Allgemeines » tured five SEC schools, including No. 19

CHICAGO -- Maybe it was the extra rest, or another raucous crowd at the United Center. Maybe it was just the resumption of one of the NHLs biggest rivalries. Whatever it was, the Chicago Blackhawks finally found that extra gear they talked about for days. Johnny Oduya and Marcus Kruger scored in the third period, Corey Crawford made 20 saves and the Blackhawks beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 in the opener of their second-round playoff series Wednesday night. "Much better from our prior series," coach Joel Quenneville said. "I thought what were talking about in our team game was in place. Had some pace, had some speed, zone time, and I thought everybody contributed." In the wake of Chicagos five-game victory over Minnesota in the first round, Quenneville talked about a higher level of intensity, and each of his biggest stars echoed his comments. The response was a dominant final two periods in the Blackhawks first game in the Western Conference semifinals since they won the Stanley Cup in 2010. Marian Hossa had the opening goal in the first, and Patrick Sharp finished with an empty-netter and two assists to give him nine points in the post-season. "I thought it was our best game of the playoffs, no question," Sharp said. Jimmy Howard had 38 stops in a terrific performance, but Detroit still lost to rival Chicago for the eighth straight time dating to last season. "I think in the first it was pretty even, but then I think in the second and third they looked like they had a little more energy than we did," Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said. "Its going to be nice to have a day off tomorrow and practice and then looking forward to Game 2." The series resumes on Saturday afternoon at the United Center. The 75th all-time playoff game between the Blackhawks and Red Wings was tied at 1 after two periods, and Howard made a great stop on a breakaway by Dave Bolland 4 1/2 minutes into the third. Chicago kept working and went in front to stay on a heady play by Oduya. He drifted in from the point and sent Sharps pass past Howard on the glove side with 12 minutes left. "Getting the win is the only thing that actually matters," Oduya said. "Like I said, anyone could have scored that goal at that point. We had a lot of chances and Im lucky I got it in there." Kruger then jumped on a loose puck and sent a backhander into the upper right corner to make it 3-1. That was more than enough for Crawford, who caught a break when Damien Brunners rebound attempt went off the crossbar and straight down before Brent Seabrook swept it away with about three minutes left. The opener of the 16th playoff series between the Original Six teams was the first game for Chicago since it eliminated Minnesota last Thursday. Detroit closed out Anaheim with a 3-2 win in Game 7 on Sunday night, taking the final two games of the series against the second-seeded Ducks. Despite the long break, there was no sign of rust for the Blackhawks. The Red Wings skated right with Chicago at the start, but they couldnt keep up at the end of the game and coach Mike Babcock said they were looking forward to a day off. "Were not trying to take anything away from them," he said. "They were better than us. The score tonight was more than fair as far as Im concerned. They were better." The Blackhawks struck first in the first playoff game between the teams since Detroit won the 2009 Western Conference final. With Gustav Nyquist in the box for hooking, Sharp forced a turnover along the boards and Jonathan Toews sent the puck to Hossa, who one-timed it past Howard at 9:03. Detroit needed less than two minutes to respond, tying it when Brunner poked in a rebound for his third career playoff goal. The rookie centre also contributed three assists in the first round against the Ducks. The Blackhawks killed off two power plays created by penalties on Andrew Shaw. They killed off another one when Nick Leddy was sent off for delay of game in the second period, making them a perfect 20 for 20 on the penalty kill in the post-season and sinking Detroit to 1 for 18 on power plays against Chicago, including the regular season. "We know that were a much better team than this," Red Wings defenceman Niklas Kronwall said. "The second and third period were not nearly good enough. We know were better than this, so we have to find to get better here for Game 2." NOTES: It was the 800th game between the teams. ... Detroit F Justin Abdelkader was shaken up after he collided with Blackhawks D Michal Rozsival in the first period. He was helped to the bench after a few moments down on the ice, but eventually returned to the game. ... Blackhawks F Viktor Stalberg was a healthy scratch. Quenneville said it was a "coachs decision" and Stalberg could get back on the ice at any point. ... Toews and Pavel Datsyuk of the Red Wings joined Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins as finalists for the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHLs best defensive forward. ... Chicago won eight of the previous 15 playoff series against Detroit. Elgton Jenkins Packers Jersey . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. Dexter Williams Womens Jersey . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. http://www.shoptheofficialpackers.com/Elite-Paul-Hornung-Packers-Jersey/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Darnell Savage Jr. Packers Jersey . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. Dave Robinson Youth Jersey . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. Mens Runner of the Week: Alex George, Arkansas Arkansas Alex George opened his junior campaign with a first-place finish (24:09.00) at Boston Colleges Battle in Beantown.George outdistanced runner-up from Providence by 16 seconds averaging 4:52 per mile over the 8K course.His 8K opening performance is almost two minutes faster than the Razorbacks top 8K opening performer from last season, and it was his first cross country individual title of his career.Womens Runner of the Week: Karissa Schweizer, MissouriMissouris Karissa Schweizer recorded her second meet-win of her career by winning the 5000m race at the Commodore Classic in Nashville, Tenn., on Sept. 17, finishing 13 seconds ahead of the runner-up.The Tiger junior finished first in the field of 261 runners which featured five SEC schools, including No. 19 Mississippi State and No. 26 Vanderbilt.Schweizer crossed finish line with a time of 16:46.70, shattering her previous personal-record by 13 seconds.Mens Freshman of the Week: Gashaw DDuhamel, Tennessee?Tennessees Gashaw Duhamel was the third Vol finisher in his first official race at the Commodore Classic.ddddddddddddThe freshman from Tennessee School for the Deaf finished in 26:12.5 in a competitive field which featured 11 schools ranked in the USTFCCCAs regional rankings after week one.Duhamel helped Tennessee take eighth despite battling inclement weather and a lightning delay.Womens Freshman of the Week: Taylor Werner, ArkansasArkansas Taylor Werner made her collegiate debut as the top 5K individual performer (16:48.52) at the Riverside Invitational out of 250 entries.She was the only student-athlete to post a sub-17 minute time in the competition and bested the event runner-up by almost 25 seconds.Werner led the Razorbacks to their third team title of the season and her 5K performance ranks her among the top-20 best in Razorback history. 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