Hawks Hockey Hoiden

Thanks to Comcast’s re-runs (thank you Comcast!) and no thanks to Versus, which I still hate, I have been able to watch the Blackhawks crash and burn in games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.  Oh my gosh, I thought commentators were exaggerating when they were saying the refs in these last two games were missing calls left and right, or at least missing calls on the Flyers left and right.  Maybe they weren’t so much missing the calls as just not calling them.  That will happen when your zebras are bought off, and like the title of this post suggests, I bet it’s surprisingly cheap, all things considered, to buy off an NHL ref.  How else do you explain really bad calls on our guys like Hawks’ Patrick Sharp who was called for slashing as the Flyers’ opponent took an obvious  dive, while the Flyers got away with hooking, slashing, tripping, and most conspicuously multiple cross-checks?  (more…)

If you’re a reader of this blog with any regularity you know that I have had a lot to say about how much of a mistake it was that the Blackhawks lost defenseman Matt Walker at the end of last season. So I was surprised that there wasn’t even a mention of Walker and his move to the Lightning before the start of the game tonight. (more…)

Coming into tonight’s Hawks/Sabres game there was a lot of talk about the Hawks going up against their old goal-tender Patrick Lalime, which was weird because Lalime has been out of Chicago and in Buffalo for two seasons now. On the flip-side, Brian Campbell has been out of Buffalo and in Chicago for three seasons.  You’d think that would be long enough for the Buffalo crowd to forget about him and not boo him, but apparently not. (Chuckle) (more…)

There have been a lot of rumors floating around about which players the Blackhawks’ front office is looking to unload.  Possible names floated about have been Cam Barker, Brian Campbell, Dustin Byfuglien, and even Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg.  It’s hard to know if these are players the Hawks are considering trading, it these are players other teams want, or if these are players that sports writers and fans are lobbying to get rid of (or all three). (more…)

Tensions ran high tonight in the Hawks’ 7-2 win over the Sharks.  Coach Quenneville was barking early at a missed boarding call wherein Tomas Kopecky was hit from behind and his helmet went flying; Brian Campbell got booed as he always does at the HP Pavillion (and I always try so hard not to laugh at that and am never successful); the penalty-kill unit had an awesome night, even for them; and of course Marian Hossa made his debut with the Blackhawks.  Boy did he ever.  (more…)

Wow, I take back everything I said about Colin Fraser not being a good choice for enforcer.  Fraser made it quite obvious in two scraps that he is more than equipped to be team agitator in tonight’s Hawks/Avalanche match-up (which resulted in a 3-2 Blackhawks win in OT, of course).  I renew my irritation, however, at the overpenalizing of fighting.  A 5-minute major penalty for a little roughing that doesn’t even draw blood is excessive. (more…)

How  cool was it to see Jack Skille score that goal in tonight’s match-up against the Oilers?  Too bad they keep having to send him back down to Rockford.  I know, I know.  The cap.  Still, I’m excited to see him every time he’s on the ice.  (more…)

Not to be unpatriotic, but from what I’ve seen so far of some of the shenanigans in the NHL, I can’t help but think the Americans are taking a bit too much liberty with hockey, the sport made famous by Canada.  For instance, the Phoenix Coyotes franchise is reportedly bankrupt which means a U.S. Bankruptcy Court is now involved.  When Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie offered to buy the Coyotes he was threatened with a “relocation fee” due to his wish to move what would be his team to Hamilton, Ontario.  Oh yes, and the “relocation fee” is purported to be $100 million!  Why would the Bankruptcy Court allow this??? (more…)

Where was the misconduct call on Kevin Bieksa for his cheap shot on Patrick Sharp after the 2nd period had ended in tonight’s semi-finals match-up between the Hawks and the Canucks?  And after two games in Vancouver I think we can safely say that the officiating has decidedly gone in the Canucks’ favor despite the Hawks’ 6-3 win over the Canucks tonight.  Makes you wonder how much refs go for.  (more…)

This interview with Patrick Kane really irritates me. In it he makes fun of the reason he wasn’t in game 3: His pet goldfish died and he had to fly back to Chicago to flush it down the toilet. Seems the only thing that’s going down the toilet lately is Kaner’s game. (more…)