He Shoots, He Scores

"It's a great feeling," Dowell said. "I've worked hard, and it's finally paying off getting my chance here. "I know it's a cliche, but every kid dreams of being able to play in the NHL."
(Daily Herald: Hawks' pipeline to Rockford stays productive)

In his first NHL game on Thursday, Jake Dowell scored his first NHL goal as the Blackhawks defeated the Flames 2-1. Pretty cool. You can see the goal in the highlight video -- there's a link on the right of the Hawks recap page, or you can see it on yahoo sports. You can also see some game pictures of Jake here.

The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram has a fantastic article, and WEAU has a story including an interview with Vicki Dowell. The Hockey News also congratulates Jake on his first NHL goal.

EDIT: Can't believe I missed this at first, but here's another story by WEAU featuring an interview with Jake in which he talks about his first goal.

In his second NHL game, Jake was held off the scoresheet in Chicago's shootout loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Tom Gilbert, playing for Edmonton, was also held off the scoresheet, but he logged over 29 minutes of ice-time. Wow.

Speaking of Tom Gilbert, the Oilers' website has a lengthy interview with Tom in which he answered questions from fans. I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet because it's almost 30 minutes long!