NEWSLETTER
After losing in overtime on Friday night, the Blackhawks prospects had to come back and face a fresh Minnesota team on Saturday evening with an earlier start.
If you’ve watched much of the IceHogs and Wild over the past couple years it should come as no surprise that there was plenty of hitting and, ultimately, bodies in penalty boxes as this game progressed. Skating only 11 forwards, the Blackhawks were frequently mixing their lines all night as well.
Blackhawks Prospect Highlights
The Blackhawks were empty on two power play opportunities, including a brief 5-on-3 during the first period. Colton Dach brought the physical play again, though he was the nail instead of the hammer on one occasion. Ben Gaudreau did his job in the net for 17 minutes but took a 1-0 lead with 2:54 left in the opening period.
Landon Slaggert drew a penalty less than 90 seconds into the second period. Late in the advantage, Martin Misiak threw a beautiful sauce pass to Frank Nazar in front of the net for a tap-in game-tying goal.
Oh my, what a sauce pass by Martin Misiak on Frank Nazar's goal. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/xVMkhS1Gfs
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) September 15, 2024
Nazar was okay in the first period but really seemed to turn it on in the second. He almost set up a second goal for the Blackhawks just a few minutes after he tied the game.
The Blackhawks seemingly had more power play time than even strength action in the second period and finally cashed one in. Paul Ludwinski made a nice pass that set up a mess in front of the net, the puck got kicked out and Ethan Del Mastro set up Gavin Hayes for the go-ahead goal.
Gavis Hayes scores on the power play after his initial shot was stopped. Really nice pass by Ethan Del Mastro. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/cresC0X3Rk— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) September 15, 2024
But the Wild tied the game at two with a power play goal of their own just moments later. With the game still tied inside the final minute of the second period, Dach crashed the net hard enough that Minnesota’s netminder went sprawling to the ice and the net slid away from the crease. For the second time in as many nights he found himself wrestling on the ice with an opponent.
Colton Dach drives hard to the net, and Minnesota takes exception to him running into its goaltender. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/uq0Wp39DPJ
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) September 15, 2024
The game was tied at two after two periods. While skating 4-on-4 early in the third period, Hayes made a terrific play on the backcheck to break up a potential scoring opportunity.
About five minutes into the third period, Nazar got hammered in the neutral zone… but got the puck to a streaking Ryder Rolston, who scored a go-ahead goal for the Blackhawks to finish the play. Nazar apparently shared a few words with the Wild bench after the score.
Frank Nazar gets leveled in the neutral zone but Ryder Rolston scores seconds later.
After the goal, Nazar got off the Chicago bench and raised both hands to the Wild bench wondering why they went quiet 😂 #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/GM5rcR9Mx7— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) September 15, 2024
Misiak scored into the empty net on a breakaway with 17.9 seconds left in regulation to put the final nail in the Wild coffin.
Oh, and Brock Faber was still the runner-up for the Calder Trophy.
The Good
- Gaudreau was really good the entire night.
- Nazar was fabulous. Physical, fast, smart. Good hands in traffic. Active on every shift.
- Paul Ludwinski was very noticeable again tonight. There’s been a lot of talk around the Blackhawks about Ludwinski’s development; he parts of the 2022-23 season because of a series physical issues but came back as the captain in Kingston last year and was solid. He was very good on PK duty on Friday night and got some run with the top power play unit in the first period tonight.
- The game was predictably physical early and often. The Iowa Wild and Rockford IceHogs don’t get along very well, so there were a few guys who likely looked forward to getting reacquainted. Sam Savoie had his named called in the corners a few times.
- While he won’t be physically confused for Dach or Del Mastro, Landon Slaggert made some really smart plays using his body around the net to create space and maintain puck possession. That was an area of his game he said he was going to work on this summer when the season ended.
- I thought AJ Spellacy had another really good night. His speed played the entire night again and he made some confident plays offensively. He got some preseason run with Windsor before reporting so he’s got his legs maybe a little more than some AHL guys but he impressed a lot of people this weekend.
The Not-So-Good
- Coming into the game the Blackhawks were forced to skate 11 forwards and seven defensemen because Nick Lardis was sick. You may have heard on the broadcast last night that Marcel Marcel got a little dinged up during the practices so Ryan Gagnier, who wasn’t on the original roster, got his spot on the roster. Forward Alex Pharand wasn’t able to attend because of an injury suffered in an OHL preseason game last weekend.
- Even with the pretty assist in Nazar’s power play goal and late empty net score, I still thought Misiak needed to move his feet more and fell behind the action too frequently again tonight. In an organization that is collecting guys who attack the puck at 100 mph and never stop moving, Misiak needed to show me more in these two games than he did.
- Adding to the injury concerns was one of my bright spots from the first period, Ludwinski. The Blackhawks got the 5-on-3 chance because he was boarded while on the PP. As I noted on Twitter, Ludwinski’s 2022-23 season got off to that slow start because of a concussion suffered against… Minnesota in that year’s prospect showcase. Good news: he returned for the start of the second period and appeared to be okay.
