Head Coach Joel Quinneville
Wins Just Keep on Rolling in for Blackhawks & Head Coach Quinneville
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 | Chicago Blackhawks, NHL, Sports | No Comments
The Chicago Blackhawks were thrilled to be back at home after a grueling 6-game west coast “Circus” road trip. Blackhawks fans were also thrilled as they were treated to an 11-round shootout – the longest shootout in Blackhawks’ history. Marian Hossa made his United Center debut (he had played in the Blackhawks’ final 3 games on the road) and scored in the 2nd round of the shootout to keep the Hawks alive. Cristobal Huet made 10 of 11 saves in the shootout round, and Brent Seabrook’s goal in the 11th round gave the Blackhawks the win. The Blackhawks have now won 8 straight games at home at the UC.
The win was also the 500th of Head Coach Joel Quinneville’s career. Quineville was “thrilled” with the achievement: “I’ve been in a lot of great places. I’ve been fortunate, worked with good teams and great players.”
The Blackhawks had a successful “Circus” road trip winning the 1st 4 games of the trip against the Flames in Calgary, the Oilers in Edmonton, the Canucks in Vancouver and then the Sharks in San Jose (the NHL’s best team). Although the Hawks dropped the final 2 games – 3-0 to the Ducks in Anaheim and 2-1 to the Kings in Los Angeles in a shootout – you can’t complain when you have a winning record on the road.
The Blackhawks are 17-6-3 with 37 points. They are tied with the Flames for the 2nd most points in the Western Conference. Only the Sharks (42 points) and Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins (38 points each) have more points in the NHL.
It has been a fantastic start for the Hawks thus far and with the addition of Hossa back on the ice, look for the Hawks to continue to gel over the next few weeks. 9 of their next 14 games during the month of December are at home in Chicago, so look for the Hawks to try to put a little distance between them and the rest of the good teams in the Central Division…
Blackhawks Lead Central Division; Gearing up for Circus Road Trip
Thursday, November 19th, 2009 | Chicago Blackhawks, NHL, Sports | No Comments
The Chicago Blackhawks are in a great position to start the 2009-2010 NHL schedule. So far so good for the up-and-coming beast of the West. With 26 points (12-5-2), the Blackhawks lead the Central Division of the Western Conference. The Blackhawks like the way they have started, but also know that they have a tough task at hand in the very difficult Western Conference. All but 3 teams in the conference already have at least 21 points – that means night in and night out, the Blackhawks will have to play at the highest level if they want to reach the Conference Finals for a 2nd consecutive year.
Patrick Kane has put his off-the-ice issues behind him (he was arrested over the summer in Buffalo for an altercation with a cab driver) and leads the teams in scoring with 7 goals and 12 assists. Patrick Sharp is 2nd on the team with 16 points (6 goals and 10 assists), while Duncan Keith is 3rd with 15 points (5 goals and 10 assists). Jonathan Toews has played at a high level as well – 2 goals and 7 assists – but needs to play a little more consistently as the season progresses. Kris Versteeg (4 goals and 8 assists), Troy Brouwer (5 goals and 4 assists) Brian Campbell (1 goal and 8 assists) and Brent Seabrook (team leader with a +/- of 9 with 2 goals and 7 assists), have all been key contributors for the Blackhawks early success this season.
Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi have shared the goal-tending duties for the Blackhawks in 2009. Huet has started 15 games, going 9-4-1 with a 2.25 goals against average. Huet has saved 90.2% of the shots on goal while he has been in the net. Huet overcame a rough start to the season losing 3 of his 1st 6 starts – he allowed at least 3 goals in 5 of those starts. He is on a hot streak – winning 5 of his last 6 starts – and he looks to keep it going on the upcoming trip.
Niemi has played in 5 games this season, going 3-1-1. He has a 2.22 goals against average and has saved 90% of the shots taken against him.
The Blackhawks expect to get their big free agent acquisition – Marian Hossa – back on the ice at some point during the upcoming Circus road trip. That should help the Blackhawks continue their strong play even away from the friendly confines of the United Center.
The “Circus Road Trip” (the United Center is being used for the annual Circus tour for the next 2 weeks) won’t be easy. With games at the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings over the next 10 days, the Blackhawks will have their work cut out for them. The Sharks, Kings and Flames each have at least the same number of points as the Blackhawks and the Ducks are the only team on the trip with a losing record. If the Blackhawks can somehow manage to win half of their games on the trip, Coach Quinneville and his staff should consider that a huge success.
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