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NHL
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Chicago Blackhawks season preview |
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Friday, 07 October 2011 11:37 |
by Hannah Petrukovich
 The Chicago Blackhawks surely didn't enjoy this past offseason as much as their previous one. After adding some much-needed toughness and depth to help their offense, they have made some major strides towards a return to the Stanley Cup finals. The Dallas Stars are relying on a rookie coach in hopes he would end their playoff drought. The task is made much harder with their leading scorer out of the picture.
Glen Gulutzan makes his NHL coaching debut as the Stars and Blackhawks kick off their seasons Friday night at American Airlines Center. He coached for two years with the Texas Stars Dallas' top minor league affiliate.
After winning its first Stanley Cup in over forty-nine years, the defending champs crept into the playoffs thanks to a Dallas loss on the final day of the 2010-11 regular season. The Hawks were ultimately eliminated by the Western Conference champions Vancouver in the first round.
Right wing Patrick Kane stated on ESPN.com "I think a lot of us have to prove that what we did two years ago wasn't really a fluke, Last year, we didn't have our best team and we almost did some damage."
Chicago general manager Stan Bowman, who is also signed for a three year contract, brought in some much needed veterans in Andrew Brunette, Jamal Mayers and Steve Montador, along with noted agitator Daniel Carcillo. They will join the core of Jonathan Toews, Kane, Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa.
"You need to be able to change the momentum, and that's usually with guys who play a certain (physical) style," Bowman told ESPN. "That's why we've added all those players while we've kept all our top guys."
You can say the Blackhawks are excited about their new additions to the team, while the Dallas Stars are counting on new players to make the departure of Brad Richards easier. They have signed right wing Michael Ryder and defenseman Sheldon Souray.
Corey Crawford showed that he can handle the load of being a starting goalie in the National Hockey League, and Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews continued to produce as two of the best young players in the game. The Hawks finished the season scoring 258 goals, which put them third in the Western Conference.
This should be a tough opening game for Chicago, because despite missing the playoffs, Dallas won 42 games and finished with 95 points in the competitive Pacific Division.
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Last Updated on Friday, 07 October 2011 12:15 |
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McNeil Impresses at First Day of Prospect Camp |
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Written by Steve Schreck
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Thursday, 07 July 2011 18:04 |
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The Chicago Blackhawks’ 2011 Prospect Camp got underway Thursday. The camp hosted forty-six players including two of Chicago’s first-round draft picks, Mark McNeil (18) and Phillip Danault (26), from this year’s draft. Most players were current or recent draft picks by the Hawks but some were free-agent invitees, most of whom were still attending college.
The camp was divided into five groups. Each group would come out, usually in groups of eight or so, and do certain drills. In a drill setting, it’s almost impossible to stand-out. The drills consist of the basic shooting, passing and stick-handling variety.
It was only fitting that the highest draft pick, stood out the most. Where it looked like most players were just going through the motions, McNeil was aggressive and showed a lot of skill. At 6’ 2’’, 210 pounds, he had a couple of checks that put the other player back on his heels. Although he had a lot of strength, his skill was also evident on some of the moves he put on defenders. It looked impressive for a camp-setting, something McNeil wanted, “First impressions are key on a lot of the coaching staff and staff throughout the organization that haven’t seen me play yet. I got to be playing at my best."
McNeil, who is only eighteen years old, played center for Prince Albert Raiders in the WHL this past season. In 70 games for the Raiders, McNeil had 32 goals and 49 assists.
The first-round pick definitely has the ability to play in the NHL and he wants to start in Chicago, “I’m here to try to make the Chicago Blackhawks.”
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Blackhawks Coach Hospitalized |
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Written by Administrator
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Wednesday, 16 February 2011 11:07 |
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from the news wires...
 The Blackhawks released the following statements this morning regarding Head Coach Joel Quenneville:
Blackhawks head team physician Dr. Michael Terry:
“Joel presented severe discomfort late last night at his home in suburban Chicago. He went to the emergency room and was admitted early this morning. He is currently in stable condition and is being treated for an undisclosed health concern today, not of cardiac nature. Further testing is ongoing and we will provide an update when possible.”
Blackhawks Vice President/General Manager Stan Bowman:
“Acting as head coach tonight in Joel’s absence will be assistant coach Mike Haviland. We certainly wish Joel a speedy recovery and we will do everything possible to support him and his family throughout the process.”
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Penalty Killing Kills Blackhawks |
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Friday, 07 January 2011 00:00 |
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by Harrison Shamberg
 “We played well enough to win, for sure,” was how goalie Corey Crawford felt following the Hawks’ Wednesday night loss to the Dallas Stars. But it was déjà vu all over again for the Hawks, as they got off to another slow start and failed to defend against the power play.
“We didn’t give up a lot in the second and third, but the first was touch watching…,” remarked Coach Joel Quenneville.
After getting into a 2-0 hole in the first period, the Hawks fought back with goals from Fernando Pisani and Tomas Kopecky in the second. They had a chance to take the lead a short while later, as Victor Stalberg was tripped attacking the net and given a penalty shot. But the shot that followed was unlike anything most hockey fans had ever seen. Stalberg beat the goalie, but his shot deflected off the right post, then the crossbar, and then the left post without passing into the goal and was finally knocked back onto the ice in front of the Stars’ goaltender.
But it was ultimately the Hawks’ inability to penalty kill that cost them the game. The Stars were 3 for 3 scoring in the power play, two coming in the first period and the most crucial of which coming in the third with the score tied at 2. Defenseman Duncan Keith was clear about what happened: “Our penalty killing wasn’t as good as it needed to be, and that was the difference tonight.”
Despite the Hawks’ ability to score often on the power play and a roster consisting of multiple all-stars and two of the league’s best rookies in Bryan Bickell and Jake Dowell, it is defense that wins championships and it is defense, especially in penalty killing, that the Blackhawks need to work on in order to improve on their mediocre 21-18-3 record.
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Niemi Says No to Former Team Once Again |
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Written by Joe Tichy
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Thursday, 30 December 2010 23:48 |
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The Chicago Blackhawks were hoping to end 2010 on a positive note coming off a 3-1 loss to St. Louis Tuesday night and also losing captain Jonathan Toews for two weeks to the dreaded upper body injury. Brent Seabrook took the ice sporting an “A” on his jersey in Toews’ absence. Jack Skille was also a surprising late pre-game scratch. “We had some tough decisions. We’re looking for consistency,” coach Joel Quenneville vaguely said afterward. This also marks the first time goaltender Antti Niemi makes his return to the Madhouse, only this time he’s donning the opposing team’s sweater. When asked if this game in particular had been on his mind Niemi said, “Not for a long time. The last twenty-four hours maybe it has been on my mind.” A shorthanded home team would have some work to do before they head out west for early 2011 matchups against Los Angeles and Anaheim respectively.
The Blackhawks wanted to show their onetime goaltender what he’s been missing at the United Center. They wasted no time attacking firing off six shots in just over seven minutes. Niemi was kept busy, but he said no to everything the Hawks were showing him. The early candidate for save of the game goes to Duncan Keith. With Turco getting caught chasing a puck and turning it over, Duncan parked himself directly in the goal mouth and denied a wrister. Patrick Sharp knows in order to score on Niemi, you need to go high. With a shade over three minutes to go in the first, Sharp did just that. Credit the assists on the power play goal to Kopecky and Seabrook. The Sharks would do everything in their power to fight back as they crowded the net going for slop goals. Turco would do his best Antti Niemi impression and say no right back. With just over a minute to go in the opening period, Scott Nichol would find a way to score with a wrister that managed to trickle under Turco’s right arm to even the score at one.
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Last Updated on Friday, 31 December 2010 14:01 |
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