Morning Box Score
By Marcus Gilmer in News on Nov 22, 2009 5:00PM
Blackhawks Roll Past Oilers
Two nights after exploding for seven goals, the Blackhawks juggernaut kept rolling as they eased past the Oilers by a 5-2 final, extending their winning streak to six games (and 2-0 on the Circus Trip). Jonathan Toews opened up scoring with a goal less than four minutes into the game; the Oilers answered, but the Blackhawks countered with goals from Kris Versteeg and Patrick Kane to take a 3-1 lead into the first intermission. John Madden added a second period goal and Taser scored his second goal of the game on a power play halfway through the third. Huet stopped 25 shots in net for the 'Hawks. It was a great game for Toews who missed time earlier in the season due to a concussion. The 'Hawks try to get the winning streak to lucky seven tonight in Vancouver (9 p.m., WGN).
Bulls Fall To Nuggets
The Bulls aren't having nearly as good a Circus Trip as their UC counterparts as the team dropped their second straight, falling to the Denver Nuggets 112-93. Things looked good early on as the Bulls jumped out to a 27-14 lead at the end of the first period, but the Nuggets chipped away at the lead in the second before sprinting past the Bulls in the second half, outscoring Chicago 63-41. Derrick Rose continued to improve his play in the losing effort, scoring 28 and pulling down 6 rebounds; Luol Deng added 22 points. Next up on the road trip is a swing through Portland Monday night (9 p.m., WGN).
College Football
- The Northwestern Wildcats pulled off their second upset of the year over a ranked team, defeating the #16 Wisconsin Badgers by a 33-31 final. Mike Kafka had a great day under center for NU, throwing for 326 yards and two TDs. Kicker Stefan Demos was also clutch, going 4 for 4 on FG tries, including two from 45 yards. So what's next for Northwestern? At 8-4, certainly a bowl game, possibly the Champs Sports or Alamo Bowl.
- The heat is on in South Bend after Notre Dame fell to UConn 33-30 in a 2OT thriller. At 6-5, Irish fans (and boosters) can't be happy with coach Charlie Weis. The Irish got out to a 14-0 lead early but couldn't hold as the Huskies fought back and hit a field goal with just over a minute left to force overtime. Jimmy Clausen threw 329 yards and a pair of touchdowns, Golden Tate being his favorite target (123 yards, 1 TD). It's the third straight loss for Notre Dame and it doesn't get any easier as they travel to Stanford to take on a Cardinal team that's coming off a heartbreaking loss of its own. Still, even if the Irish lose their fourth straight next weekend, they'll still make a bowl game; they are Notre Dame, after all.
- Despite only allowing 247 total yards of offense to Ohio, NIU still fell by a 38-31 final. Chandler Harnish threw for 307 yards and a pair of TDs and one interception. Chad Spann scored two TDs on the ground but only rolled up 32 yards. NIU tries to help their bowl chances when they finish the season on Friday at Central Michigan.
College Basketball
The #25 Illini had no problems in cruising past Presbyterian by a 94-48 final. 13 different players scored, led by D.J. Richardson who had 15; Mike Davis added 12 and had 9 rebounds.