Morning Chirps: Big win for the IceHogs, Team USA improves to 2-0

There is always room for hockey at your Super Bowl spread! Before you get wrapped up in the “Big Game” today, get caught up on all the news from around the world of hockey, including a big win in the AHL and another injury replacement needed at the Olympics.

Blackhawks Chirps

1. We had a busy day at Blackhawk Up yesterday. First, I gave out my Olympic Break Awards: the Hart, Norris, Calder, and Vezina Trophies up to this point of the season.

• Nestor Quixtan weighed in on Connor Bedard getting overlooked again by Team Canada, as Seth Jarvis was selected to replace Brayden Point.

• Our newest contributor, Casey McAleer, took a look back at Frank Nazar’s frustrating season, which was just looking like it was getting back on track before the Olympic break.

• The Rockford IceHogs picked up a huge 3-1 win over the Milwaukee Admirals last night, moving to within four points of them for the fifth and final playoff spot in the Central Division. It was a big night for the Blackhawks’ prospects. Gavin Hayes scored the first goal, with Aidan Thompson picking up the secondary assist. Martin Misiak recorded the secondary assists on Kevin Lombardi’s game-winning goal. The insurance goal was one that we want to see in Chicago for years to come, with Kevin Korchinski and Sam Rinzel setting up Nick Lardis. Drew Commesso stopped 28 of 29 shots to earn the victory. In typical fashion between these two teams, there were a combined 136 penalty minutes dished out.

• On this date in 1942, Bill Mosienko made his NHL debut. He made quite the first impression by scoring two goals in 21 seconds during a 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers.

• In 1981, Tom Lysiak scored his 200th career goal while adding four assists in the Blackhawks’ 9-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets.

• In 1990, Dirk Graham scored the only hat trick of his career and added an assist for his 300th NHL point, as the Blackhawks beat the Detroit Red Wings 8-6.

• Two years later, Steve Larmer tied Craig Ramsay’s NHL record for most consecutive games played with one team by appearing in his 776th straight game. He celebrated his milestone with a 3-1 win with the St. Louis Blues.

NHL & Olympic Chirps

• The Los Angeles Kings have a crowded roster after acquiring Artemi Panarin on Wednesday. General manager Ken Holland told TNT Sports that Warren Foegele is a player whom they will “work the phones” around. He could be a nice addition to the bottom six of a playoff contender.

• Boston Bruins forward Pavel Zacha will not travel to Milan, Italy, to play for Czechia at the Winter Olympics due to a lower-body injury. He’s being replaced by Filip Chlapik, who played 57 games with the Ottawa Senators over four seasons before returning to Czechia in 2021.

• The St. Louis Blues claimed forward Jack Finley off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Because of the roster freeze, he can’t officially join his new team until Feb. 17. The St. Louis native was a second-round pick in 2020 and has two goals and three points in 23 career NHL games.

• Team USA improved to 2-0 in the women’s tournament by beating Finland 5-0. Hilary Knight scored her 14th Olympic goal, tying Katie King and Natalie Darwitz for the most in U.S. history. Evergreen Park native Abbey Murphy had a goal and an assist in the win. Team USA will play Switzerland on Monday, which lost 4-0 to Canada yesterday.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Feb. 8: Alec Connell, Larry Aurie, Gary Sargent, Dino Ciccarelli, Kirk Muller, Yvon Corriveau, Andre Roy, Sean Bergenheim, Brendan Smith, Thomas Hickey, Patrik Nemeth, Rocco Grimaldi, and Robert Hagg.