On January 30th 2013 the Chicago Blackhawks ventured to Minnesota to take on the Wild. The Chicago Blackhawks have a flawless record and they were not prepared to collapse tonight! Immediately both teams struck with full strength. Only a minute into the first period Minnesota scored the first goal of the night. Watching the slow motion replay, I would have to appreciate this; it was a good fair goal. It may not be for the team I’m rooting for, but a goal is a goal and this was a good one. Battling fierce, both teams are desperate for more points in their teams favor! The Hawks took their turn with the glory. A great play by the led them to tie the score making it 1-1 even. Adding on to Chicago’s lead, a power play was issued in the hawks favor. Getting a break away was team captain Jonathon Towes who takes a shot and scores! The hawks are dominating the first period and are in the lead 2 to 1.
Only a minute into the second period, Cal Clutterbuck of Minnesota managed to dump another goal into Chicago’s net tying the score 2 -2. The remainder of the second period was scoreless. Both Chicago and Minnesota competed to own the ice, but neither were victorious when the second period came to a close. Both teams had equal strength and were prepared to start and dominate the third period.
The third period was full of nothing but suspense. With both teams pushing the limits more and more shots on net were challenged. Being 2 – 2 since early second period, the suspense of who was going to score the next goal and take the lead was building on every fan watching the game. It appeared as if the Hawks had the mentality to win, but weren’t playing like they played the first 6 games. I could see a very minor lead burning from Minnesota. Hovering with 6 minutes left in the third and final period, the hawks had more than triple the amount of shots on net than Minnesota.
It was horrifying knowing that any second one of the two teams was going to score the “most likely” game winning goal. I had just hoped that it would be the hawks. Both teams are playing amazingly and especially Chicago’s goalie Corey Crawford. Crawford has played an outstanding game tonight, blocking amazing shots on net with even more amazing saves. Only two minutes remained when a penalty was called on Chicago, this gave Minnesota a two-minute power play, a big disadvantage to Chicago. Only 2:20 left in the third period with 2:10 of it being power play for the opposing team is not the best situation for Chicago to play in. The Wild had Chicago boxed into their zone with multiple shots on net. As a Blackhawks fan, this was terrifying me because I didn’t want to hear “MINNESOTA WINS!” Thankfully Chicago persisted and kept their ground long enough for their power play to ward off and the third period to come to a close ending regulation time.
Entering sudden death overtime, I felt very worried and proud that we were able to hold out. It wasn’t until I received a text message from my cousin saying “Holy Shit!” that I realized the severity of our reputation at stake. This indeed was one of the most suspenseful games I have ever watched. HOLY CRAP! 3 minutes of overtime and the Hawks are DOMINATING! Patrick Kane had what looked like the game winning goal, but it didn’t fully get into the net. One of Kanner”s classic sexy spin twirl around made me jump out of my chair! 3 minutes of overtime was not enough to put the game to rest. They will head to a shoot-out.
This is the first shoot out of the season for both teams. The Wild took their first shot and scored. The Hawks countered it with a goal tying the game. Minnesota took their second shot but missed. Chicago took their second shot and missed. Patrick Kane is usually known for his awesome shots here in a shoot-out but can’t quite get it in. Minnesota takes their last shot and makes it. The pressure is on and sharpie has to make it in to win. Sharp approaches to net and RIGHT OFF THE CROSSBAR! Minnesota has won the game and have ended Chicago’s opening winning streak. The Hawks will continue to play as one of the top two teams in the NHL. We all knew that their streak would not last all season and we were fortunate to have 6 consecutive games with all wins. I am glad to be a fan and have faith in them for the reminder of the season.
The Hawks take on the Canucks this Friday @ 9:00 PM CT. Despite the outcome, it was quite an epic game. We’ll get-em next time. Go Hawks!
