Columbus BlueJackets Goalie Wade Dubielewicz Knotches First NHL Win in 5-3 Victory.

Wade Dubielewicz the Columbus BlueJackets up defended his teams goal all the way to victory tonight at the United Center and in doing so earned his first NHL victory. To take the winning puck home Dubielewicz had to face 30 SOG of which he made 27 saves. Well done for his first start since February 6th, as the NHL's fast pace does not allow for the shaking out of rust from tail feathers.

Chicago goaltender Cristobal Huet faced 22 SOG for 17 saves. He was not appearing to have his best night of the year on the ice. His partner in goal Nikolai Khabibulin has returned from IR after aggravating an old groin injury and is expected to start on Sunday against the NY Islanders. He did suit up tonight for the game if needed however was not iced .

As regular readers of the blog may have guessed it was a night of NHL action for the usual minor league junkies. I have to admit it we have yet to find "our seats" in the United Center it is a big, beautiful hockey cathedral. Finding our personal sight line at at NHL prices is a daunting task. However I think the search is going to be one we will in the end we will enjoy. It was gratifying to see so many players that we have been watching develop from rookie camp and the IceHogs. Every single one of them looked great.

Last night as I was assembling the camera a group of old fans sitting behind us greeted their guests who had not been to a Hawks game in some time. The first words to them were"Isn't it great to see this place full again?" Then the playoff banter began behind us, it kept up for two hours. Ok Rocky Wirtz, well done, in a little over a year you have come a very long way. The town is buzzing about the teams playoff chances, Hawks wear is again visible on the streets and the house is filling. Frankly, I'm impressed, I was hopeful, but I had doubts that you could pull it off. However you put good team together and made some great decisions, including putting games on TV. With the Hawks coming alive again after their long sleep and the vibrant AHL rivalry between the Rockford IceHogs and the Chicago Wolves. Yes, it looks like Chicago is becoming a hockey town again.
As always her are some images of the game.




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Back again ...From Red Wings Rookie Tournament!

Hello from beautiful cool and clear Traverse City Michigan the site of the Red Wings Rookie Tournament. This year like previous years the tournament is efficiently run by a legion of friendly,well organized volunteers. Seeing to it that eight NHL teams, press and parents are all well taken care of. For this photog it has been one of the most fun,informative and exciting weekends I can remember in a long time.This blog entry will be the first of several reporting on the sights of this intense moment in time for these NHL hopefuls.

What first strikes me is the faces, some of these young men are very nervous a few look cocky and fewer still down right arrogant. I will share with you tonight a few of the faces of the tournament that the camera managed to capture before their big moment.


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