Morning Chirps: Big Night for Prospects, IceHogs Beat Wolves

Friday night saw a plethora of Chicago Blackhawks prospects find the scoresheet across multiple levels. The lamp was lit in the OHL, NCAA, and AHL by future NHL hopefuls. Today is rivalry day at the 4 Nations Face-off, with Finland taking on Sweden early and the United States battling Canada in the nightcap.

Blackhawks Chirps

• In case you missed it, we did our first Blackhawks Q&A and answered questions about prospects, the goaltending situation, potential free-agent targets, and more.
• Friday night was a massive night for recent Blackhawks draft picks. Nick Lardis and Marek Vanacker each scored hat tricks in the Brantford Bulldogs 10-1 beatdown of the Niagara. Lardis has goals in 14 straight games and leads the OHL with 55. Vanacker is up to 17 goals and 28 points in 30 games.

• Providence pulled off a big 6-3 upset over Boston University. John Mustard scored his seventh goal of the season, while defenseman Taige Harding added a late empty-netter. Ryan Greene scored on the power play for his 12^th goal of the season.

• Dominic James had a goal and an assist to lead the University of Minnesota-Duluth’s 3-2 overtime win over Arizona State. The 2022 sixth-round pick has 11 goals and 23 points in 26 games.

IceHogs Chirps

• The Chicago Wolves have had the Rockford IceHogs’ numbers all season long, winning six of the first eight meetings. The IceHogs got the best of their interstate rivals on Friday night with a 6-3 victory at the BMO Center. Marcel Marcel had his best game as a professional, with two goals and four points. He also racked up 12 penalty minutes.  Zach Sanford had a goal and three points. Rockford also got goals from Andreas Athanasiou, Jackson Cates, and Joey Anderson.

• The IceHogs will host the Springfield Falcons tomorrow night. The evening will be special as the IceHogs will induct Bryan Bickell into the Ring of Honor during the second intermission.

4 Nations Chirps

• Cale Makar missed Friday’s practice for Team Canada due to illness. If he cannot play today, Tomas Harley of the Dallas Stars will be an emergency replacement. However, head coach Jon Cooper was pretty confident his number-one defenseman would be good to go against the United States. Cooper also wouldn’t confirm who the starting goaltender is tonight.
• Finland head coach Antti Pennanen did name his starting goaltender for Saturday. He’s going with former Blackhawk Kevin Lankinen against Sweden after Juuse Saros gave up six goals against Team USA.
• Heading into the tournament, the buzz seemed lukewarm at best, but people are watching across the United States and Canada. Thursday’s USA vs Finland game was the most-viewed non-playoff hockey game ever on ESPN.

NHL Chirps

• If you were hoping the Blackhawks would add veteran Jason Zucker this summer, you would be disappointed. Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports that the Buffalo Sabres prefer to sign him to a contract extension instead of flipping him at the deadline. The 33-year-old has had a bounce-back year with the Sabres, scoring 18 goals and 41 points in 52 games.
• According to Elliotte Friedman on the latest episode of 32 Thoughts, the Los Angeles Kings are looking for a right-handed scoring forward. The only Blackhawks trade chip who shoots right is Craig Smith. Not sure he fits what they are looking for, but we will keep tabs on this situation.