Results tagged “niu”

No home games, no problem. The Blackhawks' win streak, which started at the United Center, has continued on the current road trip as the 'Hawks have now won seven straight after edging Vancouver 1-0 last night. The lone goal came off the stick of Bryan Bickell just over a minute into the third period. Meanwhile, Antti Niemi was a monster in net for the 'Hawks, stopping all 30 shots he faced to help secure the shut-out victory. It was the third game in four days for the 'Hawks, who now have a few days off to rest before another stretch of three games in four days with a trio of games in California, beginning with San Jose on Wednesday (9:30 p.m., CSN).

    

Blackhawks Roll Past Oilers

No pro sports last night but there was a trio of area college hoops game.

The Bulls are off to a good start on this year's Circus Trip and are also off to their best start overall in 12 years (6-4) after a 101-87 victory over Sacramento last night. It was also the first time the Bulls broke 100 points in a game and they were paced by John Salmons who scored 23; Joakim Noah (15 points, 14 rebounds) and Luol Deng (16 points, 10 rebounds) added double-doubles. With the hot start, the Bulls are already hearing the whispers about the echos of Jordan and Pippen. After the win, Derrick Rose tried to keep things in perspective, saying, "We're not even near them right now, hopefully one day we'll get there but it's going to take a lot of time." Next up on the road trip are the Lakers tomorrow night (9:30 p.m., TNT).

    

Fire Doused By Real Salt Lake

   

College Football

      

Blackhawks Shutdown, Shut Out Predators

The Dallas Stars came to town and did something that other teams are having a hard time doing this year: beat the Blackhawks. Dallas edged the 'Hawks 4-3 last night at the United Center. After a scoreless first period, the dam broke in the second as the teams combined for five goals in that period alone. Dallas took a 2-0 lead before Troy Brouwer got Chicago on the board. After another Dallas goal, Jonathon Toews scored to cut the lead to 3-2. After a fluke bounce off the boards got past Huet for another Dallas goal in the third period, Niklas Hjalmarsson scored to cut the lead again, this time to 4-3 but Dallas held and came out with the win. Cristobal Huet jad 21 saves besides allowing the four goals. The 'Hawks get a few days off now until Vancouver skates into town on Wednesday (7:30 p.m., CSN).

• NIU's police chief, Donald Grady, has been placed on a leave of absence after allegations of improper ethical behavior were made by NIU's student newspaper.
• Joseph Caputo, a former pricing analyst for MPC Products who turned FBI informant, has been awarded $4.5 million for helping the FBI crack a price-inflating case against the company.
• In the wake of all the fuss over the CTA's new proposed hikes and service cuts, The Reader's Whet Moser took a thoughtful look at transit issues in a few other large cities.

Even a Cubs fan such as myself has to hand it to the White Sox: this "Well, if we can't be in the playoffs so we might as well completely screw up the playoff picture for someone else" attitude is pretty addictive. The White Sox downed Detroit 5-1 last night, forcing the Tigers into a tie with the Minnesota Twins heading into the last day of the season. Adding a little fun to the festivities, if the Twins and Tigers finished tied, the Twins host a playoff which will have to be played Tuesday because of the Vikings-Packers Monday Night Football game at the Metrodome. Anything that messes even the slightest bit with Bud Selig is totally awesome with us. Okay, but there was a game last night, too. Freddy Garcia looked sharp, pitching seven-plus innings, striking out seven, and giving up only a single run. Carlos Quentin had a two-run homer and Alex Rios also had a great night, knocking in three runs. The Sox wrap up 2009 against the Tigers today at 12:05 p.m. (WGN).

The White Sox mustered an extra-inning 4-3 win yesterday in Anaheim and, more importantly, made a move up in their division, sliding into second place ahead of the Minnesota Twins. John Danks pitched a fantastic game, holding the Angels scoreless over six innings and the Sox were up 3-0 thanks in part to solo home runs from Gordon Beckham and Scott Podsednik. But the Sox bullpen gave away the lead, as Matt Thornton and Bobby Janks combined to give up three runs over the eight and ninth innings, forcing extras. In the top of the 10th, Podesednik came through again for the Sox, scoring on a wild pitch to go up 4-3, a lead they would hold for the victory. The Sox also stand alone in second only five games back of Detroit. The teams decide the series today at 2:35 p.m. (CSN).

Bulls Whip WarriorsThe Chicago predicta-Bulls earned another home victory on Wednesday, defeating the Golden State Warriors 110-88. This time Chicago fell behind early, surrendering 20 points in the first five and a half minutes, before propelling themselves into the lead with a 26-8 scoring run. Recently acquired John Salmons and Brad Miller led the scoring with 23 and 19, respectively, and Joakim Noah had a nice outing with 14 points, 17 boards and four blocked shots. Chicago has been thriving at home as of late, winning its last four contests at the UC by an average of 15 points. Conversely, the Bulls have lost their last four road games by the same average margin. The good news? The Bulls play 12 of their remaining 20 games at home, including Friday's matchup with Milwaukee.

The Chicago Bulls looked to be in line for their third consecutive double-digit loss Saturday night, but instead rallied to beat the Houston Rockets 105-102. Up three at the half, the Rockets steadily built their advantage to 17 by the end of the third quarter. The situation looked dire for the Bulls, having gained no ground by the midway point of the fourth, but Ben Gordon and Derrick Rose decided they weren't finished yet. Gordon started the run with a quick five points, and Rose added six more over the next two minutes. By the time they were done, the two Chicago guards had scored 22 of the game's final 26 points and earned the Bulls a blistering comeback victory. It was not all smiles for Chicago, though, as Luol Deng was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right tibia and may miss the rest of the campaign.

One night after drubbing the Orlando Magic, the Bulls suffered a setback against the New Jersey Nets, losing 111-99. Chicago managed to maintain a two-possession lead throughout the latter half of the third quarter, but turned ice cold at the start of the final period. The Bulls scored only four points in the next 6:30, while Devin Harris and the Nets poured on the offense. Harris alone finished with 19 points in the fourth (42 for the game), compared to a team total of 21 for Chicago. Ben Gordon led six Bulls into double figures with 17 on the night, and Tyrus Thomas had a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards.

The Blackhawks scored a 3-1 victory over the Stars on Saturday, completing a four-game, season sweep of the Dallas skaters. Patrick Kane poked in the game-winner seven and a half minutes into the second period, bookended by one-timers from defensemen James Wisniewski and Matt Walker as Chicago took a 3-0 lead. Cristobal Huet was once again stellar in net with 30 saves on 31 attempts, the spoiler coming on a breakaway goal midway through the third. The 'Hawks will return to a hero's welcome when they host the Minnesota Wild tonight, having amassed nine wins in their last 12 games, 11 of which were played on the road.

College Basketball

News you may have missed from over the weekend.

It's been one year since a peaceful Valentine's Day on the campus of Northern Illinois University was shattered just after 3 p.m. by gunfire. Former student Stephen Kazmierczak opened fire on a class in a lecture hall in Cole Hall, ultimately injuring 21 and killing five; Kazmierczak then took his own life, bringing the death toll to six. It was the fourth deadliest university shooting in United States history and occurred less than a year after the Virginia Tech massacre. At a press conference the next day, NIU President Dr. John Peters said, "We will get through this together as a community." Classes were canceled and wouldn't resume until February 25th.

On a night of tributes to legendary coach and broadcaster Johnny “Red” Kerr, the Bulls gutsy, 107-102 comeback victory was the likely the best honor the Chicago native received. The Bulls trailed the Pistons by 15 with 7:30 to play, but whittled the deficit to 10 over the next four minutes. Then, an 11-2 run set the stage for Ben Gordon, whose heroic four-point play with 16 seconds left put Chicago in front for good. Gordon finished with 24, Derrick Rose had 23, Tyrus Thomas contributed 22 and 10 rebounds, and Joakim Noah had a strong showing with 12 points and 16 boards. The Bulls look to improve upon their recent 6-2 record when they face the Heat at home on Thursday.

Dirk Nowitzki powered the Dallas Mavericks past the Bulls in a 115-114 overtime victory. Three Bulls scored over 20 points: Gordon (28), Thomas (23), and Rose (22). But it wasn't enough as Nowitzki and the Mavs proved too much for Chicago. After a predominantly see-saw regulation, the Mavs jumped out to a four point lead in the extra period, then extended it to six and never looked back. The Bulls finally play at home again Tuesday versus the Pistons.

The Blackhawks won their third straight and fourth of their last five games as they topped Calgary 5-2. After a back-and-forth first period that saw the teams exchange goals to a 2-2 tie, the 'Hawks scored three unanswered to pull away. Five different 'Hawks scored, but it was a big night for Andrew Ladd (1 goal, 2 assists) and Matt Walker (3 assists). Khabibulin was solid in net, stopping 29 of 31 shots, including nine on power plays. The 'Hawks are at 4-1 on this eight game road trip and sit solidly in second place in the division and third overall in the conference.

The Bulls earned a brief sigh of relief Wednesday night, defeating the Los Angeles Clippers 95-75. Chicago clung to a one-possession lead at the half, but came out firing in the third quarter with an 11-2 run. That run grew to 26-9 by the end of the period, as the they tallied a +10 rebounding advantage over the same stretch. The Clippers only managed to match baskets in the fourth, as the Bulls cruised to victory. The win was Chicago’s first in six games, who hope to start a streak of a different kind when they square off against the Kings Friday night in Sacramento.

No. 19 Notre Dame couldn't keep it alive against the no. 3 Connecticut Huskies Saturday, losing 69-61 and ending the nation's longest home winning streak at 45 games.

The Bulls suffered another close defeat Wednesday, losing 105-102 to the Hawks from Atlanta (no, the hockey team didn't pick up a basketball, although...). With the game tied at the start of the fourth quarter, the lead would see-saw seven times in the next seven minutes. The advange then tilted in Atlanta's favor, however, as Mike Bibby led a quick 7-0 surge for the Hawks. This pushed the lead to two-possessions, and put the game out of grasp for Chicago. Ben Gordon led the Bulls in scoring with 21, and Luol Deng was good for another double-double.

NIU came up short against the Ball State Cardinals on Tuesday, losing 60-54. The Huskies led by seven at the break, but could only cobble together 20 points in the second half as their lead slipped away. Poor free-throw shooting didn't help, as the Huskies missed 12 of 20 from the stripe. Despite the lack of offensive production, NIU hung tough until the final minutes. The Huskies' Darion Anderson led both squads in points and co-led in rebounds, with 16 and eight respectively. Now midway through the season, NIU stands at 5-9.

The Blackhawks' December to Remember continues as they notched their ninth straight victory last night by beating the Minnesota Wild 4-1. Dustin Byfuglien had a pair of first period goals and Martin Havlat and Kris Versteeg added to the tally. Huet looked sharp in goal for the 'Hawks, stopping 13 of 14 shots. Jonathan Toews explained the 'Hawks state of mind thusly: "We're kind of feeling like the Boston Celtics...There's just a sense of calmness. I think any other team would be excited to be in this situation, and sometimes when you have that momentum you get a little overexcited. We just need to keep our sticks on the ice and keep it simple. We don't overskate or overdo anything out there." The Blackhawks travel to Detroit for a game tomorrow night and then welcome the Red Wings to Wrigley on Thursday for the NHL's much-hyped Winter Classic.

The Blackhawks completed their Canadian conquest Saturday night, defeating the Vancouver Canucks 3-1. Patrick Sharp had the game winner in the second period, bookended by scores from Patrick Kane and Jonathon Toews. Cristobal Huet played the role of backstop, denying 30 of 31 attempts on goal. The 'Hawks now return home for the holidays, hoping to resume their hot streak Friday against the Flyers.