Harris: No Room For Quenneville's Ulcer To Keep Blackhawks Down
By Adam Harris--
Coach Joel Quenneville was not at practice today or the game last night, but that cannot distract the Chicago Blackhawks who are in basically must win situations every time they take the ice the rest of the season.
"It's not a good thing that Joel's going through what he's going through." Patrick Sharp said. "It's good we can rally behind him, and come together as a team here. It's an important time of year here. Games are running out and we need to win. I thought the way we responded without him was a huge step forward."
Quenneville was sent to the hospital early Wednesday morning because of a pain in his abdomen. After many tests, it is determined that the gastrointestinal bleeding was caused by a small ulcer in Quenneville's stomach caused by taking aspirin.
There is no timetable for Quenneville's return, and until then assistant Mike Haviland will continue to step in as acting head coach.
"This is certainly not about me, it's about the team," Haviland said. "The guys are so professional. They were great, and the guys are very attentive and they listened. We have a great group here, so it's certainly a pleasure to work that bench with them."
Haviland made his Blackhawks head coach debut last night with a 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild. After the game Haviland spoke with Quenneville via the phone.
"He [Quenneville] said system wise he liked us in the neutral ice. He liked us in certain areas in our fore check and our cycles and stuff. He was just happy that we won. He thought we played a good game."
Tomorrow the Blackhawks play an important game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Columbus. The Blackhawks are four points out of a playoff spot with three teams ahead of them.
Puck drops tomorrow at 7PM and it is yet to be determined if Quenneville will be behind the bench. He is resting at the hospital and is supposed to be released in the next couple days. If not it will be Mike Haviland going for his second consecutive win as the Blackhawks head coach.
