[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 10556-10557]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 CONGRATULATING THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I made a point of not raising this issue 
when Senator Cowan was in the chair the other day, but I wanted to come 
to the floor and say a few words about the Chicago Blackhawks.
  For the fifth time since 1926 and the second time in four seasons, 
the Chicago Blackhawks are the Stanley Cup champions. On Monday night, 
the Blackhawks scored 2 goals in 17 seconds in the third period to win 
the Stanley Cup finals and to bring Lord Stanley's Cup back home to the 
city of Chicago.
  I want to congratulate team owner Rocky Wirtz, team president John 
McDonough, general manager Stan Bowman, and head coach Joel 
Quenneville. I will tell you that Joel Quenneville, a great hockey 
player in his own right, has been an extraordinary coach and one who 
has taken a great group of players and brought them to the pinnacle of 
success when it comes to the National Hockey League.
  It was a shortened season, but the Blackhawks made the most of it. 
They didn't lose a game in regulation in the first 24 games. By the end 
of the season they had won the President's Trophy, which is awarded to 
the team with the most points in the NHL.
  That doesn't always mean you are successful. Before this season, only 
seven winners of the President's Trophy won the Stanley Cup. But the 
Hawks were up to it.
  First, they faced the Minnesota Wild--and I heard a lot from Senators 
Klobuchar and Franken about that contest. We prevailed. Then they went 
on to face the Detroit Red Wings. They had to win three games in a row 
and score a goal in an overtime thriller to beat the Red Wings, then 
faced last year's Stanley Cup champs, the Los Angeles Kings, and they 
finally earned the right to play the Boston Bruins in the finals. It 
was a hard-fought contest by two excellent, great teams, and they kept 
us up late at night. Down 2 to 1, with just over 1 minute to play, the 
Blackhawks scored two goals to win their second Stanley Cup in the last 
four seasons.
  This year's championship was truly a team effort. The Blackhawks won 
with contributions up and down the lineup.
  MVP Patrick Kane topped the Hawks with 19 points.
  Bryan Bickell had 17 points, while Patrick Sharp led all Hawks with 
10 goals.
  Corey Crawford was tremendous in the net, and the Hawks penalty 
killers--led by Michael Frolik and Marcus Kruger--were great, only 
allowing seven goals in 23 games while scoring a pair of shorthanded 
goals.
  The Hawks would also tell you that they couldn't have done it without 
the support of their fans.
  The ``Madhouse on Madison'' was rocking from the very first note of 
the Star-Spangled Banner and proved to be a difficult environment for 
opponents with Chicago taking 11 of their 13 home games in the 
playoffs.
  The Blackhawks gave fans several memorable moments throughout their 
Stanley Cup run, including Brent Seabrook's overtime goal in Game 7 to 
eliminate the Red Wings, Kane's double-overtime goal to complete a hat 
trick and eliminate the Kings, Andrew Shaw's triple-overtime goal to 
win Game 1 of the series against Boston, and now the late-game heroics 
of Bickell and Dave Bolland to clinch the championship for Chicago.
  The Stanley Cup has come home to Chicago and Hawks fans can't wait to 
celebrate with Captain Jonathan Toews, his teammates, and the 35-pound 
silver guest of honor.
  At 4 a.m. Tuesday morning, hundreds of Hawks fans greeted the team 
plane at O'Hare, ready to celebrate another NHL championship.
  I will tell you that I have witnessed, representing the city of 
Chicago, some extraordinary fan loyalty. What I have seen from the 
Chicago Blackhawks over the last 8 weeks has been amazing. You can't 
walk down Michigan Avenue, State Street, or any neighborhood without 
running into Blackhawks gear. People are so proud of their team, and 
now as they parade the Stanley Cup around Chicago it is the front page 
of every newspaper.
  A few years ago when they were the Stanley Cup champions last, the 
Stanley Cup itself came to the Senate here and I was honored to have it 
in my office with a parade of visitors coming by to see this 
magnificent trophy.
  Let me say to the Chicago Blackhawks, we are proud of you, proud of 
the great fans who stood behind you, and looking forward to celebrating 
this Friday with a great victory parade.
  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, 
the

[[Page 10557]]

preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 187) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  (The resolution, with its preamble, is printed in today's Record 
under ``Submitted Resolutions.'')

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