Young Chicago Goalie Niemi Blanks Canucks

Chicago Black Hawks netminder Antti Niemi faced all 30 shots on route to a 1-0 shutout victory over the Vancouver Canucks Sunday night in Vancouver. Both Niemi and Canucks' goalie Roberto Luongo played well, but Hawks' left winger Bryan Bickell shoveled in his first goal of the season (actually, his first in 3 seasons!) which proved to be the only goal of the game.

Vancouver had 30 shots on Niemi, while Chicago had only 17 on Luongo, but Bickell's one shot was the one that counted most. Bickell has been used sparingly by Chicago, appearing in only 13 National Hockey League games, 6 of them this season.

Chicago's captain, Jonathan Toews and defenseman Brian Campbell had assists on Bickell's marker, scored at 1:12 of the 3rd period. This was Niemi's 2nd shutout of the season and only his 9th NHL game, having appeared in only 3 games last season. He played most of last season with the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League going 18-14-3 with 2 shutouts for the IceHogs.

The Black Hawks head down the West Coast to meet the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, while Vancouver is off until Thursday the 26th, when they host the Los Angeles Kings.