SARAH AVAMPATO
freelance writer & photographer
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS COVERAGE
I have covered the Chicago Blackhawks for various outlets since 2014. Writing first at the now-closed Faceoff Violation, and now for Did You See That? Sports, I provide game recaps, player profiles, and breaking news.
I frequently focus on the team's prospects; a highlight of my coverage is traveling to the Traverse City Prospect Tournament to be generally the only freelance writer providing live, on the ground coverage of all games and practices.
Through my work on Faceoff Violation, I have appeared on Chicago's Fox 32 morning news to talk about the Blackhawks. I have also been a guest on a WGN radio show, hosted by Amy Guth, who hosted an all-women panel to discuss the Blackhawks during the playoffs.
A few selected excerpts of my coverage are reproduced below. All photos shown below are mine. PDFs of coverage from Faceoff Violation are available upon request.
One Goal? Three Cups? No Problem.
(Originally published June 16, 2014)
This team.
This inexplicable, incomprehensible, shouldn’tbe-able-to-exist team.
This team, with its inconsistencies and its questionable lineup decisions and its very, very shortened bench.
This team, with its clutch players and its astounding leadership and its never-ending will to win.
This team, you guys.
For the first time since October, the specifics of the game don’t even matter. Oh, sure, I took notes — that’s what you do, when your heart and your soul and your bones are telling you to look for one outcome, but your paranoid, always-be-prepared self is telling you: do it, just in case.
[ ... ]
All season long, the mantra for this team has been “they can’t do anything the easy way”. And so Blackhawks fans worldwide gritted their teeth and held on for dear life. If any team can hold on to protect a one goal lead, it’s the Hawks, but still. A two-goal lead would have been nice.
And who better than to provide the final dagger than Patrick Kane himself? A little showtime, a little black magic, racing up the ice with Brandon Saad and Brad Richards. Kane, who had been eerily quiet, stifled by Victor Hedman and the Lightning’s habit of always, always having a man on Kane, gave the Hawks their insurance goal. What better time for him to show up then right then?
How fitting, for Brad Richards — who last hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2004 as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning — to assist on both of the goals that ended his former team’s hopes and dreams.
How fitting, for Corey Crawford — much maligned by outsiders and misguided fans for not making the sprawling, breathtaking saves that other “elite” goalies do — to be just the third goalie in twenty years to record a shutout in a Cup-clinching game.
How fitting, for this team that never quits when it counts, to record an absurd 33-0-0 record when leading after the second period.
At the end of the day, this is what will be remembered: a crowd of 22,424 counting down the seconds until Corey Crawford could hurl off his gear and be mobbed by his teammates, who fought so long and so hard to get here.
What a season. What a team.
BLACKHAWKS DROP OPENER AT TRAVERSE CITY PROSPECT TOURNAMENT
Shots: 34-19, Blackhawks.
Score: 3-2, Blues.
Feel familiar? It’s that time honored tradition of outshooting an opponent but not being able to keep the puck out of your own net. It is, at times, the Blackhawks way.
The Blackhawks dropped their first game in the Traverse City prospect tournament. They played a tight game for two periods, but a few errors in the third period cost them the game.
Roy Radke, a prospect playing with the OHL’s Barrie Colts, opened up scoring in the first for the Blackhawks off of a Blues turnover, going in unassisted to beat the Blues’ goalie. The Blackhawks poured shots onto the Blues, including several shorthanded chances. The Blues had difficulty maintaining possession throughout the first two periods, but their goalie was outstanding, weathering 21 shots in that time.
The third was where things started to escalate in the Blues’ favor. While special teams aren’t a focus here, an early Blackhawks power play looked uncoordinated, and the players had a hard time keeping the puck in the zone, let alone creating any sort of pressure to take a shot. Two goals came in quick succession from the Blues towards the end of the period. They happened on what seemed like very similar plays — get the goalie to commit to getting down, then roof it over him — seemed to put the game out of reach.
With a few minutes left, things finally started clicking for the Blackhawks, and with the goalie pulled, Tyler Motte scored to cut the deficit to one. The Blackhawks had excellent possession during their late push and very nearly tied it up, but time wasn’t in their favor.
Some other observations:
Blackhawks goalie Jake Hildebrand, who signed a minor league contract with the team, didn’t have much to do throughout the game but, despite the loss, looked decent. He’ll probably be playing with the Indy Fuel this season, so he may get a few more looks than free agent invitee Brent Moran.
Defenseman Robin Norell had an okay game but seemed to get caught looking a lot. From my vantage point, he could have been moving his feet a little more instead of lingering out at the blue line. On the Blues’ second goal, Norell got flat out beat to the net, allowing Jordan Schmaltz to score. Norell had a decent game but I’d like to see him be a bit more active.
Alex DeBrincat is as small, fast, and wily as everyone says he is. DeBrincat was frequently the first person into the corners to battle for the puck, and quite often he came back out with it. In the second period, he very nearly caused a Blues turnover at the blue line while playing on the penalty kill, just with some fancy footwork.
Defenseman Gustav Forsling was a pleasure to watch. He made solid plays all night long and I’m looking forward to seeing more from him. Late in the second period, Forsling tripped at the blue line, but still managed to make a great pass to the right-side defenseman, from one knee, while trying to get back up. It doesn’t sound like much, but he kept the puck in the zone and helped the Blackhawks maintain pressure and keep momentum.
Tyler Motte led the team with five shots; the line of Motte/DeBrincat/Schmaltz combined for eleven total. Forsling led defensemen with four shots.