A breath of fresh air.

The title of the post is appropriate given the amount of time between posts, I apologize. Hope you all enjoyed the NHL All-Star weekend, time to gear up for the stretch run!

Saturday January 15th, 2010 was a day that will go down in Western Hockey League history as the Chiefs & Ice played the league's first ever outdoor game. Following in the line of the NHL's success with the Winter Classic, the WHL decided to host a game of their own.

Scanned from the Outdoor Classic program

However the Winter Classic was the topper of three chances that fans got with the outdoor rink. Thursday the 13th the Chiefs got the only practice that either teams would get on the outdoor surface. It was an open practice that fans were invited to attend. The Chiefs had fun with various team members wearing one of the three jerseys the Chiefs had sported this year. Following in the footsteps of the Washington Capitals outdoor practice, the team had fun with eye black. Which fans could see from the team picture taken post practice that was on the back of the cover of the special edition program that fans could purchase.

As was a concern every day up to the game was the warm temperatures and the possibility of rain. The Chiefs however told the Spokesman Review that the ice wasn't too bad. (source)

Watching the live broadcast of the practice, SWX reported that officials said that the game could be played in temperatures of up to 55 degrees and that rain was more of a concern. The funny thing was that at the beginning of the week about 3 or so inches of snow but the weather had warmed up so much that it had turned into slush all over the city.

The next event that was held at the temporary ice surface was a real treat for fans. Friday fans had the opportunity to skate on the ice that the game would take place on the next night. There were two half-hour sessions that fans were invited ice skate during for a fee of $3 for children under the age of 12 and $5 for anyone else.

The later session that I attended which was from 6-7:30 had a good amount of people. While it made for less than desirable ice conditions (especially for me someone who only ice skates once a year, if that) it was pretty awesome. It was surreal to think that the next day the very ice you were skating on and the benches you sat on, were where the Outdoor Classic was taking place.

My friends & my skates on the center ice dot.

I'm in a glass case of emotion! 

A close up view of one of the goal judge's spot for the game.

Saturday of course was the main event. Festivities started early as gates opened at 10:30 so that fans could have access to the field and welcome both teams to the stadium. I unfortunately didn't arrive until an hour before the scheduled 1 pm start time.

I did get to walk around however and see all the various things that were set up around the concourse of the stadium.

When you walked in the first thing you saw were the ice sculptures.

Wonder if Blackhawks fans are familiar with this one from last season...

There was also a silent auction to benefit the Rypien foundation featuring a lot of hockey memorabilia, including many a signed hockey jersey. Also in the tent housing the silent auction were some of the most important trophies in all of junior hockey.

 

The Ed Chynoweth Cup awarded to the WHL Champions formerly known as the President's Trophy. 

Essentially the Stanley Cup of the WHL

The famous Memorial Cup trophy awarded to the winner of the CHL (which is made up of the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League & Quebec Major Junior Hockey League).

Currently the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL are defending champions, they won both in 2009 & 2010.

The Chiefs infamously broke the trophy after winning it in 2008.

There were also two cardboard cutouts that fans could place their faces into to pretend they were a member of the 2008 Memorial Cup winning team or Tyler Johnson.

Who wouldn't want to pretend to be Spokane's local hockey hero?

Souvenirs seemed to be flying off the shelves seeing as line was extremely long to the main stand, though thankfully there was a smaller cash only stand that was selling as well. There were t-shirts, pucks, patches, scarves and more. Also for sale were special edition programs while typically at Chiefs games the programs are free Outdoor Classic programs were $5. The program featured pictures and stories from the Chiefs' players various experiences playing hockey outdoors ranging childhood to recent times which was a nice touch along with the typical lineups and game notes.

My seat was in the left field bleachers of Avista Stadium. The above pictures was my view. I really didn't have too many issues seeing any of the play.

During warm ups the weather was extremely nice, it was warm out and the sun was high in the sky which did seem to cause a decent amount of glare off the ice which was concerning. It was warm enough out that I had to remove the winter jacket I was wearing.

Since an actual Zamboni didn't or couldn't make it's way to Avista Stadium so mini-Zambonis were used. There were actually three at the stadium but only two were used.

A cannon was fired each time the Chiefs scored. Before I knew that I was confused as to what the blue tent beneath the scoreboard was. Needless to say I jumped when it was fired the first time.

WHL Comissioner Rob Robison (on the ice below) and Bobby Brett, the owner of the Chiefs both spoke during the pregame ceremonies to thank fans and everyone that helped put the game together.

Both the Chiefs and the Ice walked from their respective dugouts to the ice surface. The Chiefs' Tyler Johnson carried in an American flag and the Ice's Brayden McNabb carried in an Canadian flag.

 The goal judge had a prime seat and his own nice personal clear plastic box.

Opening faceoff! By that time the sun was behind the clouds and it started to get chilly which in my opinion only made the atmosphere that much better, it felt a bit weird to be warm at a hockey game when we arrived.

The Chiefs' Darren Kramer & the Ice's Max Reinhart engaged in the games first fisticuffs. The two teams had played the night before, a game which the Ice won 6-2 in Kootenay. The game the night before had 8 fights. Neither teams had a short term memory as by the end of the game 4 fights took place.

I took a picture of the score after two thinking it was pretty ridiculous, it was only a sign of things to come. The cannon was getting a good workout. Even better for fans at the game as per usual, Chiefs fans get a free Chalupa coupon for Taco Bell when the Chiefs score 5 or more games. Chalupas were secured well before the game was over on Blake Gal's second goal of the game not even two minutes into the 2nd period.

While the attendance isn't mind blowing and the Chiefs' home rink actually holds more fans, it was a sellout of the stadium.

The final score was an ugly one for the Ice but one that had Chiefs' fans leaving as happy campers. Good thing the Chiefs didn't score more than 11 goals, the National Guard only brought 11 shells I learned when watching the rebroadcast on TV. I doubt they had planned to be using them all.

The traditional handshake. It may not have been the greatest game by the Ice but both teams kept it classy by shaking hands after playing two emotionally charged blowouts in two days against each other. The two teams also took a photo together to commemorate the game.

Fans didn't leave the game empty handed either. Commemorative tickets, posters featuring a picture of the ceremonial faceoff and of course free Chalupa coupons because the Chiefs scored 5+ goals were all given to fans at the game. There was also a fireworks display for fans following the game but I was unable to stay for it.

The commemorative ticket featuring a nice sketch of the outdoor setup.

Overall, the Outdoor Classic was a fantastic experience. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to be a part of WHL history. It was a great atmosphere even with the blowout. I can only imagine the experience of going to a NHL outdoor game. With all the questions about the weather and the game, it turned out great. I have no major complaints about my experience.

I think it was a great event for the WHL, the Ice and the Chiefs. If I had a chance to do it all again I'd do it in a heartbeat. 

This is a great sign for when the Regina Pats and Calgary Hitmen play another game outdoors February 21, 2011 at McMahon Stadium. It'll be the the first WHL outdoor game in Canada following the NHL's Heritage Classic with the Calgary Flames hosting the Montreal Canadiens.

I'm sure it'll be nothing less than another great event for the WHL.

Jump Ropes, Cha Cha & T-Birds. Oh my!

Ran across a tweet a couple days ago from the Seattle Thunderbirds mentioning they were trying to get fans to tweet at Jeff Marek in order to get a mention on Hockey Night in Canada. That peaked my interest so I thought I would check out the page.

This led to the discovery of two YouTube videos in the T-Birds suggested tweet to Jeff Marek about Burke Gallimore and if you haven't notice from my previous blog posts, I quite enjoy hockey players doing silly things & these videos are just that.

First is a showing of Gallimore showing off his jump rope skills, showing off moves I'm sure members of my elementary school's jump rope team would have been jealous of.



In another edition of hockey player dance moves, Charles Wells joins Gallimore in doing the ever popular Cha Cha Slide (the Barrie Colts have a video of their own Cha Cha), the dance I thought I left in middle school but has yet to die.



Now to see if this gets them a mention on HNiC.

Home sweet song...?

Need a midweek laugh?
I give you Coming Home (The Brayden Schenn Remix). Wired 93.6 a local Saskatoon radio station put this together in honor of Schenn being traded back to his hometown.

Does this look ridiculous to anyone else?

This is a screen cap from the WHL Transactions page of the Cody Eakin to Kootenay & Brayden Schenn to Saskatoon Trades. Along with Ryan Button to Seattle in there too since it happened between the two.

I like to call it, 'Trading Away Your Future For Years To Come For A Rental Player'

A bit delayed, just like the Russian's flight home.

Sorry for the delay everyone, winter break has been filled with travel and now it's already over as I'm heading back to school already! I hope you all had a fantastic holidays.

January 5th was the final day of the 2011 edition of the World Juniors and man was the conclusion ever a dandy.

In shocking fashion(understatement of the year so far?), Canada blew a 3-0 lead going into the third to lose the gold medal 5-3 to Russia. It's the second time in two years that Canada has reached the gold medal game only to lose. Last year on John Carlson's overtime goal and this year by giving up five goals in the third period. Two years and two heartbreaking results though the second time the Canadians had the gold in their grasp only to let it slip away.

It has become an expectation for the Canadians to not only be in the gold medal game but to win the gold medal. The feeling is the Canadians own the gold medal until you rip it from their hands. And in the past two years that has happened. Even as a USA fan, I'm shocked at the result of the gold medal game this year. This only adds to the intrigue of next years tournament.

On a brighter note, Brayden Schenn tied the Canadian record for most points in the tournament and was named MVP, and played through a hurt (separated) shoulder sustained in the semi-finals (source). LA Kings fan must be excited about that. Now the waiting game starts in the WHL to see whether or not the Wheat Kings trade him or hold on to him.

Even better though for hockey fans is the fact that Canada's silver and USA's bronze puts them back in the same pool next year at the 2010 World Juniors which is being held in Edmonton and Calgary. What this means is that the USA-Canada game on New Years Eve which has become somewhat of a big event. To me the tournament felt weird without it this year. Being in the same pool also means that a rematch of the 2010 gold medal game could happen. The American-Canadian rivalry always seems to add another page to the book each year regardless of when they meet. All signs point to another fantastic tournament next year, just as it is every year.

I am one of those people who loves World Juniors and will choose to watch World Junior games over NHL games. I guess you could say I have the level of enthusiasm of a Canadian, just for the American team. To me USA hockey beats out the Blackhawks and that is saying a lot. I think the games are that fantastic, plus the tournament is once a year. If you haven't watched you should start next year. The tournament is filled with top NHL prospects, who you may not get to normally see, and great games.

Unlike Canada the USA ended World Juniors on a high note by making history. The USA bounced back from their crushing 4-1 loss at the hands of Canada in the semi-final to win the bronze medal with a 4-2 win over Sweden.

While this may seem like a disappointment to many to fall from the gold medal game to the bronze, the positives for USA Hockey are plentiful. Also it was the first time ever that the USA has won a medal on home ice. The first time that USA had earned a medal in back to back tournaments, the bronze medal effort was their fifth try. These accomplishment only further highlight the improvements in the USA Hockey program.

The USA won their first ever World Juniors gold in 2004 & repeated that feat in 2010 while the Canadians won the five gold medals in between. Since then USA Hockey has made great strides seen beyond the Olympic and World Junior level. At the U-17 level in the past five times the World U-17 Hockey Challenge, the USA has medalled every single time winning gold in 2010 and silver this year.  At the World U-18 Championships, the USA has medalled in every tournament since 2002 winning gold five times, back to back twice in 2005 & 2006 and again in 2009 & 2010. In addition at the Ivan Hlinka tournament (U-18s) the USA earned silver in 2010 after not medalling since 2006.

Of course the silver earning efforts of the Olympic team and last year's gold medal win of the World Juniors were the most publicized accomplishments which are not to be overlooked in their impact.

The bottom line is that despite not playing for the medal they wanted the USA finally earning a medal in back to back tournaments is another great step for USA hockey. The USA didn't even get eligible returner defensemen Cam Fowler (Ducks) since he's doing so well in the NHL. It's not a hope to make it to the medal rounds or the gold medal game, it's an expectation.

USA Hockey is only improving with the success of the National Team Development Program and developing elite hockey players. You can already see it in the number of USA born players being drafted & making an impact. It's truly exciting to think about the progress that USA Hockey is making and the NHL stars coming out of the program.

So if you happen to see some love for some USA Hockey players on this blog, don't be surprised. Donning the red, white and blue trump NHL ties any day, in my eyes.

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.
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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.