Sports with Megs

CHARLOTTE, NC - - In years past, I've only really watched the Stanley Cup Finals. I live down in the Southeastern part of the US, so hockey just doesn't really have a presence (at least, not like it does in the northern part of the country), so playoff hockey was usually all I watched. But, the interesting thing is that... I don't ever remember it being so controversial. I know hockey's not a nice sport--there are always going to be fights and booing and yelling and just general anger. And, I know that me not being an avid hockey fan might be a part of this, too. At the end of the day, all of these teams are fighting for the same thing. They want the Cup. There are right and wrong ways to go about this, though, and I think a large part of the issue I have with this first round of the playoffs is what the league is doing--or, rather, isn't. It's not a question that the coach's challenge this year has been a mess. That's often what happens when you t...

CHARLOTTE, NC -- This sounds like a weird thing to write . I know. But, after all of the tears and the sweat and the cheers this season, there's one thing that's been through it all with me. My sweater. I got my Jonathan Toews sweater for Christmas this past year, and it was really all I asked for. It was the number one thing on my mind, and I wanted it more than anything else. I really wish my parents got a picture of me opening it, because I don't know that I've ever been so happy to open something in my life. I wore it the next time the Blackhawks played after Christmas, and though they lost, I was happy to at least be a part of it. Then, things got crazy. From December 29th to January 19th, I wore my sweater every single time the boys played. And they won every single one of those games. I took it as my sweater being lucky, and as a naturally very superstitious person, the more they won, the more anxious I was to put my sweater on. The first loss to Tampa B...

CHICAGO, IL -- What a game. What started as a bleak outlook and a possible end to the Blackhawks' season turned into a resounding 6-3 win over the Blues. The Hawks started off relatively strong, with a nice shot from Ladd just four minutes in. The Blues answered not two minutes later, then five minutes after that, giving them a 2-1 lead at the halfway point of the period. And just following that, the Blues scored again. It looked very, very bleak for the Hawks. But, someone lit a fire under them, because they came back hot . Anisimov scored four minutes into the second on a power play, which gave us a little hope. It was a while before the Hawks scored again, killing a penalty off in between. It was then turn for van Riemsdyk to finally get his first playoff goal, and as you can tell, he was pretty stoked about it: ( sheercompulsion  on tumblr) Weise answered right after that, giving the Blackhawks the lead going into the third. But, I, like many other fans, didn...

ST . LOUIS, MO - - I don't even know where to start with last night's game. I should preface with the fact that I went to bed at about 12:30am EST. I have classes this morning, so I had to get some sleep, and I thought whatever the outcome was, I'd just have to find out in the morning. So, waking up to a 2OT win? Pretty damn special. Let's start at the beginning, though, shall we? The boys played well the first period, though it was a mostly dull period. No goals, no penalties--but a lot of incredible saves made by both Elliot and Crawford. Their battle is incredibly intense, and I've been impressed by both of them the past few nights. Now, the second period is when things started to get crazy. The Hawks played well again,  killing off a few penalties here and there. They weren't able to capitalize on the one they received, but they at least staved the Blues off for a while and Hossa even managed a shorty. He's basically the king of shorthanded goa...

CHICAGO, IL -- I wasn't going to write anything after the game last night. I turned my TV off after the Blues' 3rd goal, and I threw things. Including my sweater, which I regret a lot. I shouldn't have done that. But, I was so angry. I still am, so therefore, this isn't really a recap of the game at all. It's a story that happened about 20 minutes ago. -- I call my mom every morning, just to touch base (really, I’m just homesick, bored, and avoiding work for the moment). She’s a huge Blackhawks fan, since she lived in Chicago when she was younger and was able to actually go to games. So, when I called her this morning, you know what the first thing she said to me was? You know, it’s just not their year. And, you know what? I can be okay with that. This season has been so good to us, between Kane’s point streak, the 12-game winning streak, the success of the second line, guys stepping up that really needed to (Shaw, Anisimov, Desjardins, Hjalmarsson, etc....

CHICAGO, I L -- That was the most stereotypical and frustrating loss in Blackhawks history. I can't even really type this right now but I'm trying to keep up with this blog. The first period was stellar--Seabrook's power play beaut early on helped the boys gain some confidence. There were only ten shots by the Hawks, but they made sure not to let the Blues get too much action. The Hawks really should have scored more in the first, since they had three power plays nearly back-to-back at the start of the first, yet only capitalized on one. The Blues managed to put one on the boards as well, but it wasn't stressful yet. The second period was insane. It was a lot of playing keep-away, rather than a whole lot of scoring. Interestingly enough, Panarin's first faceoff ended in a goal for Anisimov, which is pretty incredible. After an adorable celly, the boys managed to keep the Blues at bay. Crawford was unbelievable, making about three series of saves that had me...

ST. LOUIS, MO -- OH. MY. GOD. Hands down, most stressful game I've watched all year. The first period was just downright brutal. With only two shots made by the Blackhawks to the Blues' seven, it looked grim for the Hawks. There was only one power play opportunity in the first period for the Blackhawks, and though they didn't score, they at least killed off a penalty of their own. It wasn't until the second period that things started to pick up. Tarasenko notched one fifteen minutes in, giving the Blues a lead. But, Duncan Keith wanted to make sure the Scottrade Center knew he was back in the game, scoring with just a few seconds left in the period and tying it up. That was enough to shut the Blues fans up for a bit (seriously, the booing every time either Kane or Keith touched the puck grew annoying after about the second time). The second period even ended with a nice little kerfluffle (as the Blackhawks Twitter account called it)! And, the third period, o...