Archive for November, 2009

Hopefully the United Center cleaning crew got all that elephant shit picked up, because hockey is on its way back to the UC — a lot of hockey. The Blackhawks finished the annual circus trip 4-1-1 and earned nine of 12 possible points. It seemed a lot worse after ending the trip with 3-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks and falling in a pissing contest to the Los Angeles Kings. But the drubbing of San Jose and the sweep through Canada can’t be ignored by any means. The ‘Hawks come into December 16-6-3 overall and their 35 points are tied [...]

Jump to current play If you look/feel anything like Homer here, you’re not alone. I’ve ate and drank so much since Wednesday night that today’s activity has been working on my ass groove in the couch. I’m pretty much doing this live blog to keep myself awake during the game. And if you’re about to toss in a comment like McClure from Second City Hockey who called me a slang term for female genitalia, you can eat shit, too. Nevertheless, the Blackhawks are playing their third game in four nights and the second of a back-to-back tonight against the Los [...]

The signing was unexpected, the contract and subsequent shoulder surgery were scrutinized and the anticipation has been agonizing. Finally, Marian Hossa will take the ice wearing an Indian head sweater. The NHL-leading San Jose Sharks aren’t exactly going to be the Welcome Wagon, and they’ll be out for revenge after the Blackhawks come-from-behind, overtime victory Nov. 15 at the United Center. Hossa’s return coinciding with the matchup of the Western Conference’s top two teams makes for a great storyline — and Coach Q added in another twist of his own yesterday. Hossa will skate with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, [...]

“I think all systems are go,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “(Hossa) hasn’t played in a long time and hopefully he can just help us. We felt there was an upgrade in our practices when he joined us. He can make plays. We like the way he competes and … on both sides of the puck he does a lot of good things.” This is why I sure as hell don’t care — right now, anyway. I’m not going to get caught up in which line he’ll play on, how he’s going to affect the team’s chemistry on the ice [...]

After the Blackhawks scored 12 goals in the last two games, they could only give poor Antti Niemi a single tally tonight. Niemi didn’t seem to mind. Playing his first game in over a month, Niemi stopped all 30 shots he faced and led the 1-0 shutout of the Vancouver Canucks with his stellar play in net. He stopped numerous shots from in close and made a beautiful kick save on a breakaway. It was the kid’s night. All Niemi needed was a Bryan Bickell goal at 1:12 in the third period on a play set up by Patrick Kane’s [...]