Hawks up 2-1 in Semis!

(AP) Chicago, IL

In an amazing turn of events the Blackhawks are up 2 games to 1 in the Semi-finals versus the division rival Detroit Red Wings.
The series opened in the Motor City with the Wings taking Gm1 at Joe Louis Arena 4-2 behind netminder Marty Turco. Marty put on a clinic in turning aside 36 of 38 shots launched by the 'hawks for a .947 SvPct. While the game was tied 1-1 after the 2nd, the Wings blew it open in the 3rd with 3 goals enroute to the 4-2 win. Scoring for the Wings were Kronwall (1) in the 2nd and Kovalchuk (6), Yzerman (1) SHG and Arnott (3) in the 3rd. Arnott's was an empty netter to seal the victory.
Hrdina (4) scored in the 2nd and the surprising Giuliano (1) in the 3rd. Huet also played well in net stopping 37 of 40 shots. Both goaltenders kept the game close.
Gm2 at Joe Louis saw the 'hawks jump out to an early lead when Roenick (9) scored in the 1st at 15:36. The 2nd opened with a bang for the 'hawks when the sizzling Roenick (10) added another at the 01:43 mark with the man advantage. That was to be it for the scoring in the 2nd as it ended with the 'hawks up by a surprising 2-0. At this point each team had 20sog with the difference being Huet's stopping all 20 of the Wings.
The 3rd opened with the Wings bombarding Huet with shot after shot. At 04:40 they finally broke through when Arnott (4) found the back of the net. About 8 minutes later Smyth (3), via one of his classic deflections in front of the net, lit the lamp to tie the score. The 3rd ended with the game knotted 2-2 and it was on to OT!
The Wings had launched an astounding 18 shots on Huet in the 3rd while the 'hawks had only managed a measley 3. Huet had been totally deserted by the 'hawks defense and was the only reason the score was tied 2-2 at the end of regulation. Early in OT, with Hill off for a 5 minute major for an altercation he had with Hejduk of the Wings at the end of the 3rd period, Bobby Holik came back to haunt his former 'mates when he put a wrister by Turco to win the game shorthanded at 02:18 of OT!!!
The 'hawks had taken the all important Gm2 and a split with the Wings at Joe Louis Arena!
GM3 opened at the United Center in Chicago with the fans buzzing. They were excited with the series being tied 1-1 and now thought their beloved Blackhawks had a shot against the jaggernaut Red Wings. Chelios (3) opened the scoring for the Wings at 10:06 of the 1st. Aboot 5 minutes later Bobby Holik answered on the power play to tie the score assisted by Jagr and Shanny. Then, a little under 3 minutes later, STEVE Kariya (1) scored on a tremendous booming slapshot that went by Turco like a rocket! Stevie (right pic) was not to be denied! Assisting him in his moment of playoff glory were Reinprecht and Tucker. I guess Stevie figured if Giuliano could light the lamp in the playoffs, that he could too! The 1st ended with the 'hawks up 2-1.
The Wings again turned on the afterburners in peppering Huet with shots. Midway through the 2nd Smyth (4) netted another playoff goal to tie the score.
The 3rd opened with the Wings again having the upper hand and controlling flow of the game. At 10:16 Kronwall went off for hooking and the 'hawks saw daylight. At 12:03 Shanny (7) tipped a point shot past a sprawled Turco and the 'hawks had taken a 3-2 lead on their second power play tally of the game!
The Wings continued to pepper Huet with shot after shot but it was to no avail as Huet stood tall in net.
The horn sounded and the 'hawks had taken the game 3-2 and a 2 games to 1 lead in the series!!
Huet was easily the 1st start of the game in stopping 36 of 38 shots and ALL 14 he faced in the 3rd period!
Up next is Gm4 at the United Center.

Hawks Take Quarters!

(AP) United Center, Chicago, IL

The Blackhawks take Gm6 back at home 5-2 and advance to the Semis! Scoring for the 'hawks were Roenick (8) and Jagr (2) in the 1st, Foote (1) and Holik (2) in the 2nd and Parrish with an empty netter in the 3rd.
For this game Jagr had been dropped to the 2nd line with Hrdina and Roenick with it paying off when Jaromir finally got his 2nd goal of the quarters. Tucker was promoted to the 1st line RW and played well in a supporting role but didn't get on the scoresheet.
The MVP of the Quarters for the 'hawks has to be Jeremy Roenick, who had 8g, 5a for13pts in the 6 games with 22 sog for a 36.4 Scr% with 1 ppg and 1gw. He was also a +10 for the series. Quite a performance for the 'ol warhorse who has silenced the naysayers since last season who said he was washed up when he arrived in the Windy City.
The 'hawks outshot the Ducks 38-36 during the contest in besting goalie Ty Conklin for the third time in the series. Huet played well between the pipes for the 'hawks in allowing just 2 goals. One in the 1st by Sundstrom (1) and the second in the 2nd by Jason Allison (4). All the goals came in even strength situations.
Windy City Ramblings
The Blackhawks will now wait for the completion of the other series in both Conferences and will be facing Central Divison Champion and rival Detroit Red Wings in the Semis. The Wings dispatched the Dallas Stars in 6 game also in their Quarter Final Series.
The Semis for the 'hawks will, of course, open in the Motor City at Joe Louis Arena.

Shanny Notches Hat Trick in Gm5 Loss

(AP) Anaheim, CA

As the headline says, Shanny lit the lamp 3 times and the 'hawks lose Gm5 in Anaheim. While it was a great performance for him, the Ducks answered with TWO hat tricks of their own! Scoring the tricks for the Ducks were team leader Vinny Lecavalier, no surprise there, but the other was rung up by Nemchinov of all people.
Nemchinov saw a lot more ice time than usual, 28 minutes to lead ALL forwards ice time on both clubs, but unfortunately it was at the expense of one of the Ducks major cogs. That cog being perennial all-star centre Mats Sundin.
It appears he may be lost for at least the remainder of the 1st round, however far it goes. At press time the actual nature of the injury has not been released by the Ducks, with a spokesperson for the team only saying that it was a bad injury and that it's doubtful Mats can play for a few games at the least.
The ramifications of this injury could be major for the Ducks, however they did just fine without him for 57 minutes of Gm5 in routing the Blackhawks 8-5. The score makes the game look much closer than it actually was.
The Ducks outshot the 'hawks 49-32 and had leads of 4-1 and then 8-3 at the 14:15 mark of the 2nd periood.
Shanny scored two goals (6) in the 3rd period to make it a respectable 8-5. Ozo (2) and Roenick (7) scored the other two markers for the 'hawks. Huet had a bad game but was due for one while Conklin was good enough in the win for the Ducks. Jagr has been notoriously quiet in the series having notched only 1 goal along with 3 helpers.
Windy City Ramblings
It's back to United for Gm6. Hopefully the 'hawks have Nemchinov's and Lecavalier's number for Gm6. Whether the 'hawks lines are juggled to accomodate the different look of the Ducks without Sundin will be decided around game time tomorrow night. Some things are being considered. Especially with Jagr's lack of production on the top line.

Hawks Hold the Edge

(AP) Chicago, Illinois

The last report left us with the Ducks coming to Chicago and the United Center for game 3. As predicted the Ducks came out firing on all cylinders and it was a barnburner of a contest! Shanny and the Blackhawks opened the scoring in the last minute of the 1st on the power play. This proved to be the 'hawks only pp tally of the game. The pp had been the strength of the 'hawks during the regular season but not in the playoffs so far. At the end of the 1st it was 1-0 good guys.
From the 2nd period on the game turned into a see-saw contest with the lead changing hands 5 times!
In the 2nd Schneider, Gagne (pp) and Lecavalier (pp) struck for the Ducks with Roenick netting one for the 'hawks. As the 2nd came to an end it was 3-2 Ducks.
Early in the 3rd Roenick bagged his 2nd goal of the game and 4th of the playoffs to tie the score again. About 5 minutes later Allison answered for the Ducks to put them up once more. Roenick, flying all over the ice was not be outdone and completed his hat trick (pic-->) just 33 seconds later to give the 'hawks the lead. Then, in what was turning into the Allison-Roenick show, Allison struck again about three and a half minutes later to give the Ducks the lead!
In a startling turn of events the 'hawks starting netminder (Huet) tweaked his groin at the 19 minute mark of the 3rd. This hushed the rowdy fans in the United Center. Halak was inserted and given as much time as necessary to stretch and warmup. The whistle blew and 11 seconds later Ozo scored on a rush with Roenick and Shanny to tie the game with 49 ticks of the clock to go!!
OT was looming when suddenly Vinny Lecavalier stole the puck, raced in on a breakaway and lit the lamp on the only shot Halak faced!! The Ducks had taken the lead with 6 seconds to go! Halak slammed his stick across the crossbar in disgust. The game ended with the Ducks getting the much needed 6-5 win and handing Halak the loss.

The opening of Game4 at the United saw the 'hawks regular season leading scorer (Holik) unable to take to the ice. He had sustained a mild knee strain and it was decided not to let him play even though he had suited up. Kohn was called down from the pressbox to get a playoff start and lines were shuffled. Boy were they shuffled! The good news was that Huet was able to take his customary starting position between the pipes.
Game 4 was another close game with the line shuffling resulting in the 2nd line of Reinprecht-Roenick-Tucker being the story of this game. The trio combined for 3 goals and 4 assists with Roenick registering one goal and two assists while gritty Darcy Tucker lit the lamp twice! The 3 goals proved key in the 'hawks 5-3 win over Conklin and the Ducks. Cristobal Huet turned in another fine performance between the pipes for the 'hawks in stopping 40 of 43 shots. To date he is 3-0 in the playoffs with a 2.76 gaa and .926 SvPct.
Windy City Ramblings
Game 5 back in LA will see the return of Holik who has been cleared for play by the medical staff. He will most likely return to his #1 pivot position with Hrdina taking up his customary #2 pivot position.
Ducks' blueliner Bannister was hit hard into the boards by Tucker during the 1st period of Gm4 and did not return to the lineup. At press time it has been reported that he will most likely miss Gm5 in LA.
The Blackhawks hope to close out the series in LA. We're sure the Ducks will have something to say about that in front of their hometown fans!

Hawks in Playoffs!

(AP) Chicago, Illinois

The Blackhawks reached the playoffs again this season (GLHL14).

For the stretch run at the end of the season the 'hawks traded away defensive forward Ryan Johnson, who was a member of the 'hawks GLHL11 Cup winning team, and blueliner Ladislav Smid to the Atlanta Thrashers for centreman Steve Reinprecht and gritty winger Darcy Tucker. The move paid immediate dividends when upon their arrival in the Windy City and being utilized as linemates on the 'hawks checking line, the team went on a 10 game win streak which put them solidly in the playoffs.

The 'hawks finished the season as the #6 seed in the Western Conference and opened the playoffs in sunny California versus the #3 seed Anaheim Ducks.
To date, the 'hawks have taken a commanding 2-0 lead in the series taking both opening games at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim. Needless to say the catcalls of the Ducks' fans could be heard long after game 2 echoing through the cavernous arena.
Game 1 saw the 'hawks win handily. The 'hawks netted 3 in the first period and never looked back in posting a total of 6 goals in the game to the Ducks' 1.
Scoring for the 'hawks were Leopold, Jagr and Holik in the 1st, Hrdina twice in the 2nd and Shanny in the 3rd. Tough guy Peter Worrell scored the loan Ducks' goal on the PP in the 2nd.
Ducks' netminder Raycroft let in 6 while facing 30 shots. For the 'hawks, Huet faced 21 sog while stopping 20.
<----- Cristobal Huet stands on head!
Game 2 was a much closer battle as the 'hawks came out blazing in the 1st period again in netting 3 goals!
Roenick struck twice with Shanny netting one. Guerin buried one for the Ducks as the 1st closed out with the score 3-1 for the good guys. Unfortunately, that would be all the lamplighting the 'hawks would do that night as Conklin, playing in place of Raycroft, stoned 'em the rest of the way. Well, not to be outdone was Cristobal Huet for the 'hawks, who put on a clinic in stopping 42 of 44 shots in the game. Talk about standing on his head! After Guerin's tally in the 1st, he allowed a marker by Gagne early in the 2nd and that was it the rest of the way. Huet stopped all 22 shots the Ducks launched at him in the 3rd period alone in leading the 'hawks to victory!

Windy City Ramblings
Now it's back to Chicago and the United Center where the fans are hoping to see a win in Game 3. Visions of Season 11 are dancing in their heads. But let's not get ahead of ourselves folks. We're talking the 3rd seed in the Western Conference in the Anaheim Ducks. GM & Coach Paul Jubinville's rant after the game in the Ducks' lockeroom could be heard all the way out in the parking lot. To be sure, the Ducks' will come out gunning in game 3 back at United.
The 'hawks and Ducks report no injuries for Game 3.
Coach Poelker of the 'hawks said there would be no lineup or line changes for Gm3. Why mess with success?
There have been no statements forthcoming from Mr. Jubinville.