ESPN.com - The Hawks are back ... and so are their fans

ESPN.com: NHL Playoffs 2002

Tuesday, April 16, 2002
The Hawks are back ... and so are their fans

By George Johnson
Special to ESPN.com

It's back. Jarring. Rising. Ear-splitting. Crude. Intimidating. And ... beautiful.


	Brian Sutter guided the Hawks to the playoffs with virtually the same lineup that went 29-40-8-5 last season.

"As loud as ever," reports Brian Sutter gleefully. "At our last regular-season home game, halfway through the Star Spangled Banner, you couldn't hear the person talking next to you; couldn't hear yourself think. Just the way it was in the old Stadium.

"The noise sent chills up your spine. Just the way it used to. "At the beginning of the season it was still pretty quiet in there. But when we promised the fans here we'd earn their respect each and every night, we meant it. A lot of people might've figured we were just paying them lip service, but we weren't. We've kept our part of the bargain and they've kept theirs."

From a stony sheet of silence to a sheer wall of sound. That's what 25 additional points in the standings can do for you. After a half-decade of erosion of the comparatively modest but hugely fanatical fan base, hockey is back in the Windy City. And if the Hawks can find a way to slay the slightly-favored St. Louis Blues in the first round of these Stanley Cup playoffs and continue to build momentum all over the city, it'd be back in a big way.

The Hawks are hoping to make as much noise in these playoffs as their fans.

"I'm happy for the franchise and the people of Chicago and Mr. Wirtz," says Sutter. "They went through a lot these last four year years. There's still something special about an Original Six team ... the history and the great names from the past. So to be here when things got turned in the right direction again is very satisfying."

The din certain to accompany the Hawks onto the ice Sunday afternoon for the start of Game 3 in the series is sure to bring a nostalgic tear to the eye of oldtimers who remember better days on the south side. It has, remember, been five seasons since the Hawks even qualified for playoffs.

"When I played in St. Louis, I remember games in Chicago as being among the hardest we had to play," says Sutter. "That old barn really got loud, the crowd was right on top of the ice surface and you felt the whole city was against you. That is the sort of feeling we wanted to instill again." And to a large extent succeeded in doing. The Hawks went 28-7-5-1 for 62 points at the United Center, tied with Detroit for the most home points in the league and a whopping 27 more than a year ago.

Suddenly, there is interest in the Hawks again. ESPN or ABC will cover all games in the Chicago-St. Louis series. There's a demand for tickets. The Chicago media is beginning to come out of the woodwork. And as luck would have it, the opponent in this first round couldn't be more appropriate.

As hockey historians can confirm, the Blues and Hawks have forged a long legacy of disputes, dating back to the old Norris Division days. And for 16 seasons and seven playoff series, Brian Sutter, first as a gap-toothed, sneering centerman and then as a fiery, take-no-prisoners coach, was one of the main protagonists at the heart of the bitter, ongoing drama. Sutter, as mentioned, took part in seven series pitting St. Louis against Chicago, including three Norris Division finals. He lost six of them, which may or may not be a good omen, depending on your take.

"Doesn't mean a lot to me, to be honest," maintains Sutter. "I donated my heart and soul" -- not to mention his teeth and sundry other body parts -- "to the Blues when I played there. Those were great days. And I still have a lot of friends in St. Louis. Most of the building staff from the old rink came over to the new one when it was built and it's great to see them every time we go in there. But I'm coaching the Chicago Blackhawks now and we have a series to win. I'm looking forward to that; not because we're playing the St. Louis Blues.

"I can't remember any specifics about those series we played the Hawks in the old days. But I do know that every single time we met, it was a war.

"I don't expect anything less now. That's a very, very talented hockey club they've got in St. Louis."

	“	You put that all together with a lot of hard work and you wind up with a good season. There's no secret, no magical formula, to it at all. ”
		— Brian Sutter, Blackhawks coach

The Blues, of course, are preseason Cup contenders who stumbled along the way. The Hawks, of course, are preseason Cup 'are-you-kidding-me?'s who wrote one of the regular-season's happiest stories. Only two points separated them in the standings.

"We had a plan in place at the start of the year and I'm sure there wasn't a person, players included, that didn't laugh," says Sutter. "Our goal was to earn 12 points in every 10-game segment and keep the goals-against-down to an average of 2.5 a night. Well, we managed to hit those targets right on the head.

"We knew we needed a better power play and we wound up sixth. Our penalty killing hurt us, it was 26th or 27th, but in the last quarter it was just under 90 percent. So we feel better about it now.

"We had winning records against Detroit, Colorado, San Jose, St. Louis and Vancouver and were .500 against Phoenix and L.A. So we understand that we can play good teams tough -- and that's important. We knew there was a better cast of talent here than had been shown in the last few years. And when we made changes, we brought the right type of people in -- Howie (Phil Housley), Jon Klemm, Steve Thomas, Lyle Odelein, Tom Fitzgerald.

"You put that all together with a lot of hard work and you wind up with a good season. There's no secret, no magical formula, to it at all."

Sutter, naturally enough, is concentrating on the positives as his Hawks gear up to face the big-budget Bluenotes. There are, however, some fairly significant concerns, as well.

Chicago is stuck with the worst road record of any Western Conference playoff team (13-20-8-0) and really doesn't have a go-to No. 1 goalie entering the post season, with Jocelyn Thibault stuttering badly following the Olympic break (4-7-2).

If there's any doubt in the steel-jawed conviction of Brian Sutter, though, he isn't letting on.

"This franchise, our players, have been looking forward to this for a long time," says the man most responsible for the turnaround in Chi-Town. "Like I told our guys today: 'Boys, we made it this far. Don't leave anything on the ice now. Don't have any regrets about how hard you played.'

"I can guarantee you one thing: The Chicago Blackhawks will be ready for Game 1."

And the Chicago Blackhawks' crowd for Game 3? How ready will it be?

"Better go out and buy yourself some ear plugs."

George Johnson of the Calgary Herald is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.