Blackhawks’ Goalie Belfour Holds the Ducks to a Dull Roar This Time

Chicago goaltender Ed Belfour remembered the roar when the Blackhawks last played the Mighty Ducks in Chicago Stadium, and he didn’t like the sound of it one bit.

A rumble of discontent too loud to ignore tumbled out of the old building’s ancient stands as the Ducks scored a convincing 6-2 victory Jan. 6.

Remember the Roar is the catchy slogan for the Blackhawks’ final season at Chicago Stadium, but that noise wasn’t what Belfour had in mind. It was a tough night--Belfour stopped only 17 of 23 shots, including one of four in the pivotal second period--and the fans let him have it.

Armed with those unpleasant memories for motivation, Belfour went out and stopped the Ducks cold in Chicago’s 3-2 victory Sunday at Anaheim Arena.

“They gave us a real bad time in Chicago and the boys were thinking about that today,” Belfour said after stopping 26 of 28 shots Sunday.

Several times he got help from the goal posts, but he handled the best the Ducks could fire at him and came away a winner.

When the Ducks fell behind, 3-1, after the first period, Chicago went into a Duck-like defensive shell, but Belfour still faced a number of quality shots.

The Ducks were relentless around the Blackhawks’ net. Well, as relentless as a defensive-oriented expansion team can get, anyway.

“They were really pressing hard,” Belfour said. “Shots were coming from everywhere.”

Most ended up in Belfour’s grasp, enabling the Blackhawks to gain a measure of revenge for last month’s thrashing, the Ducks’ widest margin of victory this season and a night to forget for Belfour.

Sunday was so much different.

The Blackhawks smothered the Ducks, rarely allowing their forwards open space. Chicago gave up occasional scoring chances, but Belfour (23-14-4) was sharp all but twice.

Joe Sacco beat him with a long slap shot from the top of the right circle in the first period and Troy Loney pounced on a bad pass from Chicago defenseman Eric Weinrich and scored on a low shot from point-blank range in the second.

“He dares you to shoot between his pads,” Duck goalie Guy Hebert said. “And if you should beat him he’ll say, ‘All right, you’re not going to beat me again.’ ”

Said Duck forward Tim Sweeney: “Anytime you get in close against Belfour you have to take it upstairs (high). The chances were there, but we couldn’t take advantage.”

Belfour wasn’t about to give the Ducks second chances on Sunday. He’d seen what they could do and wasn’t ready for a repeat.

“It wasn’t such a good game for us last time,” he said. “It’s nice to come here and give them a little payback.”