Children of Boredom

Ten Lesser Known Blackhawks of the 80s & 90s

Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr, this is what the the Blackhawks blogsphere has been relegated to. Writing about barely significant Blackhawks of my childhood. Thanks, Fucktards.

AnyWHO, Considering I am almost a generation older than most of the current Blackhawks fans, I've seen some things. Excluding the early 90's and 2010, most of those things regarding the Blackhawks have been downright awful. So much so, that sometime around 2001, I stopped giving a fat rat's ass about the organization altogether. Some of that had to do with one person in particular, William W. Wirtz, and the rest had to do with the fact that they were just a complete joke of a franchise. I didn't have the time to devote to a franchise that didn't even respect for itself. They KNEW that Wirtz had run them into the ground, and could do nothing about it.

But I digress; I'm not here to go into a homicidal rage about Dollar Bill's rotting, worm infested, pickled carcass.

This is a fun little exercise to jog some of your minds, and introduce others to some of my personal favorites from the 80s and 90s.



Bob Sauve
This one is a given. I wrote about it on Second City Hockey, and reposted it here. Just click the link to see the story, because I hate repeating myself; unless it is about how right I am.
My First Blackhawks Hero - Bob Sauve

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Rick Vaive
Sam Fels of The Committed Indian wrote a great piece on Vaive, back when they were still Second City Hockey, and I too was a big fan. He reminded me of RoboCop because of the amount of equipment he wore. He was a big body, with some silky mitts, that would park himself in front of the net and take massive amounts of abuse. He came with three 50 goal seasons already under his belt in Toronto.

When I say big body, I don't mean by today's standards. Six foot and 180 lbs isn't big at all, in today's NHL, but in 1987 that was large. He only played a season and a half for the Hawks, but he netted 61 goals in 111 games, including 49 total goals in his only full season with the organization.

He came to the Hawks, with Steve Thomas (featured later in this piece) and cementhead extraordinaire Bob McGill, in a trade for Al Secord and Eddie Olczyk. Some pretty notable names of the time.

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Rob Brown
We now turn our attention to one of the most recent infamous Blackhawks, Rob Brown. Most of you have probably ready the Blog of Sean McIndoe, better known as DownGoesBrown on twitter. Well, that moniker refers specifically to an incident that happened to Brown while playing for the Hawks. Take a gander for yourself:



And here Brown himself discusses the fight.


Shenanigans aside, I was a closet Brown fan. First of all, who doesn't love a player wearing the number 44 (I know he briefly wore 22, also)? Second, He came to Chicago with a great deal of scoring potential. Brown was also one of the few players to play for both the Blackhawks and Wolves. Brownie was one of those players that would put up Gretzky like cartoonish numbers in the minors, but never really consistently reached those levels in the NHL. If you look at his stats, these point totals smack you in the face: 259, 212, 173, 155, 143, 117, 115, 115, and 107. The problem was that, save for the 115 points in Pittsburgh in 88-89, all of those seasons were in the minors. He still had himself a nice NHL career with 438 points, but one could argue that his true potential was never fully realized. He only managed to play 40 games in a Blackhawks uniform, but as you witnessed above, he made them count.

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Gary Nylund
Nylund is probably more famous for his signing as a restricted free agent with the Hawks or for being a less than stellar third overall pick (Hello Cam Barker!), but number 22 had a run with the Hawks organization for 2 1/2 seasons in the late 80's. Another cementhead defenseman, Nylund was generally better with his gloves off and hams up. His best NHL season was, in fact, with the Hawks as he racked up 27 points in the 86-87 season.

As compensation for signing with the Hawks, Toronto received Jerome Dupont, Ken Yaremchuk and a fourth-round pick in '87 (Joe Sacco). Originally, they had asked for Eddie Olczyk, whom they eventually acquired in the Rick Vaive trade.

Here is a video of of Nylund eating Bob Probert's fist, with cameos from the previously mentioned Bob Sauve and everybody's favorite color man, Eddie Olczyk.

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Stu Grimson
One of the more infamous names of Blackhawks lore, his name fit the role he played. He was John Scott before there was John Scott.

I have to take that back and apologize to Stu Grimson, because nobody could possibly be that fucking terrible. Please, don't punch my face, Stu.

At 6'6" and 240 lbs, he was considerably bigger than a majority of the players of the day, and used that size to his advantage. He made a living doing one thing, pounding faces, and he did that very well. The chants of "Stuuuuuu!" still rattle around in my head from time to time. There really isn't much more I can say, that these videos don't already showcase, so enjoy:

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Keith Carney
Keith Carney is one of the less clownish players on my list. He had himself a nice career as a second tier NHL defenseman. Nothing Carney did was all-star worthy, but what led him to play over 1000 NHL games was that he was consistently consistant. Regularly a "plus"player, he was a top notch shut down defender with very good skating skills. After his time with the Hawks, he played in the '98 Olympic games. I would compare him to a less physical Brent Seabrook. With Chelios and Suter logging the top minutes, Carney was an excellent compliment to that first line duo. He played five seasons with the Hawks and was traded to Phoenix for slugs Chad Kilger and Jayson More. Brilliant move.

More recently Carney has been back with the Hawks organization as a skating instructor and player development coach. Judging by his appearance at the Hawks prospect camp he looks like he could step back out on the ice and contribute, today.

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James BlackJames Black had the unfortunate luck of coming to the Hawks at the beginning of the lean years, after Roenick and Belfour were cast off. He was first brought up in the 95/96 season after an impressive 80 plus point season in Indianapolis and was traded to Washington for a draft pick after only 47 points in parts of 3 seasons in Chicago. Black was probably best known for his booming slapshot, his husky build, and his long bushy hair which made me take notice. As with thousands of players, his game never really translated to the NHL ice. After a couple of seasons with Washington, he retired.

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Steve ThomasSteve Thomas was probably my second favorite Blackhawks player at the time. He came over with Vaive, from Toronto and played parts of 5 injury plagued seasons on West Madison. The 40 goals he scored in 89/90 made for the second best goal output of his career. Another winger with a booming slapshot, obviously his game was better suited for the NHL. When he was traded to the Islanders, the return was Brent Sutter, who was instrumental as a shutdown center for the 1991 cup run.

Thomas appeared with then Leafs prospect Peter Zezel in the movie Youngblood as Hamilton Mustangs teammates.

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Reto Von Arx
This one is sort of a throw away that I added to the list because of his bad ass name. Von Arx is currently playing in Switzerland along with his brother Jan, after only 19 games and 3 NHL points, all with the Blackhawks. Too bad his talent didn't match up with the hype.

Von Arx never scored more than 21 goals at any level, so it looks as though he was a throw away 9th round pick. Then again, aren't most 9th round picks?

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Ray LeBlancLast, but not least, is America's last amateur Olympic goaltending hero, Ray Leblanc. Leblanc backstopped the last successful truly amateur US Olympic team to a 4-0-1 prelim record in 1992, before losing to the Soviet Unified team in the semis and the Czech team in the bronze medal game. All the hype surrounding Leblanc's effort and the impending expansion draft led the Blackhawks to a very peculiar position. They had to expose one goaltender to the draft, and didn't want to expose Ed Belfour, Dominik Hasek or Jimmy Waite. They activated Leblanc for his only NHL appearance against the San Jose Sharks, where he gained a 5-1, thus making him eligible for the draft. He wasn't selected.

Nonetheless, LeBlanc appeared in all eight Olympic games for the United States, compiling a record of 5–2–1 with two shutouts, gaining brief fame, and later playing for the upstart Chicago Wolves.

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HockeeNight meets Puckin Hostile Puckcast

The Cheat Sheet for the Puckcast
Last night the fine gentlemen at HockeeNight.com asked to be a guest on their weekly puckcast. Since I'm an avid listener of their program, I had to oblige. Thanks to this glorious lockout, we didn't have a great deal of hockey to talk about. Luckily, being the talkers we are, we filled the time admirably.

I would like to graciously thank Forklift and CT for inviting me, and I hope I can join them again sometime, when there is actual Blackhawks hockey to discuss.

Until then, there are a few handy links and tools for you:

Click here to go to the post on the HockeeNight.com website


Here is the direct link to the player with the episode:

Click here for the direct MP3 download link

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Rockford IceHogs at Chicago Wolves - Win Recap

"Can I Play with Madness"
Every time I write one of these Ice Hogs recaps, I think to myself, "Self? I hope I'm far too busy writing Blackhawks recaps the next time a Hogs/Wolves game rolls around to be able to partake". Of course each time, I've been wrong. I have got nothing against the AHL, the Rockford Ice Hogs, or the Chicago Wolves (well, unless you factor in that they are the baby Canucks), but recapping games that feature sand bagging baby Blackhawks in small arenas, in STANDARD DEFINITION are not what I signed up for. I'm a snob and I make no bones about it. I want NHL hockey in High Definition. That is just how I roll, ladies and gents. Of course I'm interested in what happens in Rockford with the prospects, but Chris Block does a much beter job than I, at covering the Hogs. Thanks to the colossal failure that all NHL fans are in the middle of, I'm stuck keeping myself busy by recapping late November minor league hockey. Look at me go!

The Ice Hogs didn't start out so hot, to say the least. They gave up a terrible goal just over a minute into the game, which put them in a rough situation. They seemed to bounce back fairly well, and went into the intermission down only one. That is about the best they could have hoped for, especially outshooting the home team 15-11. The Wolves rebounded in the second, outshooting the Hogs 18-10, but the teams tied the period with a goal each way and the Wolves had a chance to bury them, but the fortunes turned. The third period was all Hogs, with some help from flurry of stupid Wolves penalties. Rockford pulled off a comeback and left with a huge win.

The Good

• After a rough first two minutes, the Hogs ended up peppering Matt Climie with 15 first period shots. At least the boneheaded play didn't get them down.
• The Hogs cut the Wolves lead on a late second period 3-on-2. Brandon Saad hit the third man in, St. Pierre, who was left with a gaping net and didn't miss.
• Jeremy Morin and the Hogs took advantage of a powerplay and some lively board, to tie the game up five minutes into the third period. A wide shot by Clendening ricocheted right back out in front of the net. Saad fought to get possession and blindly shoveled it in front to an open Morin, who chipped it past Climie on the short side.
• Ben Smith redirected a Brett Lebda slapshot just a couple of minutes after the game tying goal, to give the Hogs their first lead of the game. A pretty simple play, as Smith was left wide open. I'm not sure I agree with the Wolves approach on that defensive strategy, but the Hogs will take it.
• Shaw closed out the Wolves night by picking off a blue line pass attempt and getting the empty netter to give the Ice Hogs a 4-2 win. Looks like his time off due to suspension has paid off. He was a plus 1, with a goal, 2 PIMS, and a team leading 6 shots on net.
• Brandon Saad continued his improved play with 2 points, and a plus one on the night.

The Bad

• Jeremy Morin looks to be getting a little full of himself. He tried to stickhandle through about 3 Wolves defenders as his teammates went for a change. Of course, he turned it over at the Hogs blue line and it ended up a quality Wolves scoring chance. Just plain stupid.
• Andrew Shaw led a 3-on-1 just over halfway through the first period, which was turned into a 1-on-1 when Kevin Connauton cut off the passing lanes and the Hogs forwards felt it was best to hold hands and hug, rather than spread the ice. Shaw was left with only one choice; shoot. Climie nicely beat him with the glove.
• A late second period Paradis boarding penalty ended up leading to a Jordan Schroeder Wolves powerplay goal, when Shaw, Leblanc and Lalonde got happy pants and tried to run a shorthanded odd man break. The Wolves took advantage of a covering forward and Leblanc was caught out of position. Schroeder was left all alone on the back door and Hutton had no chance. It was scored just after the penalty expired, but it was virtually a powerplay goal.
• The Hogs blew a huge 5-on-3 powerplay at te end of the second and into the third period. I probably counted 4 shots the entire advantage, which is completely unacceptable. Baby Blackhawks they are.

The Ugly

• Not much more than a minute into the game and the Hogs are picking the puck out of their own net. Clendening and Saad treated the puck like a rotten egg, and it squirted off a board scrum and into the middle of the Hogs slot, where Zack Kassian was standing by himself. Stop me if you know how this one ends. 1-0 Wolves.
• It's pretty clear that Carter Hutton is pretty fucking bad at handling the puck. The first period was a Shanghai Shitfest, when it comes to the Hogs defensive puckhandling, Hutton included. His stickhandling prowess did't get any better as the game went on.
• Kyle Beach took the worst of a scuffle with Zack Kassian, when he voluntarily put himself into a headlock. Really, enough with the theatrics, gents.
• Sam Fels and Chris Block weren't lying when they brought up the parade of penalties that the Hogs take. They continuously shoot themselves in the foot with needless infractions. Believe it or not, as bad as the Hogs were, the Wolves were even worse.

Here are the lines for the IceHogs, last night:

Kyle Beach-Brandon Pirri-Andrew Shaw
Ben Smith-Jimmy Hayes-Leblanc
Jeremy Morin-Martin St.Pierre-Brandon Saad
Philippe Paradis-Rob Flick-Brandon Bollig
Klas Dahlbeck-Ryan Stanton
Adam Clendening-Nick Leddy
Brett Lebda-Shawn Lalonde
Here are the video highlights:

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Rockford IceHogs vs. Chicago Wolves - Loss Recap

"Makin Bacon"
On the same day the NHL announced the cancelation of the the Winter Classic, the Ice Hogs hosted the Chicago Wolves, which meant Chicago area fans were able to take advantage and see some of the baby Hawks play on TV. Good for us, but bad for the Hogs.

The Ice Hogs showed they truly are the baby Blackhawks, by starting off VERY slow. Evn though they outshot the Wolves 15-10, they were down 2-1 going into the first intermission after some very lackadaisical defense. The second period was just more of the same for the Hogs. Three goals on a total of 10 shots still left the Hogs down by 2 goals with 20 minutes to go in the game. There was no big third period comeback in their one. Even though they were able to put 11 shots on net, the Hogs were outscored 2-1 for a third straight period, and sent the Wolves away with a 6-3 win.

The Good

• I know there were issues with Bill Sweatt and the Hawks organization, but damn it would be nice to have him wearing a Hogs Jersey. The guy is SO fast that he looks like Stalberg. He turned Brett Lebda around like a top, late in the first.
• Just when you think Kyle Beach was a useless sack of skin and bones, he snaps off a laser of a wrist shot to tie the game at 1-1. Flick picked up the faceoff and chipped it over to Paradis. Paradis dropped it back to Beach, who was camping out high in the slot. Beach didn't exactly break and speed records getting the shot off, but he beat Lack to the stick side with an accurate shot. It's about time Beach did something constructive.
• The powerplay unit of Kruger, St. Pierre, Smith, Lavin and Pirri brought the Hogs back within two goals, late in the second period. Lucky Pierre and Smith worked a little game of catch until Kruger was able to create a little room for himself. St. Pierre hit Kruger for a one timer that was blocked by Smith, but the puck squirted out to Pirri. Pirri just turned and fired it into the net past Lack.
• Somehow the Hogs centers dominated in faceoffs. I say somehow because they have been so bad lately that Chris Block has reported that Kruger, and Pirri weren't even lining up for their own faceoffs.
• Kyle Beach snapped off another wrist shot that found it's way through Lack for his second goal of the night, with 4 minutes to go in the game. The goal brought the Hogs within 2 goals, but that's all they could muster up.

The Bad

• A Joe Lavin miscue a the Wolves blue line led to a couple of great Wolves chances and eventually the puck in the back of the Wolves net. Lavin tried to make a rush all by himself, had his chip pass blocked, and then dropped his stick. From then on out it was time for the Shanghai Scramble. Eventually, a pass was slickly slid under Lavin and to a streaking Andrew Gordon, who beat Hutton for a 1-0 Wolves lead.
• Lavin's bad first period didn't stop with the goal. He was repeatedly caught out of position and gave the Wolves scoring chances.
• Jeremy Morin really has some snarl to his game. He took quite a few exceptions to some chippiness, which will land him in te ox more than Quenneville would like
• The Hogs powerplay breakout looks exactly like the anemic Hawks powerplay. Four players skate to the blur line and drop it to the trailer, who then has to try and maneuver through 8 players. It doesn't take a scientist to put the brakes on that one.
• Beach's hug-a-thon with Kevin Connauton was a snorefest. Probably the easiest 5 minutes either of those guys ever earned.
• Two goals on 4 shots in the second frame was just unacceptable.
• The Hogs got caught about halfway through the third with a forward (Pirri) covering on defense, and the Wolves took full advantage. Chris Tanev was the lucky recipient of what turned out to be a 2-on-0, and Richard had no chance.
• Hawks for a second Andrew Ebbet was left completely uncovered with just over 2 minutes to go in the game, and he put the little piggies to bed.

The Ugly

• Brett Sterling raced up the middle of the ice on a late first period powerplay and through 4 Hogs players. When all was said and done the Hogs were all staring each other in the face with mouths agape. Sidney Crosby shouldn't walk through 4 players, much less Brett Fucking Sterling. Of course Joe Lavin was the last player to get his hands on Sterling before the puck went in the net. Brutal.
• The Wolves Jordan Schroeder and Tim Miller completely clowned the Hogs shorthanded unit, that was killing a Bollig delay of game penalty early in the second. Miller squirted past Clendening who completely whiffed on a half ass hit attempt, and then slid a pass through Olsens legs to a wide open Schroeder. Schroeder was able to snap of a shot and beat Hutton stick side for a 3-1 Wolves lead.
• Another stupid Brandon Bollig penalty led to a Wolves powerplay and eventually a Bill Sweatt powerplay goal. Peter Andersson was left wide open in the slot, and Jordan Schroeder hit him on the tape with a nice pass. Andersson's shot was stopped by Hutton, but Lavin couldn't tie up Sweatt, who just swept it in the net. That was the end of the nights action for poor Carter Hutton. In came the next sacrificial lamb, Alec Richard.
• The needless penalties are just mind numbing with this team.
• The Hogs goalies were not on their game for this tilt. Six goals on 25 shots won't get you a win in many leagues.

Here are the lines for the IceHogs, last night:

Ben Smith-Brandon Pirri-Jeremy Morin
Brandon Bollig-Marcus Kruger-Andrew Shaw
Peter Leblanc-Martin St.Pierre-Jimmy Hayes
Philippe Paradis-Rob Flick-Kyle Beach
Klas Dahlbeck-Ryan Stanton
Adam Clendening-Dylan Olsen
Brett Lebda-Joe Lavin
And yes, we even have some video highlights for you:

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News Flash - Fans DO Miss HockeyChamps for Charity a Huge Success

Last night some former and current Blackhawks played a charity game against some other NHLers for the Ronald McDonald house, at the All State Arena in Rosemont. Anyone showing up to this event thinking it was going to be anything other than a lighthearted schmoozefest, well, the joke is on them.

There were "missed" calls, all penalties were penalty shots, there was a mob style mugging of Dan Carcillo, and there was a goalie on goalie penalty shot. This was a CHARITY game with a bunch of highly paid, when they are actually playing, professional players. No one was going to risk serious injury for a charity game. The players yucked it up for the crowd and took a primary role as "entertainers", rather than "cattle", and the overall theme was laughs and tom foolery.

With an announced crown of just under 12,000 people, and over $323,000 raised, it's safe to say that people in Chicago miss their hockey, or at least their Blackhawks.

Blackhawks Star Patrick Kane did exactly what you would expect him to do, by scoring 5 goals and winning the MVP trophy, just in time to head over to Switzerland with mom.




Here is the recap of my live tweeting:

-Kaner comes out to cheers and a standing ovation
-Joe Corvo (Boston, but playing for his hometown Hawks) rocking the killer Mohawk
-Mike Brown (Toronto) is rocking an EPIC lockout beard.
-Wizzzer (Columbus) with an Atrocious turnover and the hawks team down 0-2
-Jared Boll (LA Kings) for a 3-0 World team . Ouchie
-Kaner give the Hawks team life. 3-1 world
-Tazer breakaway goal on a "missed" offsides for the hawks second goal.
-Ladd (Winnipeg) brings out the dagger for 3-3 tie
-Craig Adams (Pittsburgh) on the penalty shot for a 4-3 hawks lead
-Jordan Staal (Carolina) ties it back up at 4s
-Kaner puts the hawks back ahead with under a minute left in the 1st.
-Ladder (Winnipeg) scores again to incite the canoe celebration and the daggar again.
-Sharpie scores for a 7-4 hawks lead.
-Lockout beard (Mike Smith of Toronto) scores to cut the lead to 7-5.
-Anderson (Ottawa) turns puck over to leino (Buffalo) for a world goal.
-Goligoski (Dallas) ties the game up at 7-7.
-Burish (San Jose) does a ned braden striptease after putting the hawks up 8-7.
-Timonen (Philly) ties it up again After a huge Anderson save.
-Tazer with goal 9 for hawks.
-Correction sharpie with 9 followed by kaners hat trick goal.
-Corvo (Boston) on the delayed penalty. 11-8 hawks
-Bobby ryan (Anaheim) scores the 9th world goal.
-Staal (Carolina) with #10 for the world.
-World ties it up 11-11 By Brookbank (Hawks but playing for the World).
-Ladder (Winneipeg) hat trick puts the hawks back up 12-11.
-Penalty shot goal for Jake the Snake Dowell (Minnesota) for a 13-11 Hawks lead.
-Detroit sucks chants loooouuuuud and clear. (TRUTH!!!)
-Carbomb (Hawks but playing for the World) pulled onto Hawks bench to fight Ryan Dempster, Wizzer, and Burish
-Thornton (Boston) goal to bring the world back within 1. 13-12.
-Backstrom (Minny) scores on the first goalie on goalie penalty shot. 13-13. Sandstorm ensues
-Miettinen (Winnipeg) pits the world up 14-13.
-Wizzer turnover = carbomb goal. 15-13 world.
-Kaner goal brings the hawks back within 1. Gould throws the challenge flag and loses.
-Kaner ties it up with the goalie pulled and 1:42 left. Crowd on their feet.
-After watching Wizzer play this game Scott Howson just shot himself. Shootout time.
-Tazer hits crossbar.
-Bobby Ryan scores
-Shooter evens it up
-Staal stopped by anderson
-Kaner scores to put hawks up.
-Leino stopped by anderson
-Ladder Stopped
-Timonen beats anderson to tie it up
-Brouwser no goal.
-Carbomb Scores to win the game on the kaner stop n go
-Kaner wins MVP
-$323,500 raised for Champs For Charity

Some videos for you to enjoy:

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Several Cup Winning Blackhawks to Return for "Champs for Charity" Game

"We're Getting the Band Back Together!"
Former Blackhawks fan favorite Adam Burish headed up a news conference, yesterday, and announced the plans for a Champs for Charity game at the All State Arean on October 26th. Joining Burish on the ice for the game will be several former and current Blackhawks from the 2010 cup winning team. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster.com. The intention is for the game to raise hope to raise $250,000 for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana.

Joining Burish on the ice will be Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, Andrew Ladd, Ben Eager, Brian Campbell, Dave Bolland, Jake Dowell, James Wisniewski, John Madden, Troy Brouwer and Kris Versteeg. Other NHL players that are set to join the former champs are Bobby Ryan, Ryan Suter, Jack Johnson, Ville Leino, Mike Brown, Antti Miettinen, Jared Boll, Tom Gilbert, Alex Goligoski, Al Montoya, and Kimmo Timonen. Rumors are also being thrown around suggesting that Sidney Crosby will be on the ice, as well.

As far as tickets, there are 100 VIP tickets for $500 and include glass seats, an event jersey, and a pre-game meet-and-greet with the players from 6 to 6:45 p.m.. There are also $60, $30, $15 and $10 tickets available.

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Rockford IceHogs at Chicago Wolves - Loss Recap

"GOIN HOGGIN!"
Well, here we sit, on October 15th, and the only hockey we can manage to watch is the joke that is the KHL through some kind of ESPN pirate feed, or the AHL. Lets be honest, neither is the quality we are accustomed to, but it will have to do, given the circumstances. Mind you, the fans aren't even offered the AHL team most Hawks fans WANT to watch; unless the Wolves are facing the IceHogs. This madness is all we have, while the NHL and NHLPA continue to measure each others dongs and argue about the length and girth differences. It's getting old REALLY fast, assclowns.

We were given a morsel of Blackhawks hockey on Saturday, as the Wolves beat the Hogs 1-0 in a shootout, and Sunday was game 2 of the opening AHL weekend. No one expected a double shutout and a shootout on the opening night of the season for these two clubs, but that's what they got. The supposed firepower that the Blackhawks left the Hogs with was rumored to provide some serious goal scoring, but that was nowhere to be found against Eddie Lack and the Wolves Saturday night. We were all hoping for something a little more "scorish", for this contest. See? This recap thing is like riding a bike. Right back on for another ride.

The first period opened like a thoroughbred race, going end to end and back, but slowed into a fairly boring period, as the period went on. The Wolves outshot the Hogs, 8-6 for the opening frame, scoring on one of those 8 shots. The Hogs came out in the second period, and looked more focussed, but a shorthanded goal took the wind out of their sails REAL fast. For the remainder of the period, the Wolves had a wild Hog hair up their ass and ended up going into the second intermission up 2-0. The Hogs pulled a page out of the Hawks book, dominating in shots, but tied in goals 3-3 for the period. That was all the Wolves needed to send the Hogs packing and winless for the season. Final Score, 5-3 Wolves.


The Good

• Nothing against Jim Cornelison, but Wayne Mesmer will forever be my favorite anthem singer. Memories of the old Barn, and the '91 All-Star game.
• It was really nice to not have to watch 100 of those insufferably brutal Binny's commercials.
• Martin "Lucky" St.Pierre is a slick little player. This is the first I've seen of him, and he has some serious stick skills. From what I've heard, it's his off ice antics that kept him out of the NHL.
• Dream Warrior, Lucky Pierre, and Scorin Morin hooked up for the first Hogs goal of the season, on the powerplay, if you can believe that. Not really much to it, really. Kruger lugged it around the net and dumped it off to St.Pierre, who took a second and fired it to a wide open Morin across the crease. Morin just jammed it past Lack to breaks HIS shutout streak.
• Just a few minutes after the Morin goal, Marcus Kruger snapped a nice wrist shot past Lack on yet another powerplay.
• Morin scored the third Hogs goal of the game on a very simple play. He skated up the middle and snapped a wrist shot that looked to be slightly redirected by a Wolves defender.

The Bad

• Seeing people in Hawks color sweaters wearing the numbers 18, and 21 is really strange. Most people might not even notice it, but those numbers stuck out like a sore thumb to me.
• The Wolves finally broke Hutton's scoreless streak about halfway through the first, as the Hogs had major trouble getting the puck out of the zone, and Former Hawk for a second Andrew Ebbett scored on what looked like a deflection from outside the left circle.
• Couple of minutes into the second period, and the duo of Leddy and Stanton got caught up, and left the Wolves with a 3-on-1. Luckily, Patrick Mullin hit the post, with Stanton diving to try and poke the puck away. Some things never change, Leddy. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride for Leddy in his own end. Hawks fans have seen THAT a time or two.
• Brandon Saad had two GREAT chances in the middle of the second period and was robbed blind by Lack. The Canucks have to feel really good about their goaltending future with Corey Schneider and Lack in the system. Eddie Lack is a man among boys in the AHL.
• The Wolves took a two goal lead back just after a bad Dylan Olsen penalty, in the third period. Longpre took a pass in the low slot and snapped it by Hutton. St.Pierre got caught reaching for Longpre and Olsen was late getting back into the play following his penalty.
• Former Hawks draft pick Bill Sweatt put the final daggar in the Hogs, as he took a nice feed in the slot and snapped it past Hutton with about 3 minutes to go in regulation.

The Ugly

• Not a minute into the game, and Joe Lavin got his dick absolutely knocked into the dirt by Steve Pinizzotto. Head up, kiddo.
• Shawfacts was up to his usual shenanigans, spearing a Wolves player in the back of the knees after a whistle that negated an upcoming Hogs a powerplay, at the end of the first period. Quenneville would have sat his dumb ass for the next 3 weeks for that shit, minimum.
• Nathan Longpre took advantage of Jeremy Morin playing the point on the Rockford powerplay, and ended up one-on-one with Hutton. Longpre did just what a sniper should do when he's in all alone, shorthanded no less. What is the fascination with this organization and forwards playing the point on the powerplay? 2-0 Wolves.
• Just to prove that they are affiliated with the Hawks, the Hogs showed off their very own dogshit circus powerplay. They finally found their legs in the third period, but they ended up 2-13 for the weekend, with a shorthanded goal against. When you outshoot a team and have 7 powerplays, you should win.
• Brandon Pirri pulled some shenanigans of his own, late in the second, elbowing the Wolves Kevin Connauton in the dome. This could very well lead to a suspension for targeting the head. Way to show off your poise and maturity.
• Noted Canucks Dickbag Zack Kassian took exception to the Pirri elbow by throwing a flying shoulder to the head of Ryan Stanton. I guess the douchebaggery was being spread like a case of herpes on spring break, in Rosemont. Jimmy Hayes was kind enough to rush in and offer up his face as a fist magnet, while coming to Stanton's aid. Hayes earned himself a deuce of his very own for his troubles.
• The third goal of the game was as ugly as they come. Ben Youds turned the puck over on the near boards, and Brett Sterling picked the puck up and threw a simple shot towards the net. Easy play unless Dylan Olsen kicks it into his own cage, which he did. Hutton got NO help from his defense in this affair.

Here are the lines for the IceHogs, last night:

Brandon Saad-Marcus Kruger-Jimmy Hayes
Peter Leblanc-Martin St.Pierre-Jeremy Morin
Ben Smith-Brandon Pirri-Andrew Shaw
Brandon Bollig-Rob Flick-Kyle Beach
Nick Leddy-Ryan Stanton
Ben Youds-Dylan Olsen
Brett Lebda-Joe Lavin
And yes, we even have some video highlights for you:

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Blackhawks Sign Defenseman Michal Rozsíval

Hello everyone, I'm Gatekeeper, but you can just call me Gate. A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, I used to have content to provide for this here blog. I figured that it had been such a long time, that a formal introduction was needed. The words "LOCK OUT" have pretty much scared everyone away from doing anything hockey related, which leaves fans and bloggers to go into hibernation. Kind of like the hibernation that Dustin Byfuglien was apparently preparing for, when he attended Dave Bolland's wedding, in July. But, I digress; I'm still here and I'm looking forward to Hockey, whenever that may be.

On to better topics, the Blackhawks surprised the hell out of their fanbase Tuesday afternoon by announcing that they had signed 34 year old defenseman, and former Phoenix Coyote, Michal Rozsíval to a 1-year $2 million contract. Rozsíval is a 6'2", 210 pound second tier defender, that has been called soft a time or two. He had a couple of 30-40 point seasons with the Rangers, but those days are clearly behind him. He's probably going to play third pair somewhere, here in Chicago.

What does this mean? The big thing that sticks out is that the Blackhawks now have NINE defensemen with NHL experience, fighting for 6 spots. Seven spots if you count that nightly healthy scratch. For my money, this has to signal the end of Niklas Hjalmarsson's time here in Chicago. They would have a hard time carrying 8 defensemen, much less 9. Unless the brass are completely disappointed in Dylan Olsen's progress, they aren't sending him to Rockford. By all accounts, they are, in fact, very pleased with his progression, so someone has to go. I would put my bet on Hammer, especially if there is a salary rollback in the new CBA. Here is some Michal Rozsival for you:

Jimmy Hayes railroads Rozsival


Rozsival might be a little more famous for this hit this last year

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My First Blackhawks Hero: Bob Sauvé

This is an article I wrote for Second City Hockey, and figured I should post it here too.

In my nearly 40 years on this planet, more than 30 of them have been spent watching the Blackhawks and the NHL. That is a long time to be committed to anything, especially one that provides so much pain and heartache. Just ask anyone who has been married for that amount of time. Some would argue that I should be committed to an asylum, instead, but I digress. I found hockey, street hockey at the time, through neighborhood friends and fell in love instantly. For some unusual reason, at that period in my life, I was fascinated with any position that required the most equipment. I chose to volunteer to be a catcher, in baseball, even though I was far and away the fastest player on the team, and I had an obsession with goaltenders. My goaltender obsession clearly continues almost 3 decades later. That particular obsession is one that you might compare to a mental illness because it will never go away, and might very well require medication.

In addition to an unhealthy goalie obsession, I had that ever popular habit of pulling for the underdog; to a fault. It is hard to get your favorite player's jersey when he is playing for a different franchise every year. Some of my favorite players from my youth were Mike Vernon (then of the Calgary Flames), Don Baylor (of the Red Sox and a million other teams), Gerald Riggs (briefly of the Redskins), so on and so forth. It was cliché to follow the popular players, but I was never one to do something just simply because it was the popular trend. As a result, I was always tuned in to the little known Blackhawks backup goalies, no matter how insignificant they were. There were names like Warren Skorodenski with his great mask, Chris Clifford, Christian Soucy, Adam Munro, and even the Greatest American Hero, Ray Leblanc. I had an unhealthy knowledge of these players, most of which only played a handful of games.

Warren Skorodenski

These players, though, all came after my first Blackhawks hero, Robert F. Sauvé. I know, this revelation is really dating me. A majority of the Blackhawks, or even NHL, fanbase probably can't even recall the name, much less his very short Blackhawks career. First of all, he began his Blackhawks career as the backup behind Murray Bannerman, which caught my attention. Second, he wasn’t much to look at. Sauvé stood at a very generous listed height of 5’8", carried a robust playing weight of 175 lbs, and had a moustache that would make Tom Selleck jealous. He was the Blackhawks pre-Dirk Graham and pre-Michel Goulet equivalent of a Mario Bros long lost brother. Little did I know, at the time, that he was a former 1st round draft pick (1975), William Jennings (1985) and Vezina Trophy winner (1980). Maybe I just felt sorry for him because he had the dubious distinction of being traded away from the Buffalo Sabres TWICE to the Norris Division (Redwings in 1981 and later to the Hawks in 1985).

THE STACHE

Despite all the legendary names of the time period, those Blackhawks teams were absolutely terrible, playing in front of the ageless and clearly witless bizarro Jacques Lemaire of his time, Bob Pulford. While my brother and my friends were all following players like Denis Savard, Steve Larmer, Al Secord and Doug Wilson, I was paying close attention to the dynamic duo of Sauvé and his boy wonder Bannerman. Sauvé was brought in to provide some solid relief for Bannerman, but neither really stood a chance. Honestly, I can’t recall any specific plays that Sauvé made during his Blackhawks tenure, but I know I was quite possibly his one and only fan.

One might venture to call Sauvé the Ray Emery of his time, or call Emery the Sauvé of his time. I would have entertained calling him the "Marty Turco", but I can compare that debacle to nothing else. In theory, it was the same scenario, but the results were quite different. Sauvé actually outplayed Bannerman both seasons he spent at the Old Barn, but was left to sign elsewhere, aka New Jersey, when Pulford decided to scrap the entire goaltending crew after the 86-87 season. The Blackhawks then elected to go with Darren Pang and the" original Cristobal Huet, Bob Mason. How about that for a resume highlight? "Lost job to a Keebler Elf and the goaltending equivalent of John Druce". Ouchie; very very ouchie!

In a bit of an ironic side note, Bobby Moustachio devised a very diabolical way of paying back the team that unceremoniously jettison him many years previous, by representing the painful goaltending experiment known as Jocelyn Thibault as his player agent. Touche, Monsieur.


When the only good pose Todd Macfarlane can get out of you is drinking out of a water bottle after fishing the puck out of your own net...it's safe to say you've give Blackhawks fans nightmares.

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The Committed Indian / Second City Hockey

On Wednesday, the latest digital edition of The Committed Indian UnOfficial Blackhawks Program was released. As they have hinted to the rest of the intarwebs, the gents are breaking away from the Blog-o-sphere conglomerate that is SB Nation, and starting their own empire.

Back the truck up, and let me rephrase, because that is not entirely true. The gentlemen, and I use that term very loosely, are "moving" their existing empire over, to create the monster that will become TheCommittedIndian.com, mirroring The Committed Indian print and digital programs. This makes all sorts of sense. One name, one point of contact.

I have been a huge fan of the satirical musings if the triumvirate for quite a while. Specifically, since I read an article in the Sun Times about Sam and the Indian, sometime around '08. I'm also not afraid to admit that they are the biggest reason I started this insignificant little rag of my own.

I was always a huge fan of the old Blue Line program, because of its scathing criticism of the Blackhawks, the Wirtz family, and the nightly opponents. They even had the balls to peddle this genius rag on the doorstep of the Stadium/UC. Lack of funds and support, prior to the digital explosion, were the death of the old Blue Line. When I read that Sam was publishing a new and improved version, I was immediately on board. In the same fashion I specifically went to the store to support my favorite bands, even when the digital music apocalypse hit, I will not go to the UC without buying 2 copies, and I subscribe to the digital version. Call me old fashion but I believe in karma, and "paying it forward". I will voraciously support the people I respect and admire, and this is one of those cases.

Second City Hockey, and The Indian helped introduce me to places like The Third Man In, Hockee Night, and quite a few others that I follow

That being said, I'd like to provide you with some links and request some "assignments":

-The guys will be leaving Second City Hockey on September 14th to begin their new endeavor at www.TheCommittedIndian.com. Please, update and create your links and bookmarks.

-Secondly, as with any endeavor, there always needs to be some kind of start up capital. They are raising some funds to get the ball rolling, and if you can afford to do so, I strongly urge people to contribute. You can do so by following the following link:
http://gogetfunding.com/project/thecommittedindian.com
-Lastly, if you're a Facebooker, go to www.facebook.com/thecommittedindian and "like" the page.

None of this benefits me, in any way, other than providing me and the Blackhawks fanbase with great Blackhawks material for the foreseeable future. Thank you!

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