Windy City Wrap Up: Bears Stage Another Comeback, Blackhawks Have an Undefeated Week

Chicago sports fans were treated to a Bears win, three Blackhawks wins and a Bulls win, but were disappointed by two Bulls losses. 

The Bears secured their win Nov. 9 against the New York Giants 24-20 in another fourth-quarter comeback. 

In the first quarter, the Bears started the game with an eight-yard touchdown run by running back Kyle Monangai and an extra point by kicker Cairo Santos. 

The Giants responded in the opening of the second quarter with a three-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jaxson Dart and an extra point by punter and kicker Younghoe Koo. With three seconds to spare in the half, Koo made a 32-yard field goal, putting in a 10-7 Giants lead. 

Another 24-yard touchdown run by Dart and an extra point by Koo extended the Giants’ lead, but Santos kicked a field goal with 34 seconds left in the third quarter, cutting the Giants’ lead. 

A field goal by Koo at the beginning of the fourth quarter spelled trouble for the Bears, but a two-yard touchdown pass from Williams to Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze put them down three. Two minutes later, a 17-yard touchdown run by Williams and a successful kick from Santos secured a win for the Bears, putting them at 6-3 and third in the wildcard. 

Week four for the Bulls consisted of a win against the Philadelphia 76ers and losses against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

A close game of 113-111 had the Bulls beating the 76ers Nov. 5, with 29 points from guard Josh Giddey. At the end of the first quarter, the 76ers were ahead 45-27, and they maintained the lead throughout the second quarter, ending with a lead of 75-56. 

The Bulls were still behind 95-84 by the end of the third quarter, but they jumped to the lead at the end of the fourth after center Nikola Vucevic sank a three-pointer, snagging a victory for the Bulls. 

Two days later, the Bulls fell to the Bucks 126-110. The Bulls ended the first quarter with a small 25-23 lead and maintained it through most of the second quarter, but the Bucks eventually overtook for a 53-52 lead by the end of the first half. 

The Bucks gained a stronger 85-80 lead by the end of the third quarter, and the Bulls faced long scoring droughts in the fourth quarter, which led to their loss.

The Bulls faced another close loss Nov. 8 to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The first quarter ended with a tight 32-29 lead for the Cavaliers, but Chicago stepped up and gained a 72-56 lead in the second quarter. 

The third quarter ended with another close lead, this time 98-96 in favor of the Bulls. A minute and a half long scoring drought became their downfall in the fourth, and the Cavaliers ended with the victory. 

The Chicago Blackhawks won all three of their games this week, with left wing Tyler Bertuzzi racking up six goals across three games. 

The Blackhawks won 5-2 against the Vancouver Canucks Nov. 5, where all goals were scored in the third period. The first goal, three minutes into the period, was scored by Bertuzzi off a pass from defender Matt Grzelyck. Three minutes later, Bertuzzi got another shot off an assist from center Connor Bedard. 

Right wing Ilya Mikheyev scored off a pass from center Ryan Donato. Bertuzzi’s third goal was off a short pass from defender Louis Crevier. The Canucks’ first goal of the night was scored by center Aatu Raty, and their second — two minutes later — was scored by left wing Evander Kane.

The Blackhawks finished the night off with a goal by Bedard off a backhand pass from goaltender Spencer Knight. 

The Blackhawks skated away with another 4-0 win this week against the Calgary Flames Nov. 7. The first goal came in the first period from a tip-in by Bertuzzi off an assist from Bedard. The second period saw a scoring drought from both teams, which was broken a minute into the third period by another Bertuzzi goal. 

Off a pass from Bedard, left wing Andre Burakovsky slid the puck into the back of the net to extend the Blackhawks’ lead. A goal from Bedard in the final two minutes of the period tightly secured another victory for Chicago. 

The Blackhawks came away with another win in their 5-1 game against the Detroit Red Wings Nov. 9. Bedard scored the first goal within the first minute of the puck drop off a quick pass from defender Artyom Levshunov. 

Detroit’s center Dylan Larkin scored the first and only goal for the Red Wings off an assist from left wing Lucas Raymond. A few minutes into the second period, Chicago center Teuvo Teravainen buried the puck into the net off a pass from Burakovsky for the final score of the period. 

Bertuzzi scored in the sixth minute of period three off another assist from Bedard, and ten minutes later, Bedard passed to Burakovsky for another goal. With 20 seconds remaining, center Oliver Moore took a shot, securing the third win of the week for the Blackhawks. 

The Blackhawks stand third in the Western Conference with an 8-5-3 record — impressive for a team that has always been falling to the end of the pack. If they keep up their momentum and give Bertuzzi and Bedard their chance to shine, the Blackhawks could take their season far, and stay at the top of the standings. 

The Blackhawk’s next game is Nov. 12 against the New Jersey Devils. The Bulls continue their season Nov. 10 against the San Antonio Spurs, and the Bears play the Minnesota Vikings Nov. 16.