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Jerez Preview: Can Anyone Stop the #72?

  Lately, Marco Bezzecchi is making winning look easy. With a flawless hat trick of victories in Thailand, Brazil, and the USA, the #72 has treated the early-season standings like his own personal victory lap. Next stop: Jerez. Will the win streak continue in Spain, or can anyone actually disrupt the rhythm of Bez? The "Global Takeover" in Three Acts: Thailand: To open the season in Buriram, Bezzecchi converted a dominant pole position into a Sunday masterclass. Every lap was led by him, crossing the finish line with a 5.5-second cushion over Pedro Acosta, setting the tone for a flawless start to the season. Brazil: In a treacherous race in Goiânia that was shortened due to track degradation concerns, Bez pulled an ambush at the first corner. He kept his cool on a track that felt more like a gravel pit than a circuit, bringing home back-to-back wins from second on the grid. USA: At COTA - the most technical track they face - Bezzecchi proved he could win anywhere. He...
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Frank Nazar Makes NHL Debut, Scores 1st NHL Goal in 4-2 Loss vs. Carolina Hurricanes 4/14/24

 



*Sorry for the lack of photos! Hoping to get permission eventually.*


   The Blackhawks had a strong start but took a 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at the United Center on Sunday, April 14th. Frank Nazar not only just signed a three-year entry-level contract and made his NHL debut with Chicago, but he also scored his first NHL goal to give the Hawks a strong starting lead. Even though the Blackhawks came out with a loss, they still put in the effort. Petr Mrazek made some huge saves for Chicago, making a total of 31. Seth Jarvis scored two goals for the Hurricanes to help secure their victory. The Blackhawks have two games remaining, both against the Vegas Golden Knights and the Los Angeles Kings.


Hurricanes lineup against the Blackhawks:

Guentzel - Aho - Jarvis

 Kotkaniemi - Drury - Necas

Martinook - Staal - Svechnikov

Noesen - Kuznetsov - Fast


Slavin - Burns

Orlov - Pesce

Chatfield - DeAngelo


Kochetkov


Blackhawks lineup against the Hurricanes:

Foligno - Bedard - Kurashev

Reichel - Athanasiou - Donato

Dickinson - Nazar - Anderson

Slaggert - Johnson - Raddysh


Vlasic - Jones

Tinordi - Korchinski

Del Mastro - Murphy


Mrazek

Soderblom


   Frank Nazar opened the scoring for the Blackhawks in the first period with 9:55 on the clock for his first NHL goal in his NHL debut. After breaking up a play in the defensive zone, he received a pass from Seth Jones before he skated into the slot alone and sent the puck past Pyotr Kochetkov.


   At 15:50 of the second period, Jordan Staal tied it 1-1 to put Carolina on the board with his 10th goal of the season. He got the puck in the slot, sending it past Petr Mrazek after he followed his own rebound. This had been the only goal scored in the middle frame, and the Hurricanes and Hawks headed into the final 20 stuck in a tie.


   Andreas Athanasiou put Chicago back on top early into the third at 18:06 for his second goal of the season when he put in the rebound of a shot by Lukas Reichel, who had moved in alone on Pyotr Kotchetkov. Seth Jarvis had scored twice for the Hurricanes to both tie the game and get Carolina their first lead of the night. Jarvis has 33 goals this season for the Hurricanes after recording these two goals. With 2:06 left in regulation, Sebastian Aho went for the 4-2 final with an empty-net goal for his 36th of the season. The goal had been challenged for offside, however, it was determined to be a good goal after review.




Frank Nazar on his first NHL goal in his NHL debut, what the last 48-72 hours have been, and if the decision was difficult: "There was a nice play at the blue line and I was able to go in, and I was just kind of shooting for whatever was open... Pretty hectic, honestly. From being at the Frozen Four to flying in last night, and then figuring out I was playing today - it was really crazy. I'm a little exhausted, but it was a blast," - "It was a really hard decision. Just me and my family had put things together, pros and cons, and looked at what we needed to look at. It all just came down to what was best, and I know I made the right choice."


Lukas Reichel on the game overall and Frank Nazar: "I think it was way better in the last three games. We talked about it before the game that we wanted to enter the home game, if we lose, we got to battle to the end. I think we did that, and unfortunately, we didn't get the win. At least we battled and tried our best," - "He's unreal. He's so fast, a really skilled player, and he's got a good celly too. It was a good game by him and it was good to see him get his first goal."




Notes:

- Frank Nazar, who's 20 years old, became the fourth-youngest player in Blackhawks history to score in his first NHL career game. He's behind Eddie Olczyk on October 11th, 1984 (18 years old), Jonathan Toews on October 10th, 2007 (19 years old), and Ken Solheim on December 10th, 1980 (19 years old).

  Nazar had also won his first NHL faceoff off the opening draw.

- Petr Mrazek had been absolutely stellar the whole game. He stopped 24 of 25 shots he faced in the first two periods, keeping the Blackhawks in a 1-1 game heading into the third period.

- Lukas Reichel recorded his 11th assist of the season on Andreas Athanasiou's goal... (15 points; four goals, 11 assists), and Ryan Donato also recorded an assist on Athanasiou's goal to grab his 28th point of the season (11 goals, 17 assists).

- Seth Jarvis has a total of 67 points this season (33 goals, 34 assists), tied for the third-highest goal total in a season by a Carolina Hurricanes player at the age of 22 or younger. He's behind both Eric Staal (45 in the 2005-06 season) and Sebastian Aho (38 in the 2019-20 season).

  Jarvis scored both his 12th and 13th power-play goals of this season, tying Aho (13 in the 2021-22 season) for the most in a season by an active Hurricanes player.

- Andrei Svechnikov recorded two assists, and Pyotr Kochetkov made a total of 14 saves for Carolina.


 




Postgame: Luke Richardson

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