States are defending champions.

If you didn't know last year the USA ended Canada's run of five straight gold medals last year on no less than Canadian ice in OT. Current Washington Capitals defensemen, John Carlson scored the gold medal winning goal.

What you most likely don't know is that the USA had been performing well in international tournaments beyond last year's gold medal. Jack Campbell who came into replace Mike Lee in the gold medal game, had won U-18 gold medal for the United States in April of 2009. He then later on won another U-18 gold medal for the USA in April of 2010. Making three trips to international tournaments and taking home three gold medals for the Dallas Stars prospect & current Windsor Spitfires goalie. However he wasn't the only one that accomplished this trifecta of gold medals Jason Zucker, a native of Las Vegas, NV, also a Minnesota Wild prospect & University of Denver Pioneer, was on those teams with Campbell as well. Not only that but Zucker is currently the leading scorer for University of Denver as a freshman.

Though the United States are defending champions and the term "favorite" has been thrown around, I have a hard time thinking the Canadians can be defined as a blue collar team. The Canadians boast a roster of 15 NHL first round picks. The Americans are no slouch though either with a roster of nine NHL first round picks and six second round picks, along with eight returners from last year's gold medal winning team.

With Canadian defeating Russia in their first game 6-3 and the Americans squeaking by with a 3-2 overtime win over the Finns, the tournament has all the components necessary for some interesting drama. Even if Jordan Eberle is no longer eligible to play. This year however unlike years past the USA and Canada are in separate pools meaning there will be no New Years Eve round robin match-up like there has been in the past. The first time the USA-Canada will meet, if they do, will be in the elimination rounds.

While most Americans don't pay much attention to WJCs, in Canada this tournament is like a yearly Olympics in which they expect nothing less than gold medal.

Personally for me WJCs is my favorite hockey tournament and seeing the change from the USA barely beating the Czechs in 09 for 5th place in overtime to winning the gold medal in overtime over five time champion Canada. Between last years' gold medal games in the WJCs and the Olympics, the USA-Canada rivalry seems to intensify even more.

And I can't lie I'm loving the view from the top as the Canadians grumble that the United States got lucky last year. Unfortunately for me I'll be on vacation from the 27th to the 3rd and it really does make me sad to miss these games.

The bottom line is that you're able to watch some future NHL stars playing on a big stage with the name of their country emblazoned on their jerseys. Their performances might just leave you frothing at the mouth imagining what they can one day do in the NHL.

So enjoy it, because it only comes around once a year.

And remember USA Hockey is do or die! GO USA!

KO Murdersaurus

Caught these gems while watching the Hawks/Kings game on my DVR.

A+ plus to you sir!

And for your enjoyment, Scott/Westgarth Round 1. (Caution, if you don't like blood don't watch)



Scott/Westgarth Round 2. You go Kevin Westgarth! Claps for not ending the fight as a blood donor this time.

When hockey, Don Cherry & DJ Steve Porter collide

Epicness ensues.

First from last Saturday Dec. 11 featuring the Leafs & Habs:


From tonight's Hockey Night in Canada, featuring Don Cherry:


Great idea by CBC to get DJ Steve Porter on board. These are awesome and according to Ron MacLean saying Porter will be doing five there should be three more to come.

Gotta get right back to where we started from

They say you never forget your first love and in terms of hockey for me that's definitely true. Though I did start watching hockey with Hockey Night in Canada there is one place that will always for me definitively be the birthplace of my hockey fandom and that place is with the Silvertips.

I didn't become a hockey fan the traditional way and if you read my first ever post on this blog you know that.
If you don't want to read that lengthy tale, I'll give you a short recap.

My first exposure to hockey was at a WHL game when I was about 6. It was between the Seattle Thunderbirds and the Moose Jaw Warriors and  it was a fight fest. Needless to say I hated hockey walking out of the game, I didn't understand all the fighting at my age.
Fast forward a couple of years and by some stroke of luck our TV had CBC which meant that I could watch Hockey Night in Canada. For a short while, my family would sit around and watch the Canucks play. We even went up to Vancouver for a game, back when the exchange rate wasn't crap. So yes, I was a Canucks fan for a bit. Yes, I feel shame for that people. I was young and impressionable!
Jump to 03-04, the WHL expanded and the Silvertips were born. After attending a playoff series clinching game over the Vancouver Giants to send the Tips to the WHL Western Conference finals in their inaugural season, I was full on hooked to hockey.
From that point, I began my quest to become an intelligent hockey fan. Even if I was the only hockey fan in my family. Really I learned the game from watching the seats of the EEC before and through the NHL lockout. Then when the NHL came back (after the word came out the lockout was ending on my birthday) I was a Penguins fan and then three years ago I became Blackhawks fan. And no, I don't plan on changing my fandom anymore even with my soft spots for the Oilers and Kings.

While I have been a fan of three different NHL teams in my team has a hockey fan, there has always been one team I have always cheered for and that is the Silvertips.

Thinking about walking into Comcast Arena, which I will always call the EEC, for the first time this season makes me giddy excited. Whenever I walk into the EEC, it's similar to coming home, where even after being gone for a long period of time, everything is still familiar and comforting. Maybe for you it's your hometown rink, the first rink you played at or where you watched your first hockey game. Tonight I'll be lucky enough to see my Tips take on my adopted team the Chiefs.

I know that everyone has their own story to share with stories from different rinks but the EEC will always hold a number of mine. It was the place where I left with my ears ringing from the train goal horn after the Tips knocked out the Giants to advance to their first ever Western Conference finals. The place I saw my first ever favorite hockey player, Zach Hamill pull the puck & his stick between his legs and score in the shoot out and another time come down on a breakaway and score right in front the goal my mom and I were sitting behind after my mom had told me he wasn't playing very well. The place where at my 13th birthday party (my birthday is in July) I got my then-best friend to yell at Brandon Dubinsky, "Hey boys!" as we sat right next to the visitor's bench as the Winterhawks took on the Tips. It's also the place I watched Kyle Beach play his last game with the Tips before getting traded unexpectedly, in which  he scored & fought. I was also lucky enough to see a lot of now NHL players  play there like Dubinsky, Peter Mueller, Luke Schenn, Carey Price, Tyler Myers, Gilbert Brule, Jordan Eberle, Shea Weber, etc. And that's only some of my memories.

Now that I'm away at school, if I'm lucky I get to go to a couple games at the EEC. I still attend WHL games since there is a team where I go to school but it doesn't compare to going to the EEC and rooting for the home team. I know that eventually one day with my career aspirations, I'll most likely end up having to move away from the WHL and not get to catch a single game at the EEC. But for now, I'm appreciative of getting to go to a game at home. Even if it's starting to make me feel old now that the bulk of players on rosters are years younger than me whereas before they were so much older. Plus I love getting  to see great young players before they get drafted.

My hockey fandom grew from the ranks of junior hockey given my lack of an NHL team nearby, which will always give the WHL a special place in my hockey loving heart. So if you're lucky enough to go to a game at your favorite rink, cherish it. Memories from the rink are priceless.

Blind faith only gets you so far.

I'm pretty sure the only way to classify this game is by calling it a train wreck.

Matt Duchene made sure he and Stastny could do their "Bang" dance post game by potting two goals, one of which was the game winning goal. And as always he looked like a little kid scoring his first ever goal. Who am I to get mad at him for that? Plus he just took advantage of an utterly awful defensive showing by the Blackhawks.

Brent Seabrook had a nightmare of a game, maybe his worst ever, it was definitely the worst I've seen. His turnover at the end of the game directly led to Duchene's goal. Honestly thinking about it at the beginning of the year I felt confident with the Blackhawks retaining their top 4 defensemen would leave them in good position. That hasn't been the case though. I've been more fearful at times of the pairing of Keith & Seabrook than others, which is saying a lot with Cullimore playing. Both Keith & Seabrook ended the night at a -4, team worst.

This is first and foremost NOT a goalie issue. Did the defense play like crap when Turco was in? Yup. Did it get better and then fall apart again with Crawford in net? Yup.

Don't put the utter lack of defense on the goalies. Could Turco could have played better? Of course he could have but Crawford was just as helpless when left out to dry by the defense and took the loss. No goalie can perform well with no defense.

If anything the defense might just feel better with the fact that Crawford will be able to cover their failings better than Turco. But the bottom line is the team's defensive game is what is losing games. Giving up goals seconds after scoring and not being able to clear the zone is on the five guys in front of the goalie.

What does the team need to fix this? Is it a trade? Maybe but something has to give. This might be the Blackhawks of 2010-2011 but 82 games is a long season. Maybe this game will be the wake up call.

In any case there's no way anyone in that locker room is satisfied with the way things have gone and it's clear from their post-game quotes.

"I feel bad for Marty. I think every one of us owes him an apology." - Brian Campbell on Marty Turco (I would have to agree with this statement) (source)

"Devastating, embarrassing, humiliating. I don't know what word you want to use, but it's not a good one." - Jonathan Toews (source)

Here's to a fired up squad wanting revenge on Wednesday or at least a better defensive effort.

I swear it was a joke!

I have been severely neglecting this blog because school has literally take over my life, but with recent events, I feel need to address something.

Before dead week made it's attempt on my life though, there was this joke that Alex, you may know her as @Down2Puck, made one night not too long ago.

Well eventually the idea grew and Alex went from making a joke to wanting to actually go through with this. My small contribution was telling her that she should aim for $1,000, donate the proceeds to charity and saying I would help with the PR for it. Along the way the #Down2PuckBunny hash tag and campaign was born.

From that point on we decided we should try and make the idea a reality. Alex even went so far as to set the date for the 2/18 Blackhawks/Blue Jackets game. We started making steps, such as Alex making a logo & me renaming the campaign Bunny for a Cause, along with planning how we would pull it off, and were ready to utilize our winter break to getting the word out. 

However Alex parents found out about the idea today and shot it down with a threat financial abandonment. Given that we're both college students who's parents are paying for our education, Down2PuckBunny seemed dead in the water.

Lo and behold though @motherpucker caught wind of the idea and wrote about it. Suddenly our joke of an idea took off and a whole lot more people knew about it.

Now we have people offering to do it in Alex's place, even those that aren't Blackhawks fans. 

The power of Twitter amazes me every single day.

So can Bunny for a Cause still happen? I hope so! If someone would like to join the cause and go through with it, we will be 100% supportive in any way we can.

Alex and I are even working on an alternate collaboration to still raise some money through charity without having to sport outfits.

I guess this just goes to show how truly awesome the hockey community is and how a random idea by two college sophomores can turn into a beautiful thing.

You know you want Mor(in)

 

Judge away for me making this but it was begging for it.

Three is a magic number

The Blackhawks returned to the UC and kept the winning streak going beating the TJ Oshie-less St. Louis Blues 7-5.

With a 5-1 lead at one point, the Hawks dominated, let up and then had to hold on as the Blues tried to fight their way back into the game.

With Marian Hossa out the Blackhawks once again called up Jeremy Morin from Rockford. Morin was impressive in his 11:38 TOI. He earned his first ever NHL point, an assist, on a crazy bounce off the boards that ended up perfectly placed in front of Troy Brouwer for a tap in on an empty net as Conklin was out waiting for the puck behind the night. He also got into a fight with Chris Porter which resulted in him needing 4 stitches. He ended the night as a +2, one of just 5 plus Blackhawks players. Link to Morin's post game interview here.

(picture from the Blackhawks' Facebook page)

I'm curious as to what is going to happen with Morin. He has 10 games until his contract kicks in and has played 3 games already. I wonder if the Blackhawks will let that happen. Given the way Morin played tonight, if he can continues to play that way it'd be a mystery if he's sent back to Rockford.

Personally, I think Morin should stay up with the big club. He was out there making things happen and bringing energy which the Blackhawks definitely need on a consistent basis.


Jonathan Toews & Patrick Kane both had a solid nights as well. Both putting up 3 points of the 2 goal and 1 assist variety with both Toews' goals coming on the power play.

Tomas Kopecky, who hasn't been the most popular Hawk with fans put up a solid night with 1 goal, 3 assists and a plus 3 in 16:51 TOI. Impressive considering he's not playing sidekick to Hossa.

Patrick Sharp, however just keeps chugging away on his All-Star game ballot spurned, handsome scoring train. He had a goal and assist tonight and has now scored a goal in 5 straight games. With 16 goals in 26 games he ranks 4th in the league and is ranked 6th in the league in points with 29.


Sometimes you just can't win: Nick Boynton isn't having such a great week.
He was involved in an accident during Blackhawks practice Monday in which he collided with Marian Hossa. The collision resulted in Hossa landing on IR for 2-3 weeks with a lower body injury.

Then as a result of his play tonight he ended up with his own hashtag, #BlameBoynton. Yikes.

And because a certain some requested it a picture of Jack Skille.

Hope Crash lights the lamp against the Canucks Friday! (picture again from the Blackhawks' Facebook page)

I'm going to apologize in advance if blog posts seem sporadic, it's getting to the always busy end of the semester and school is my number one priority.

Here's to making it four on Friday! Plus a win is always better over the Canucks ;)

Not for the faint of heart

Been disconnected for a few days & missed a few Hawks games spending Thanksgiving with family. But I'm back now!

Blackhawks finished the Circus Trip on a good note with a 2-1 win over the LA Kings.

Let me just say, this has been one of the most solid efforts that I've seen from the Hawks all year. There were no huge defensive break downs or giving up of goals within 30 seconds after scoring.

Patrick Sharp finished a 2 on 1 play on a pass from Patrick Kane for the first goal (Patrick power!). And Kaner had the other goal deflect in off his torso or glove, I'm not entirely sure, for the 2nd goal.

Corey Crawford played absolutely solid in net making some HUGE saves at key times. His only goal against was on a 5 on 3 kill. During which Cullimore picked up his first penalty of the season. (Shocking right?)

As far as a goaltending controversy, Crawford did end up getting 3 of the 4 wins on the Circus Trip. Really, I don't like these controversies but I do have to say, go with the hot hand and right now Crawford has it.

Other highlights? Viktor Stalberg was getting roughed up by the Kings and then finally took exception a questionably timed hit by the captain, Dustin Brown.

Who stood up for his teammate? None other than the Hawks captain himself, Jonathan Toews. He ended up receiving a double minor for roughing out of the fray. I personally was thinking WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU CAN'T FIGHT TAZER but it's nice to see the boys stick up for one another.. while Patrick Kane stood watching it all go down. But we all know it's better that way.

And the moment you've all been waiting for, John Scott's fight with victim Kevin Westgarth. (If you don't like blood don't watch)

Scott describes his fighting style: "I have long arms, kind of like a monkey-armed baboon swinging away." (source)



Poor choice Westgarth. As Pat Foley said he was thunderstruck!

This game really reminded me of the Blackhawks of before, a good 60 minutes, one in which I was stressed to watch but we pulled it out. I hope these Blackhawks stick around. The one thing I really want to see from this team is consistency.

Overall, a 4-2 record on the Circus Trip is something I will take especially when it ends on a 2 game winning streak. (That is music to my ears) Let's hope it keeps going as the Hawks return to the UC. Every win is definitely needed with the Hawks leading the NHL in games played. All the Hawks can control is how many points they pick up.


Keep an eye out later this week for recaps of what's been going on with the WHL & my experience at the game in Portland plus thoughts on the Circus Trip, after I make it back to school. (Wish me luck having to go over a mountain pass & having to deal with snow)

Daily Dose of Adorable.

Meet Joey the Junior Reporter!

He asks pressing questions like how much money the tooth fairy gave Duncan Keith & what he did with the money & who the biggest turkey on the Blackhawks is.

Joey displays some of his knowledge about the Blackhawks as well.



"How old are you first off?"
"Five."
"How long have you been a Blackhawks fan?"
"For six years."
"That's incredible."

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"How much did you get from the tooth fairy?"

"Hey Brian, who's the biggest turkey on the team?"

"Who's the biggest turkey on the team?"

"Who wears number 10 for the Blackhawks?"
"You!"

"What number is Corey Crawford?"

"Fifty"

"Wow, that's pretty good. That's impressive."

"Alright, gimme some. Right here."

Stick tap for the GIFs to Subtle Like Seabrook.

Go, go, go!

3 games in 3 nights.
6 points on the line.
Can your team grab them all?

Well in the case of the Everett Silvertips, they did. Just a little while ago the Tips were sitting in the bottom of the US Division, but with their third win of the weekend a 4-2 win over the Tri-City Americans they've catapulted themselves into a tie for 3rd place of the Western Conference. The Tips had previously beat the Kamloops Blazer 4-2 on Friday and then the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-2 on Saturday.

Their record sits at 11-8-1-3 for 26 points in 23 games after their 3 wins in 3 nights. The Tips are in 4th place in the US Division & 5th place in the Western Conference.

Blackhawks prospect Kent Simpson started the games against the Thunderbirds & the Americans and turned in two solid efforts. He stopped 29 of 31 in Seattle and 37 of 39 in Tri-City.



The Spokane Chiefs had 3 games of their own this weekend but didn't fare as well as the Tips did dropping 2 of their 3 games. The Chiefs lost Friday's game against the Thunderbirds 2-1 in Seattle, took an 8-3 pounding at the hand of the Americans but ended the weekend on a good note by beating the powerhouse Portland Winterhawks 3-1.

Their record sits at 11-9-1-1 for 24 points in 22 games. They are in last place in the US Division & 7th in the Western Conference.



After the Portland Winterhawks and their 20-4-1 record and 41 points the Western Conference is wide open. Only 6 points separates the second place (the BC Division leader) and tenth place teams.
Amazingly in the US Division every team has a winning percentage of over .500. Just 2 points separate 2nd place in the division from 5th.

It's clear that the Portland Winterhawks are the cream of the WHL crop with their record. They've won 14 of their last 16 games and that includes a road trip to the East Division. But after the Winterhawks, the US Division is a crap shoot until someone else pulls away from the pack. As of right now the T-Birds, Ams & Tips all have the same amount of points each with 26. Though the T-Birds have 2 games in hand over both the Ams & Tips. The last place Chiefs also are only 2 points behind the middle three.

As always the US Division is one of the toughest & tightest in all of the WHL.

On the other end of the spectrum last year's WHL Champion Calgary Hitmen are sitting 12th in the Eastern Conference with a 5-16-1-0 record for 11 points in 22 games which makes for a winning percentage of just .250. They have the worst record in the WHL. Ouch.
What a difference a year makes!

In comparison 10th & last place in the Western Conference are the Kamloops Blazers who have a record of 11-11-0-1 for 23 points in 23 games, sit at .500.



Hopefully this Wednesday(if I don't get snowed in) I'll get to take in my first Winterhawks home game as they take on the Silvertips in the Great Airplane Toss game. I'll get to see the best team in the WHL in action again & hopefully the Tips can slay the giant. So look for a blog about that if the snow doesn't stop me.

Have a great start to your week everybody!

Reunited and it feels SO good!

Well, after the horrors in the Saddledome by getting it handed to them 7-2 by Calgary & single handedly doubling Jerome Iginla's season total of goals, the Blackhawks bounced back a major way.

In their first return to the now renamed Rogers Arena (meh, I'm still calling it GM Place that's what I grew up with) since knocking out the Canucks from the playoffs, the Blackhawks made sure the Canucks remembered what a good time it is when they play each other.

The Blackhawks put up 7 goals after giving up 7 just the night before. Jonathan Toews, Troy Brouwer (with his parents in attendance), Brent Seabrook (with a blast), Patrick Sharp, Fernando(oooooo)Pisani twice & Patrick Kane all scored. Niklas Hjalmarsson also recorded his first point of the year.

After giving up 4 goals, Roberto Luongo was pulled in favor of Cory Schneider. Seems like Luongo has a bit of an issue with playing the Hawks.

While down at the other end Corey Crawford played solid only giving up one goal after the game was well in hand in the 3rd. Goaltending has been the most solid aspect of the Hawks so far.

Did the Hawks run up the score? Who knows. But it's not like that I expect if the Canucks (or any other team for that matter) are up big on the Hawks to just stop going for it. Plus, the Hawks don't have another game until Wednesday in San Jose.

From Vancouver, the Hawks are headed to Vegas. I'm fine with it as long there are no incidents along the lines of what Brett Sutter did and there's a solid game played in San Jose.

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Rivalry weekend: Keeping up with the rivalry theme there were two rival match ups in the US Division.

The Chiefs traveled to play the Americans and lost 8-3. Revenge is sweet for the Ams as the last time the Chiefs and Ams played, the Chiefs pitched a 5-0 shut out. Tyler Johnson tallied for the Chiefs and was a -3. Brenden Kichton & Jared Cowen joined Johnson with a -3 rating. As expected Darren Kramer fought an Am, this time taking on David Conrad and there were numerous roughing penalties.

James Reid gave up 5 goals on 18 shots before being pulled in favor of Mac Engel who gave up 3 goals of his own on 9 shots.

The Tips traveled down to play Seattle in the I-5 rivalry and pulled out a 3-1 win. Tyler Maxwell scored twice and added an assist, while Josh Winquist had a goal and assist of his own. Maxwell, Winquist & Kellan Tochkin, who had two assists, all had +3 ratings.

Hawks prospect Kent Simpson stopped 29 of 31 for the win.

Meanwhile the Portland Winterhawks are just chugging along as arguably the best team in the WHL & CHL winning 14 of their last 15 by beating the Kamloops Blazers 6-4. The Winterhawks did have a 10 game win streak going before losing to the Saskatoon Blades but now have a new win streak going on at 4.

Not wasting my breath.

7-2 loss to the Flames. Jerome Iginla with a hat trick.

Awful. Terrible. Shameful. Humiliating. Embarassing. Disgraceful. Etc.

Hope the Blackhawks plan on showing up in Vancouver because if they don't there could be a huge snowball effect with San Jose, Anaheim & LA coming up.

There's no way in hell any Hawk should be showing their face in Las Vegas anytime soon.

If this isn't a wake up call, I don't know what is.

They say it's your birthday.

Happy 22nd birthday to Patrick Kane!

Hopefully he can get the 250th point of his regular season tonight against the Flames. It would make him the 2nd youngest Blackhawk to ever do so behind Denis Savard.

Tonight the Blackhawks keep on rolling with the same lineup as they used in Calgary. Hendry & Scott as the two scratches.
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Not so Super: Team WHL lost 5-2 to Team Russia in the final game of the Subway Super Series. Team WHL lost both games to Team Russia with losing in a shootout Wednesday night in Kamloops and then the 5-2 loss Thursday in Prince George. With the win Team Russia won the series with a record of 4-1-1, the first time this has happened in the 8 years of the event.
Team OHL was the only league of the WHL & QMJHL to win both games against Team Russia. Before this year Team Russia had only won 6 games of 42.

Hawks prospect & Everett Silvertips Kent Simpson played in net for Team WHL on Thursday in the 7-6 shootout loss. Fellow Hawks prospect Byron Froese & Simpson's teammate with the Tips Ryan Murray also played Thursday. The Chiefs Jared Cowen was Team WHL captain on Thursday.

I remember in years past that people had complained that the series was pointless in that the CHL teams were blowing out Team Russia who wouldn't send over their best prospects to play in the series.

Guess you can't complain about it now with Team Russia turning the tables on the CHL teams this year. To be honest I'm a bit upset with Team WHL's less than stellar results but hey what can you do?

Link to the Super Series site if you want to learn more here.
___________________________________________________________________

On a more serious note, rest in peace Pat Burns who passed away after battling cancer at age 58.

He won a Stanley Cup in 2003 with the Devils. Also he won 3 Jack Adams awards the first NHL coach ever to do so.
Here are the links to the NHL & CBC's reports.

Though I really never watched Pat Burns coach, the outpouring of love by the hockey community shows just how much Burns meant to hockey and speaks to the type of person he was.

My heartfelt condolences to the Burns family.

Toews & Turco for the win.

Jonathan Toews, he's undeniable. (sung to the tune of California Gurls)

By himself the game would have been Jonathan Toews 3 - Edmonton Oilers 0. But with a Sharpy SHAWTY! and a blast from Bickell the Blackhawks beat the Oilers 5-0.

Marty Turco with his first ever shutout as a Blackhawk. And boy has he ever deserved one.

Thankfully Captain Serious led the charge of the "We're Sorry Turco" campaign.

This was the type of game I had missed from the Blackhawks. A dominating win.

The first Toews goal was the type of goals that I thought the Blackhawks need, a dirty, hard working goal. The 2nd goal was a lucky one, but it doesn't matter how you get it, it just matters how many and Toews wasn't satisfied with 2 though so he went out and got a 3rd to complete the natural hattie.

After Dowell rang one off the post, Sharpy made sure and got a shawty (always shawty never shorty guys).

Add the cherry on top of the Bickell goal and you've got yourself a Blackhawks win sundae.

That was the right way to kick off the Circus trip. Next up the Calgary Flames & Patrick Kane's 22nd birthday on Friday. I think there's only one way for PK to properly celebrate his birthday but I'm not going to say it.. Let's just say I think him and J.Toews need to match up.

Here are the Hawks, the Mighty Blackhawks. Have I ever missed you guys.

A win, is a win, is a win.

Well, after a disappointing shootout loss to the Predators just the night before the Blackhawks bounced back with a 3-2 OT win over the streaking Anaheim Ducks. It wasn't a feel good fuzzy win but it was just that, a win.

Both goals came on the PP from Patrick Kane (yes you read that right) & Marian Hossa.

However with the Hawks up 2-1 the Ducks Corey Perry, who had both Duck goals tonight, tied it up not even 4 minutes into the 3rd. Every Hawks fan groaned as yet again we lost a one goal lead. Even worse that it was on an awful Duncan Keith turnover.

Every Hawks fan banged their head against a wall when Kopecky took a late game penalty. The Hawks however killed the penalty with a decent rush even led by Hossa with Toews (favorite forward PK pair ever).

And then just as everyone thought the game was going to end in a shootout with 28 seconds left in a flash (of Swedish beauty) Viktor Stalberg was able to tip in Duncan Keith's point shot for the win! Leafs GM Brian Burke was in attendance at the game to see the player he traded away score the OT winner as Versteeg is slumping.

This Toews quote basically sums up how I felt after the end of this game:
"It would be fun to open the game wide open and not have to fight for that one in the third or OT. But we know that’ll come." (source)

With that the Blackhawks leave the UC with a win as they embark on their annual circus trip.

Starting Wednesday the Blackhawks trip starts as they'll take on the Oilers (oh joy!), Flames (on Patrick Kane's 22nd birthday), Canucks, Sharks, Ducks & Kings. (Along with a jaunt to Las Vegas in there)

We all know the shenanigans that happened in Vancouver last year but hey.. if that's what Kaner needs to have a great season like he did last year? Feel free buddy, just as long as the Hawks are stringing together wins.

I'm not going to make any predictions about the Circus trip, cause who knows what'll happen with this team. This trip could define the rest of the season and if anything else, help them bond together.

Hopefully, Duncan Keith's Norris trophy form will be found again as well.. It's been missing for far too long.

Let's have a solid rest of the November Hawks.

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Dub it up: (I'm going to run out of cheesy titles soon)

The Spokane Chiefs went 2 for 2 this weekend by taking down the Tri-City Americans 5-0 in a game that included Cheerstix as a giveaway (read worst giveaway ever). This extends their win streak to 3.
James Reid recorded the shut out stopping all 20 shots he faced. There were 5 different goal scorers including a breakaway beauty by Blake Gal. If he doesn't get signed by an NHL team, I'll be surprised. He scores pretty goals.
The Chiefs now have 3 games in 3 nights next weekend as the take on Seattle Thunderbirds, Tri-City Americans and Portland Winterhawks all on the road.

The Silvertips lost tonight 3-1 to the Kamloops Blazers in Kamloops but managed a 3-2 OT win over the Chilliwack Bruins last night to secure a 2-1 record in their weekend of 3 games in 3 nights.
The Tips travel to Seattle & Tri-Cities for 2 games next weekend.


Hope everyone has a good start to their week, cause ending the weekend with a win ain't so bad no matter what way you get it.

Oh you, got what I need.

It's been over 3 weeks since I've been to a live hockey game. That may not seem a long time to some. I, however made the mistake this season of starting myself out on 4 games and going to games 3 straight weeks.

However like all WHL teams the Chiefs left town for about 2 weeks on a trip to the opposite conference, in this case to western central Canada. This in turn left me with 3 live hockey-less weeks for me.

It's funny that a former friend once said to me that college would make me go to less hockey games than I did in high school.. but that definitely hasn't been the case.

I'm even on pace this year to blow by last year's mark of 10 games over the regular season & playoffs here (with at least 3 while at home) since tonight's game will make 5 in the first 2 months of the WHL season. It doesn't hurt that I've hooked one of my closest friends on hockey & she wants to go to games as much as I do.

As I'm getting older I've been realizing that my passion for hockey keeps growing as well.

I dislike rival teams more.
I've pretty well settled in with my NHL fandom.
I've learned to love and appreciate the WHL hockey I get to see a lot more.
I've realized how much I love a freezing cold rink & the not so subtle hockey stank after the offseason.
And most of all I've found how awesome the people are that love hockey are, thank you Twitter.
I am just so glad that my 12 year old self decided to pick up hockey.

_______________________________________________________________

Today the Blackhawks will take on Central division foe, the Nashville Predators.

The Blackhawks problems have been well voiced by not only the media but Hawks fans on Twitter as well.

Dave Bolland returns to the Hawks line up which once again plays with scrambled lines. With Bolland's return the Hawks have a fully healthy line up.

If this will change the trend of Hawks losses though, remains to be seen.


What the Dub:
The Silvertips broke their losing streak by taking down the Americans 5-2. Former Minnesota Golden Gopher, Josh Birkholz had a hat trick (with an empty net goal). The win pulled the Tips record to .500. Goalie Kent Simpson, a Blackhawks prospect did not play. The Tips have Chilliwack Bruins at home tonight as the middle game of 3 games in 3 nights before heading to play the Blazers on Sunday.

The Chiefs however kept the Tips in the basement of the US Division by winning 4-3 over the Oil Kings. Local boy Tyler Johnson potted 2 goals, including an unassisted shorty. They take on their rivals the Americans tonight.

The Wheat Kings beat the Hurricanes 3-2 in overtime. Scott Glennie (1G, 1A), Shane Wiebe (2G) & David Toews (2A) all had 2 points.

The WHL powerhouse Portland Winterhawks, 10 game win streak came to a close last night with a 4-3 loss to Saskatoon. A game at which Shannon Tweed & Gene Simmonds were in attendance for & Simmons even donned some goalie pads! (scroll down for photos)

If your curious as to why they were in Saskatoon here's an article to explain.

Shannon Tweed drops the puck at the Winterhawks/Blades game.

Gene Simmons suited up in goal again PBR Bull Rider, Aaron Roy.

Close up of Gene Simmons & his mask.

All photos via @TheWHL's twitter.

Well, that's all folks! I won't be able to watch the Blackhawks/Predators game so feel free to leave your thoughts in a comment or just to say hi because I'm starting to feel like I'm just talking to myself here..

Same song, different day.

So maybe this blog was a bad idea..
Since I started it the Hawks are 2-5.

In the current two game losing streak the Hawks are on they have let 2 goals in a span of 14 & 35 seconds to lose a 1 goal lead.

18 games.
8 wins.
10 losses.
17 points.

Most games played in the NHL and a record of under .500.

The numbers are just as ugly as the play on the ice after the Blackhawks give up a goal.

Outside of Jack Skille actually crashing the net and trying his darnest to put one in and Turco/Crawford keeping the boys in the game, there aren't many positives.
Duncan Keith, last year's Norris Trophy winner, was benched at one point during the game for his less than stellar play. I barely noticed Hossa out there.
How does a team with Hossa, Kane, Toews, Sharp, etc.. struggle so much to score?

Is is time for a trade? Is it time to start benching people? Is it time to start pulling up guys from Rockford?
Honestly, I think it could be any that but I am no expert (insert Andy Sutton joke here).

It's not that I expect everything to be like last season, cause I didn't but I at very least expected a team that would compete like they want it for 60 minutes.

Last season was great but that's just it, it was last season.

The Hawks had a solid first period but suffered another costly meltdown by letting in two goals in 35 seconds. It has to be 60 full minutes.

After watching Jack Skille's post game interview with WGN from last night he keeps talking about how the Hawks just need to send bodies & pucks to the net. That the Blackhawks need to play gritty, hard nosed, team hockey.
I wholeheartedly agree with him. I honestly can't remember the Hawks got a gritty, dirty, hardworking goal.
That could be exactly what the Hawks need though to get back on track.

Like Skille mentioned they don't ask how, they ask how many.


I won't be around for the Hawks/Predators game as I'll be taking in a live hockey game of my own between the Chiefs and Americans, who hopefully play a good game. And college basketball season is about to be in full swing for my school team this weekend, so I'll be at a game Sunday but should be back in time for the Hawks/Oilers though due to recent history I don't know if that's a good thing.

Let's hope the Hawks get it together, sooner rather than later.

Said hey, what's going on?

So there's a Blackhawks game tonight, the infamous Paul BizNasty & the Coyotes are in town. The Coyotes currently sit at 14th in the Western Conference while the Blackhawks sit in 6th. (Does that surprise anyone else..?)
However the Blackhawks have played 17 games which is at least 2 more games than any other NHL team.

According to multiple sources on Twitter, Seabrook and Keith are going to be split up (but we'll see how long that lasts..) and Patrick Kane will be trying out the left wing on a line with Kopecky and Hossa.
I'm not really digging any of these changes since Seabrook and Keith playing with anyone but each other seems odd to me and to a lesser extent Kane and Toews.
I was a big fan of the Stalberg-Toews-Kane line but we all know as much as lines are juggled pregame, it can happens as much in game.

Really, I don't want to think about the game much until it happens. Personally I just want to see a full 60 minute effort.


I've been feeling like I've been neglecting talking about my junior hockey loves but I guess that's what happens when the team in town goes on their Eastern Conference road trip and I haven't gone to a live hockey game in 3 weeks. (Yes, I'm in SEVERE hockey withdrawal)

The Silvertips are currently on a 3 game losing streak and just 2-6-0-2 in their last 10 games. The two most recent losses both have been shutouts at the hands of Vancouver and Red Deer, where former Tip & Blackhawks Byron Froese was traded in exchange for Landon Ferraro.
They're currently below .500 with a 6-7-1-3 sitting in the basement of the U.S. Division.

The Chiefs though after their 6 game eastern road trip in which they went 3-2-1-0 have gotten their record back to .500 and are in 4th place in the U.S. Division just above the Tips.
The Chiefs have a 2 game home stand this weekend taking on the Edmonton Oil Kings and their hated rival Tri-City Americans. (a game at which I'll be at!)

While both teams are struggling, one team that is far away the best in the U.S. Division and in my mind the WHL, the Portland Winterhawks are on a 9 game win streak as they travel through the Eastern Division. The Winterhawks boast a 15-2-0-1 record through 18 games played.
They are just behind the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors (who have an identical record) of the OHL for the top spot in the CHL rankings.
An already stellar lineup filled with NHL prospects was also recently boosted by the Islanders return of Nino Niederreiter, they're loaded.

Just going to come out and say it now. The Portland Winterhawks are my pick for Memorial Cup champions and at very least WHL champions.

We'll be seeing you again soon?: Based on comments by the LA Kings head coach Terry Murray, Brayden Schenn could be reunited with Scott Glennie and the Wheat Kings soon. (source)
My Schenn, Wheaties shirsey might be a lot more relevant..

Hogs Wild!: The Rockford IceHogs had quite the game last night beating the Peoria Rivermen 4-1 in a game that had 8 fights and 4 ejections.
Kyle Beach had a goal, 2 assists & 2 fights to easily round out a Gordie Howe Hat Trick.
Jeremy Morin had a goal but was kicked out from the game after his fight at the end of the 1st period.
Nick Leddy, Shawn Lalonde(2), Igor Makarov and Brandon Pirri all had assists.
Ben Smith had a goal of his own, as did Ryan Potulny who also had 2 assists.

I wouldn't mind watching one of those games with the way the big club has been doing..


And that was your whirlwind tour of all my hockey interests.
Here's to a better Blackhawks game tonight than we've recently seen!

When you need a little comic relief

Anyone need a Monday pick-me-up?

2 Windsor Spitfires from 2009, show how a Memorial Cup winning team works out with some help from Britney Spears' Womanizer.

Adam Henrique & Andrew Engelage, everybody.

Next up 4 of the Barrie Colts from 09-10 do the Cha Cha slide.. I'm on the younger side but what middle school dance didn't this get played at?

You also might recognize the "clap your hands" which is frequently played in rinks.

Luke Pither, Bryan Cameron, Matt Kennedy & Mavric Parks, everyone.

And on a more serious note if you haven't seen it yet here's a link to the Versus new commercial for the Blackhawks/Blues game on the Blackhawks Down Low blog.

Hope you all got a laugh like I did seeing hockey players acting a little silly.

Just give me something to punch

2 times we've played the Oilers & 2 times we've lost. I didn't see the first one but this second loss was awful.

14 seconds. That was all it took for the Blackhawks to throw away a one goal lead after deciding to play "How many 3rd period penalties can we take before they score?" game with the Oilers.

After monster games from Kane & Toews in Atlanta, only Fernando Pisani was able to put one past former Hawk, Nikolai Khabibulin. The Bulin Wall did play exceptionally, which didn't help an already frustrating game from the Hawks.

Honestly, I'm about ready to bag skate the ENTIRE team, Miracle style. But really it's just my frustration.

The lone bright spot was John Scott (who broke 3 sticks) finally showing us his fists & handing it to Zach Stortini.

Blah, blah, blah, we've played the most games in the league, we've had players hurt, etc.

I don't care. I really don't.

The Blackhawks are under .500 & the Central Division this year is good, like losing these points to teams we should win is going to leave the Hawks on the outside looking in at the end of the day.

Yeah the Hawks topped the Thrashers but it was in a shootout, which really isn't good enough.

What concerns me most? This is not a goaltending issue, you really can't put this on Turco or Crawford for how they've played. They've given the team a chance almost every night.

It's the team as a whole. The cohesive unit we became so accustomed to seeing last season is no longer here. This team doesn't have that spark that was there. There's no team identity. Yet.

But, I refuse to think that a team with Jonathan Toews leading them is going to continue to play like this.

Marian Hossa nails it by saying, “As a championship team we have to respond better.”
(source)

Now, that I've had a good vent. It's time to regroup & get it together for Phoenix on Wednesday.

17 games out of 82. We've got a long way to go.

It's easy to forget how the highs & lows of the regular season can be after such a high of a post-season but it's all part of the ride.

And 82 games is a long and bumpy ride. See you all Wednesday.

Let me show you just how much you missed me

Everybody still with me? You are? Good, I was a little concerned.

What a game. Seriously a roller coaster. But thank goodness a win 5-4 shootout win.
Wins make it worth it.

• Well, we seemed to have found Patrick Kane & Jonathan Toews. Thank goodness for that.
  
• Kaner with 3 points (2 goals & 1 assist)
  
• Tazer with his first ever 4 point night in the regular season (2 goals & 2 assists) plus a sick shootout move that knocked Pavelec's water bottle off the top of the net.
• Turco, I love you but man you're testing my sanity with leaving the net & going halfway up the ice.
• Jeremy Morin is a trooper. Took a shot block to the back of the knee & tried to play through it but couldn't. Points for trying. Hope he's not hurt too bad.
  
• The power play is looking solid, but in the hell has happened to the penalty kill?
  
• Viktor Stalberg with some beautiful moves to score the shootout winner & Turco held down the fort with some nice saves.
• Marian Hossa is coming back tomorrow for the game against the Oilers! (source)
• Everybody watch out, if Jack Skille scores. The world/Twitter might explode. I wait for the day this happens.
  
• Saying hat trick before it happens, it like saying shutout before it happens. Just saying.
• Man, do I miss the former Hawks but it's nice to get the win over them. Broke my heart with that shootout goal Ladd did.

This about sums it up, Jonathan Toews on getting the title belt, "I forgot what it feels like. It feels pretty good, though."

Here's to 2 points & 2 more tomorrow! Rest up & prepare yourselves.

When the past comes back.. to bite you

And the moment you've all been waiting for... The Blackhawks take on the Atlanta Thrashers.

It's the inevitable faceoff between the Hawks & the team that was more than willing to take all the cap casualties the Blackhawks were willing to give them.

I'll be the first to admit it, I miss all of the Blackhawks that we lost. Some more for hockey reasons and some more for their personalities that we were so lucky to see because of Blackhawks TV. Either way, I'll miss all the former Hawks since the the 2009-2010 Blackhawks team will always be my favorite. (Can you blame me? First sports team I ever loved to win me a Championship!)

How valuable these depth players were though is starting to become more and more apparent as the Hawks struggle to find a flow in the young NHL season.

Essentially the Blackhawks had the same team for the most part of the previous two seasons until the salary cap made keeping the team together no longer an option.

Guess that's what happens when you have a solid core of young players who are all looking for what they're due.

I'm not bemoaning the salary cap and all the players we lost. It's over and done with and there's nothing that's going to change it. (I'm really not upset about losing Niemi now like I was during the summer.)

But tonight when the Blackhawks take on the Thrashers, I'll be watching Ben Eager, Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien and Brent Sopel thinking they look better in red and black.

And hopefully seeing their old teammates will motivate the Blackhawks to show the boys they're doing just fine without them.

Gimme Mor(in): While the Blackhawks did lose a lot of their depth in offseason trades, one key pieces that they got in return was Jeremy Morin.

While Kyle Beach was the prospect most Hawks fans had their eyes on, Jeremy Morin stole the spotlight with some impressive moves in training camp & preseason games. (Which inspired the creation of the Jeremy Morin Fan Club, of which I'm a member.)

When Morin was sent down to Rockford, I was a bit surprised but made sense for his development to get minutes and I'm sure salary cap wise. (this seems to be a reoccurring theme.)

Well with the Hawks needs something, anything at this point to spark an offense that is looking lost on remembering how to score. Morin has been called up and hopefully provides that spark since he's expected to get decent minutes on the 2nd or 3rd line.

And of course, it doesn't hurt that he's about to make his NHL debut against the team that traded him away. Show 'em what you got kid. (He's older than I am, but oh well.)


Let's hope the battle drills, a long practice & getting kicked off the ice by Q during morning skate woke up the Hawks & shows some positive results tonight.

Personally, I'm waiting for J.Toews to get seriously pissed off & dominate like we know he can.

Wanted: Blackhawks Offense

So wait, we just lost to the worst team in the NHL?
And Brodeur wasn't even playing for most of the game?

Excuse me while I bang my head against the wall..

Right about now I'm ready to bag skate the entire team & make them do battle drills.

I thought during the first period of the New York Rangers game with Soupy back the Hawks were about to return to form.

Well, I was wrong.

While it's fine and dandy that the 4th line is doing well (FERNANDOOOOO). It doesn't mean jack squat when the other 3 lines are disappearing.

The fact that Patrick Sharp was a -5 & Duncan Keith was a -4... Eff.

It was concerning enough that Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp were the only ones really scoring early on.
Now that Hossa is out with an upper body injury, it's like the entire team forgot how to score.

Does anywhere know where Patrick Kane & Jonathan Toews went? Or anyone playing forward?
I'm about ready to send out a search party with rewards to find some goals.

As of right now.. 15 points in 15 games. It ain't pretty.

For now I'm repeating one phrase over and over again, "It's only November, it's only November, it's only November..."

Now is the time to get pissed & show up Saturday against the Atlanta Hawks Thrashers wanting to prove something.

For now, I leave you with one word, "Again."

Pucks & a loss in your face

• Soupy’s back thank God, I feel like slowly but surely the defense is going to find it self & the overall team defense will get better.
  
• The 1st period was good, however after giving up a goal in the last minute it was kind of all downhill from there.
• Hjalmarsson & Potulny took pucks in the face, I think Duncan Keith just sat and laughed about it. "Feels good, don't it boys?" *grin*
  
• Patrick Kane scored (THANK GOODNESS), he's temporarily in my good graces unless this becomes a regular thing then he's good.. which it should.
  
• The happiness over that goal lasted all of 30 seconds, because the Rangers scored pretty much right after.
• This was the one and only meeting of the Hawks/Rangers all year.
• UGH, that’s all.

I wait for the day, when the ENTIRE Blackhawks team is healthy.

I hope this day comes soon.

Alright stop, collaborate & listen..

First off, I hope that everyone had a safe and fun Halloween weekend.

I haven't had much time to watch the highlights of either game the Hawks played this weekend.
So I'm just going to judge based on the scores, which is always accurate don't ya know?

Hawks lost the the Oilers 7-4.
Say what... 7-4? Not the score or result I was expecting at all.
Turco ends up getting pulled for Crawford. Hall, Cogliano, Eberle & Gagner all scored for Edmonton.
Clearly, I'm not as sad now about missing this game. My soft spot for the Oilers clearly came back to bite me.

Well the 2nd of the back to back games the Hawks come back with a 3-1 win over the Wild.
Turco starts the 2nd of two games and bounces back with a win after being benched in the Oilers game.
I honestly have no idea how this game went since I didn't watch any of it. I'm just glad the Hawks won.

Moving on to tonight's game which I actually be able to watch, the Blackhawks take on the Rangers, the only time the two teams will meet all year.
Two Marian's are out with Hossa for the Hawks & Gaborik for the Rangers.

Reunited & it feels so good: Brian Campbell has been activated for tonight's game and should be reunited with Niklas Hjalmarsson to make up the 2nd D-pair. (YESSSSSSS)
I'm hoping that this means we start playing less in our zone & freaking out less about the defense outside of Keith-Seabrook. (who have even made me a bit nervous at times)

The hits they just keep on coming: Though Brian Campbell is returning from injury, Dave Bolland has been place on IR with an "upper-body" injury, this is retroactive to Friday, meaning that the Bolland can't return to Saturday at the earliest.
I have no idea what's wrong with Bolly. But I really hope this trend of injuries stops, like now.

How you doin' junior:
-The Tips lost their Pink the Rink night game 3-2 in a shootout to the Tri-City Americans.
-Pink the Rink raised $38,897.77!
-The highest bid for a jersey was $1,500.00 for Ryan Murray's jersey.
- Full story here

- The Chiefs lost the first game of their 6 game Eastern Conference road trip to Moose Jaw 3-2 but bounced back the next night with an 11-1 win over the Regina Pats.
- In the 11-1 win over Regina, Cole Hamblin, Collin Valcourt and Marek Kalus all scored their first WHL goals. Congrats to them!

Can't catch a break: Jordan Staal, two days before he was set to return from a foot injury which had prevented him from playing this season, suffered a broken hand in practice & is said to be out about 6 weeks, though it has been said he'll be out indefinitely. (source)
Update: According to the Penguins, Staal will be undergoing surgery on his hand & will be out up to 6 weeks.
All the best to him & hope he can get back on the ice soon!

Saying hello but bidding adieu.

Well I probably should have been smarter about the timing of the start of this blog considering I'm missing both Blackhawks game this weekend by going out of town. But of course I still have something to say.

This weekend on the Blackhawks Halloween schedule are the Oilers & Wild.

With the Oilers former Hawks Nikolai Khabibulin & Colin Fraser return.
Congrats to Colin Fraser & his wife Carli on the recent birth of their son, Calder.

The Oilers are still continuing to struggle as they have a youth movement of their own going on with 3 rookies you may have heard something about, Jordan Eberle (Canada's WJC captain clutch), Magnus Paajarvi & Taylor Hall.
While the Oilers are sitting just above the bottom of the NHL with the Panthers & Devils, the team is pretty darn entertaining to watch, so it should be interesting to see how the game turns out.

I'm actually quite disappointed to miss the game since I do enjoy seeing the Oilers play. They kind of remind me of the Blackhawks a couple years ago (though that sounds so cliche with every rebuilding team with young players).

Then the Hawks travel to Minnesota Saturday to take on the Wild & former Blackhawks Cam Barker, Martin Havlat & John Madden. The Wild currently sit 9th in the Western Conference and a game above .5oo.

It's been no secret the drama that has surrounded the Wild early this NHL season. There's already been a well publicized bag skate, a fan-player incident & most recently Allan Walsh, agent of Martin Havlat, writing the Minnesota Star Tribune that his client is being underused. (Link to the story here)

Things seem a little messy in Minny.

Of course the Hawks have issues of their own, Brian Campbell is on the fringe of coming back while Marian Hossa is out for two weeks with an upper-body injury resulting in the call up of Ben Smith from the Rockford IceHogs.

What to expect this weekend from these 2 games? I don't know.
I feel like through the first 11 games of the season, I have no idea what kind of team the Hawks are.

The Hawks have essentially played without a solid 2nd d-pair behind Keith-Seabrook and offense has come from either Hossa or Sharp. Now with Hossa out, someone is going to have to step it up offensively.
I hope that Patrick Kane & Jonathan Toews rise to the challenge like I know they can and Patrick Sharp keeps doing what he's doing, scoring goals & while blinding the opposition with his beauty.
But I'm not opposed to anyone period stepping up to the plate with some offense.
Hopefully Kane's +/- doesn't make me want to Gibbs slap him anymore after this weekend. (If you don't know what a Gibbs slap is Google it).

Last but not least the Silvertips are having their Pink the Rink night tonight in support of those with cancer & auctioning off the jerseys they'll be wearing and donating the proceeds to the Providence General Foundation who give free mammograms. Proceeds from special ticket packages, chuck-a-puck, programs, "I Pinked the Rink" T-Shirts & signed pink sticks will also go to the Providence General Foundation. To learn more, click here.

Here is the jersey the Tips will be auctioning off modeled by Tyler Maxwell. (via Silvertips twitter)



Hope the Tips raise a lot of money & get the win over the Ams.

Good luck to the Chiefs as well who are on their Eastern swing taking on Moose Jaw & Regina this weekend.

On that note, have a safe & fun Halloween weekend!
And y'know I'd take a 4-point Blackhawks weekend over candy any day.
Hopefully we all get that treat.

Feel free to drop a comment for me on how the games go!

Hello out there, we're on the air..

Hello, lovely people (are there people reading this?) and welcome to my little corner of the interweb, also hereby known as Defense, Dangles & Dagger.

Somehow I've decided to start a hockey blog which basically mean this space will be filled with my nonsensical hockey rants most likely about the Blackhawks or one of two WHL teams, the Chiefs or Silvertips. Most likely the Chiefs since that's the team I get to see on a regular basis now.
I'm sarcastic & passionate but most of all love hockey. In other words, keep your expectations low for this blog.

But before we can get into that though, I thought I'd tell you all the story of my hockey background. That sounds better than it should considering that I've never played the game itself, I'm merely a hockey fan and this is how it came to be.

I'm from Washington (no I will not put state after that) which isn't exactly known as a hockey hotbed.

Once upon a time we had an NHL team,the Seattle Metropolitans, that won the Stanley Cup in 1917 playing in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association & participated in the Finals that were canceled because of influenza. That's pretty much the only claim to hockey fame we have, aside from TJ Oshie but that's debatable.

My first memory of hockey was with the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds & the Moose Jaw Warriors, I was six and the game was at Key Arena and my family and I were sitting in the upper bowl. I only remember who the T-Birds were playing because I was utterly confused by a place called Moose Jaw. I hated hockey after the game. What I remember of the game was fights, and lots of them. I didn't understand it and I most of all didn't like it.

Fast forward to about when I was about twelve. By some gift from God, we got CBC on my television which meant that Hockey Night in Canada could be seen in my house. I don't remember how or why but my family started watching it. My dad had lived in Montreal for a bit as a child so he of course had rooted for the Habs and played hockey for a brief time. I assume that meant he also watched HNiC and somehow decided we would watch it too. Though I cringe at the thought now, we sat together and watched the Vancouver Canucks play. We even went up to Vancouver a few times and were lucky enough to go to a game or two. All I specifically remember from attending was the obnoxious lady in our section who yelled the entire game. Sadly what stands out to me from my time as a Canucks fan is watching Todd Bertuzzi clock Steve Moore from the blindside live on TV and being in utter shock at what had happened.

Of course that happened the year before the NHL lockout and it was also the inaugural season the Everett Silvertips in the WHL. Somehow with my family & a friend of mine we ended up going to a regular season game, from then on I was interested.

Let's be honest, I was twelve and these hockey boys were sixteen to twenty. I'm not going to lie I developed a school girl crush on one of them. My parents even considered billeting, until they found out how old the guys were. But to be honest, it was probably one of the best things to happen to me, it got me to follow hockey.

Not in a puck bunny way either, I wanted to know the rules, what the signals from the refs meant and most of all I wanted to go to games. It was just a bonus that the guys were cute and it always had been.

The moment that sticks out to me of me being officially hooked though was going to going to the Western Conference Finals Game 6 between the Vancouver Giants & the Silvertips. The Tips wrapped up the series winning 3-2 and my ears were blasted by the train horn that is the Tips goal horn. I remember driving home from that game being unable to properly hear & electrified by the excitement of the game. As the Tips continued their remarkable inaugural season playoff run, I found a portable AM/FM radio (Yeah, I'm a sport nerd like that) and heard Keith Gerhart scream with joy as the Tips came back from a 3 games to 1 game deficit winning 3 straight game in OT including winning the series in Game 7 over the Kelowna Rockets in Kelowna. I remember running around after the Tips won, there was a windstorm that night and we had lost power at my house and my parents couldn't have cared less. Eventually though the Tips were swept by the Medicine Hat Tigers 4 games to none and I left Game 4 of the WHL Finals thinking about how sad I was the season was over but I couldn't wait to get back to the EEC.

The 04-05 season however was the year of the NHL lockout, I held out hope that the season wouldn't be canceled until it was. Luckily for me though, I had the WHL and the season most definitely wasn't canceled. I went to as many games as my parents would let me go to (which was a theme until I had my license/ left for college) and I kept learning about the game. Basically my hockey obsession grew. As much as the lockout sucked, the WHL & the Tips kept my hockey love alive. I also kept hearing about this kid Sidney Crosby who played in the QMJHL, I tried listening to Rimouski game or 2 online but let's just say my French isn't up to par, at all.

The Tips only made it to the 2nd round of the WHL playoffs before getting swept but that summer gave me one of the best birthday presents ever.

July 13th, the NHL and NHLPA agreed to a deal in principle. The NHL was coming backand it was announced on my birthday and I just happened to be in Canada which meant I could watch the crap out of the round the clock coverage TSN had on, much to chagrin of my parents.

Well, that kid that I had heard so much of went number one overall to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the lucky winners of the Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes. After being disenchanted with the Canucks post-lockout, I decided to follow the Pens. And I did and most importantly I got my parents to order NHL Center Ice. Lucky for me that spring break my family was going to New York City and I got to catch a NY Rangers & Ottawa Senators game at the Garden. Plus Sidney Crosby & the Pens at Nassau Coliseum playing the Islanders to which my dad just happened to score me glass seats to the game. Sid of course didn't have a very good game with no points and missing in the shootout & there were people walking in front me despite sitting on the glass but I enjoyed every moment of being at that game.

Through the magic of NHL Center Ice, I was a dedicated Pens until one day in 07-08 I came across a game with the Chicago Blackhawks who had two promising rookies, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews who I had been hearing a lot about them and I was curious. And from then on began the slow but determined take over of my hockey fandom by the Blackhawks. Luckily that season I also was able to go to a game in Tampa Bay and see the Lightning play Ovechkin and the Caps.

By 08-09 I was watching Blackhawks games on Center Ice and my love of the Pens faded. By the time playoffs rolled around I watched the Hawks beat the Flames and then saw Patrick Kane take down the Canucks and Luongo with his first ever hat trick only to see the Hawks fall to the ever powerful Red Wings devastated to see the playoff run. I was happy to see the Pens win the Cup but I wasn't in love with the Pens like I was the Blackhawks. I was happy to see the Pens do well since they sparked my interest in the NHL again.

My NHL game of the year was getting to see Silvertips' Alumna Peter Mueller play the San Jose Sharks in Phoenix, oddly enough going to buy tickets to the game I saw Devin Setoguchi walking to the rink. Funny that, that game the trivia question was what junior team did Peter Mueller play for?

Now that leads us to this past season, going off to school leaving behind my favorite WHL team for another WHL teams territory & no more NHL Center Ice or Gamecenter (prices are not college friendly).

It's not as fun being a hockey fan in a non-hockey market with no access to NHL Center Ice but I still kept track of the Blackhawks through the magic of the internet. Games on NBC or Versus despite the less than satisfactory coverage was great to me since, it was and is the only way that I get to see NHL games on TV. The whole season I lived and died with the team, to the point where when the playoffs rolled around I was giving myself stress-induced stomach aches watching playoff games.

Before we get to the Blackhawks playoff run I have to mention international hockey. I watched the entire World Junior Hockey Championships aside from the New Years' Eve game between the USA & Canada. Seeing the USA beat Canada in OT for the gold I thought was going to be the best hockey moment of the year for me. The USA had barely won the 5th place game the year before with names like Colin Wilson and James van Riemsdyk and then won the gold the next year over a typically stacked Canadian team in Canada to stop them from winning their 6th consecutive gold medal.

Then there was the Olympics which being Canada just magnified hockey even more, the USA blew away expectations and won silver. I was okay with it because the games were in Canada and of course is anyone going to play darling of Canada scoring the gold medal winner in OT, it's going to be Sidney Crosby.

Going back to the NHL though, for spring break I went to Boston and unfortunately there were no Bruins games, so I ended up going to a Manchester Monarchs & Binghamton Senators (my first AHL game) & a Providence Bruins & Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins game AHL games.
Getting to to go to these games I got to see former WHL'ers including my first favorite WHL'er Zach Hamill who was playing for the pB's.

The big thing was I was getting to go to my first ever Blackhawks game, however to do so it would require a road trip to Philly.

It was quite the experience for a first Blackhawks game, the weather decided it wanted to rain as hard as possible and be as windy as a hurricane all the way from Boston to Philly. We ended up missing the first period & the Blackhawks ended up losing the game after leading 2-1 going into the 3rd. Scott Hartnell scored the tying goal & Chris Pronger scored the game winner with 2.1 seconds left, needless to say I wanted out of Wachovia Center as soon as possible. Not the desired result after driving 6 hours in hurricane like conditions. I walked out of the rink saying I wanted the Stanley Cup after that horrific experience which wasn't made any better by the drive back. Have you ever parked on a freeway? Cause I have once on the New Jersey Turnpike.

I knew that I was being a whiny and upset fan but I said I wanted the Cup but I never expected what happened in the playoffs.

The playoffs were a lot of fun for me. Between the stress stomach aches, we ended up matching up with 3 of my least favorite teams the Canucks, Sharks and Flyers. Aside from the Finals, I do have to say I most enjoyed knocking out the Canucks for a 2nd year in a row on the exact same day as the year previous. There is no other word for that besides awesome, let's just say I have no love left over for them.

By the time we reached the Finals, I was shocked that we were taking on the Flyers of all teams. Needless to me the irony was not lost on me, at all.

Having the Hawks win the Cup in the Wachovia Center months after I sat heartbroken in the stands of that exact arena, was a bit mindblowing.

My initial feelings after realizing that Patrick Kane did in fact score was shock. Complete and utter shock. I mean, I'm from the most miserable sports city in America. We don't win championships, we're pro in sucking. So seeing a team that I lived and died with and absolutely loved win a championship was incredible, it never ever had happened before. I mean I didn't even sleep the night after it happened. The 09-10 Stanley Cup winning Blackhawks will always and forever be my favorite hockey team.

Now here we are in 10-11, the Hawks & all the fans trying to adjust to new faces and losing old familiar fan favorites and who knows what this season will bring us. 11 games in and what the end result will be is anything be known.

I do have to say though, I like the feeling of being a fan a winning team and I find it highly amusing to have people hate on my team. (This doesn't happen with Seattle teams, no one is jealous of suckage)

So that's me and my hockey fandom from start to finish.

Yes, I bounced around as an NHL fan, I attribute it to not living in an NHL market & where the team that's close gets vastly ignored. (Did you know that Game 6 of the 2010 NHL Finals wasn't even on the main NBC channel in the Seattle area?)
But I've pretty well settled in as a Hawks fan & I don't see that changing any time soon.

I know this got NHL heavy at the end but that doesn't mean I stopped going to WHL games, I mean $16 dollar glass seats? Who am I to pass up that opportunity? I love the WHL and going to games and getting to see future NHL'ers play before anyone knows who they are.

Yes as a naive 12 year old picking up hockey on my own, the boys drew me in but I love the game. I love being in a hockey rink, it's relaxing and to me it's comforting to me to be wrapped in the thick coldness with a tinge of the unmistakable hockey smell of a small rink. Or sit in the 2nd level of the EEC back home, being able to see the entire ice.

At times I feel like I'm out on an island as a hockey fan where I am. My family is far from being hockey fans let alone to the extent I am. I'm the odd one loving hockey while my brothers are huge baseball fans/players. I don't have friends who are in to hockey like I am despite me slowly trying to turn my friends in to hockey fans and dragging them to games with me.
You know those awkward ice breakers where you tell facts about yourself? My fact is usually that I like to watch hockey.

Simply, I'm a hockey fan who is far from knowing everything but wanting to learn as much as possible about anything hockey related.
I have my own opinions and I know that not everyone is going to agree with them and they may not always be right, I love healthy debate.

Most of all though I love the hockey community and I want to get to know more people in it. So here is my small space for my hockey blather and I'd love if you joined in the conversation.

So thank you for reading, and hats off to you for reading this whole thing! Sorry for all the rambles.

I hope to see you all back here soon.