The setting was Chicago, at the United Center, where 22,424 fans jeered and created pandemonium at the fact that their team, the Chicago Blackhawks, had just won their 6th Stanley Cup for the first time at home in nearly 77 years.
The Hawks were able to establish three consecutive victories in order to finish the series off 4-2, and finish a flawless 33-0 when leading in games after two periods.
The Lightning were not deterred easily, and after a scoreless dwindling first period, Keith scored for the Hawks in the remaining moments of the second to draw the crowd into a frenzy when he was able to fire a rebound off Tampa net-minder Ben Bishop into the back of the net.
The Hawks made noise again in the third, when winger Kane snapped a shot off a one timer feed from Brad Richards, to find the twine and send the United Center into a deafening roar, where it remained 2-0 till the end of the game.
“It’s the greatest feeling in the world,” coach Joel Quenneville was quoted saying after the game, “Once you do it once, you can’t wait to do it again. It was special doing it in front of our home fans. The building was electric, the town had a buzz to it.”
Goalie Corey Crawford contributed an impressive 25 saves to help the Hawks achieve their Stanley Cup victory.
“We hadn’t won it at home before; it’s a great feeling,” winger Marian Hossa said. “We love this city, we love the crowd, they’re spoiling us every year with sellouts. We’re just so happy to be able to give this back to the city and the people who love the Blackhawks.”
via Flikr/Cheryl Adams
