Finishing Finland

Could it be a "Miracle on Ice" all over again? Team USA is on its way to play for the gold medal. USA hasn't won a gold medal since the miracle against Russia in 1980. After making it to the goal medal game in 2002 but ending up with silver and only finishing 8th in 2006, USA wants it more than ever.

USA dominated against Finland in the semi-finals 6-1 to play for the gold. However, most of that action was in the first quarter, where USA scored all 6 goals.

Patrick Kane netted back to back goals to make it 6-0 in the first. The funny thing is, Finland had only let in 4 goals during the entire tournament, but somehow USA was able to break them down and secure their win early in the game.

USA will take on Canada for the gold medal. USA already beat Canada 5-3 but that doesn't mean we have it in the bag. USA depended on the outstanding goaltending of Ryan Miller to win it.

USA was able to tear down the frightening Canadian line of San Jose Sharks but can they do it all again?

Canada's size and talent is fascinating with guys like Sidney Crosby, Jerome Iginla and Joe Thorton.

But... putting the best of the best together doesn't necessarily make them THE best. You have to have chemistry and it's quite obvious that USA does.

Canada wants that gold medal win on home ice and USA wants to take it from them. We'll see who takes it home on Sunday.

Niemi 4 Starts, Hawks 4 Wins...

Antti Niemi has been the main man in goal for the Hawks, starting four in a row. With those four starts came four wins by the Blackhawks.

This is the first time that Quennville has started Niemi more than twice in a row and Niemi is now 5-1 in shootouts for the season.

“He’s playing well,” coach Joel Quenneville told the Hawks’ team Web site after the game. “He’s coming off three straight wins. It’s an easy decision. We’re off for a long time. Playing back-to-back. Give him a chance to keep going.” (ESPN.com).

With Niemi on the hot streak and now the Hawks number one man in goal, could we possibly be smelling a trade?

Cristobal Huet has quite a large contract, $5.6 million a year. It doesn't make any sense to keep $5.6 million on the bench as the back up goalie. But we would need to find a team willing to buy out his large contract.

Speaking of riding the bench, Quennville showed little love for Kris Versteeg yesterday, as he only played 4:54 minutes, his season low.

“I didn’t like the way he was playing,” Quenneville said.

Let's hope he can get out of his slump and back on to the ice. Versteeg went 14 games without seeing a goal until his shootout goal that brought the Hawks to victory over the Stars.

A man who's been racking up the points for the Hawks has been Mr. Troy Brouwer. Headlines everywhere are saying "Brouwer Power" or some pun like that.

Brouwer scored the winning goal in last night's shoot out, his second time saving the Hawks in overtime. The shinning sophomore now has 19 goals on the season.

The Hawks went in to the Olympic break with four wins in a row, let's hope they can keep this momentum up when they return. We will miss them over the next two weeks, but at least we have six Olympians that can keep us entertained.

Talking Trades

As the trading deadlines for both the NBA and the NHL quickly approach we have to talk about some of the rumors in town. Both the Bulls and the Blackhawks are playoff-bound, and as a result the normal shake up of contenders trading to cement their rosters is about to occur. For the Hawks, they haven't been playing their usual game (explosive offense, effective defense) they've been vulnerable defensively and stagnant offensively. I am confident the offense will return soon. However, the ineffective defense is a bigger problem, players are hurt and tired but the next month is an important stretch of the season. Since the Kovalchuk trade-scare has ended with his trade to New Jersey, the latest Hawk trade rumors are aimed at James Wisniewski, the former Blackhawk. The sure-handed defender was traded to Anaheim midway through last season for center Sammie Pahlsson. Now with some defensive issues needing to be resolved, the Hawks have the prospects/roster to make a move to bring American James Wisniewski back to Madison Ave. (The only specific name involved in the trade rumor for the Hawks was Cam Barker, who hasn't been having a good season)

The Bulls have more pressing issues because they have recently jumped from the 8th and final playoff spot in the East to the 6th playoff spot, which could potentially bring another first-round playoff match-up with the Celtics. Ironically, the biggest trade rumors for the Bulls involve Boston. The Bulls need to make some moves for players that will come off the books at the end of this season so that they can make cap room for free agents. The T-Mac trade I liked is still on the table, but now it appears there is a new trade rumor about Ray Allen and Eddie House coming to the Bulls for Tyrus Thomas and Kirk Hinrich plus potentially one more expiring contract. I like this idea, get rid of the maligned, underachieving Thomas and bring in a pure shooter. Allen and House are on the last years of their contracts so this makes fiscal sense. House would be a good backup for Rose just like he was for Rondo, better ball-handling skills than Hinrich. This gives the Bulls more guard depth, something they haven't had in years. The NBA and NHL All-Star Breaks are both in the next two weeks and they have potential for some significant changes as these seasons head for the home stretch.

For the Pro-Antti Fans

ST. LOUIS- The Hawks and goaltender Antti Niemi, beat St. Louis 2-1, finally getting out of their three game losing streak.

The ongoing debate of the season has been whether Huet or Niemi should get the start... or if we should trade for a goalie.

Well looking at the three game losing streak, one thing is for sure. Our goalies are performing, our offense just isn't racking up the points.

What happened to the 4 plus goal games we were having? The win that took us out of the awful losing streak was an uneventful 2-1 game (well minus the fights). Have the Hawks lost their rhythm?

One man we can count on (and I wish Quennville did a little more) is the man behind the mask, knocking biscuits out of the basket, Antti Niemi.

Niemi has improved to 14-4-1 and saved 34 shots Saturday against St. Louis and had just recovered from the flu.

Niemi, who has two shut outs on the season, could quite possibly be the best back up goalie in the league.

So why sit such good talent? Ask Joel Quennville, even he can't give an answer to the ongoing Huet vs. Niemi debate.