Morning Chirps: Aidan Thompson Moves On, More History for Patrick Kane

The Chicago Blackhawks took Sunday off after returning from Vancouver. They will be back on the practice ice this morning as they prepare for tomorrow night’s game against the Seattle Kraken. The Rockford IceHogs dropped their second straight game yesterday afternoon, and today is the anniversary of one of the most infamous games in franchise history. Let’s start chirping!

Blackhawks Chirps

• In case you missed yesterday, here are the three biggest takeaways from the Blackhawks’ 0-3-1 road trip.
• Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times says the Blackhawks’ reputation will be their biggest hurdle when they try to become major players this summer.
• AJ Spellacy returned from his two-game suspension on Sunday and recorded two assists in the Windsor Spitfires’ 8-5 win over the London Knights.
• Aidan Thompson had a pair of assists in Denver’s 9-2 win over Colorado College to advance to the NCHC semifinals in St. Paul next weekend. Friday’s semifinals at the Xcel Energy Center will be Western Michigan versus North Dakota and Arizona State versus Denver. The winners will play for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on Saturday. All three games will be broadcasted on the CBS Sports Network.
• On this date in 1963, Glenn Hall became the first goaltender in Blackhawks history to win 30 games in a season by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1.
• The “St. Patrick’s Day Massacre” occurred on March 17, 1991. The Blackhawks’ 6-4 win over the St. Louis Blues is remembered for the enormous amount of penalty minutes dished out. The chippy contest saw 12 players ejected, 278 penalty minutes were served (24 minors, 12 majors, and 17 misconducts, to be exact), and three players were eventually suspended for their actions.

IceHogs Chirps

• The IceHogs’ comeback effort came up short yesterday in a 2-1 loss to the Milwaukee Admirals. Aku Raty scored his first goal with the team early in the second period to cut Milwaukee’s lead in half. Kevin Korchinski and Samiel Savoie had the assists on the IceHogs’ lone goal. They outshot the Admirals 11-5 in the final period but could not score the equalizer. Drew Commesso had another strong performance despite having his personal four-game winning streak snapped. He stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced.

NHL Chirps

• Former Blackhawks defenseman Henri Jokiharju is enjoying his fresh start with the Boston Bruins. According to Andrew Fantucchio of Boston Hockey Now, he’s hoping to stay with the Bruins beyond this season.
• Speaking of former Blackhawks, Petr Mrazek made 17 saves for his first shutout of the season, leading the Detroit Red Wings to a huge 3-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. Kevin Allen of Detroit Hockey Now says head coach Todd McLellan already has a comfort level with Mrazek. Patrick Kane played in his 1,287^th game, passing Phil Kessel for 10^th place on the all-time games played list for U.S.-born players.
• Mikko Rantanen returned to Denver to face the Colorado Avalanche for the first time since they traded him in late January. Collen Flynn covered the emotional day for Colorado Hockey Now, which saw the Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 in overtime. These two are on a collision course to meet in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and I am all for it!