Chicago sports fans were in for a rough week — two Bulls losses, a Blackhawks win and loss and the Olympics break suspending hockey.
The Chicago Bulls faced the Toronto Raptors Feb. 5 and lost 123-107. Raptors forward Brandon Ingram led the charge with 33 points, and Bulls guard Anfernee Simons followed with 22 points.
The first quarter ended with the Raptors in a short lead 33-25, which they maintained to end the first half 65-58.
The third quarter started after two minutes of no scoring, and the Bulls struggled to close the gap, with the Raptors ending the quarter up 100-88. The Bulls fought back in the fourth quarter, but the Raptors stayed strong and secured the 123-107 victory.
The Bulls returned to the United Center to play the Denver Nuggets Feb. 7. Nuggets guard Jamal Murray led scoring with 28 points, and Bulls forward Matas Buzelis trailed with 21 points.
The first quarter saw a tight 39-36 lead for the Nuggets, which the Bulls overcame early in the second quarter, going into the half with a 65-59 lead.
The fans saw another tight quarter in the third, where the Bulls came out on top with a 104-97 lead. The Bulls unfortunately lost their lead in the fourth quarter, and the Nuggets secured a 136-120 victory.
The Bulls traveled to New York to take on the Brooklyn Nets Feb. 9. Nets guard Nic Claxton led with 28 points, and Bulls guard Afernee Simons trailed with 23 points.
The first quarter ended with the Bulls in a tight lead 31-27, but the Nets came in the second, which ended with a 60-54 Brooklyn lead.
The Bulls fought back in the third quarter, ending at an even 89, but the Nets took charge in the fourth quarter, and the game ended in a 123-115 victory for Brooklyn.
The Chicago Bulls are on a five game losing streak, but Chicago fans keep hope for their next game against the Boston Celtics Feb. 11.
The Blackhawks won their first game of the week at home against the San Jose Sharks Feb. 2. Chicago center Ryan Donato led the Blackhawks with two goals and two assists.
Center Connor Bedard scored for the Blackhawks in the first period with a snap shot off a series of passes from center Teuvo Teravainen and left wing Tyler Bertuzzi. Early in the second period saw a wrist shot goal from defender Connor Murphy off an assist from defender Matt Grzelyck.
Donato scored his first goal seven minutes later with a wrist shot off an assist from right wing Ilya Mikheyev. A minute later, defender Sam Rinzel scored a slap shot off a pass from Mikheyev. The Sharks responded two minutes later with a goal from center Will Smith off a pass from center Macklin Celebrini. Forty seconds later, Mikheyev tipped-in a goal off an assist from Donato. Celebrini’s wrist shot goal three minutes later was off a pass from center Tyler Toffoli.
Two minutes into the third period, Sharks defender Shakir Mukhamadullin scored on a backhand off a pass from Sharks center Phillipp Kurashev. A final goal from Donato off an assist from Mikheyev secured the 6-3 win for the Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks traveled to Ohio to play the Columbus Blue Jackets Feb. 4, where Blue Jackets goaltender Jet Greaves tallied 21 saves and shut out the Blackhawks.
Blue Jackets defender Zach Werenski scored on a snap shot four minutes into the game off assists from centers Cole Sillinger and Charlie Coyle. Eight minutes later, Columbus defender Ivan Provorov’s wrist shot was buried in the back of the net.
The second period saw a wrist shot goal by left wing Danton Heinen off a pass from Charlie Coyle, but no other action from either team.
Fifteen minutes into the third period, Blue Jackets center Sean Monahan scored on a solo wrist shot, securing the 4-0 victory for Columbus.
The NHL will be taking a break for the Olympics until Feb. 26, when the Blackhawks return to play the Nashville Predators.
Center Teuvo Teravainen is the only Blackhawk participating in the Olympics for Team Finland. Center Connor Bedard wasn’t initially selected to play for Team Canada, but has been considered for injury replacement for the team.
The 2026 Winter Olympics are taking place in Milan and Cortina, Italy Feb. 6-22. The Winter Games include team sports like hockey, bobsledding and curling, as well as individual sports like alpine skiing, figure skating and snowboarding.
Men’s speedskater Emery Lehman was born in Chicago and raised in Oak Park, Ill.. He’s participated in the Winter Olympics in 2014, 2018 and 2022. Lehman has earned a bronze medal, and is the youngest male U.S. speedskater in history to make his Olympic debut at the Sochi Olympics.
After the third day, Norway and Switzerland are tied with three gold medals each, but Norway is leading with six medals overall.
Team USA gained their first gold medal in the figure skating team event, with Ilia Malinin scoring 200.03 and earning 10 points for USA in Men’s Single Skating Free Skating and Amber Glenn placing third with 138.62 and earning eight points for USA in Women Single Skating Free Skating. Breezy Johnson earned a gold for Team USA in Women’s Downhill Alpine Skiing.
USA’s men’s hockey team will go up against Latvia Feb. 12, Denmark Feb. 14 and Germany Feb. 15 in Group C of the preliminary round.
USA’s women’s hockey team have played three of their four Group A preliminary round games, earning wins Feb. 5 against Czechia, Feb. 7 against Finland and Feb. 9 against Switzerland. They play their final preliminary game Feb. 10 against Canada.
Lindsey Vonn, 41-year-old alpine skier, suffered a crash during the Women’s Downhill event, and had to be airlifted off the course. A week earlier, Vonn had ruptured her ACL during a race in Switzerland.
After her injury in Switzerland, Vonn remained determined to compete in the Olympics, but her crash in Italy left her with a severe fracture in her left leg. In initial treatment, her leg was stabilized, but Vonn will undergo multiple surgeries to fix her left leg, according to NPR.
Her teammate Breezy Johnson went on to earn gold for Team USA in Women’s Downhill Alpine Skiing with a time of 1:36:10 — Johnson’s medal marks the second time an American woman has won the event in Olympic history.
Claire Bovino is a second-year student studying Political Science and Multimedia Journalism and is originally from Pittsburgh. This is her second year writing for The Phoenix. When she’s not writing or watching sports, Claire can be found reading long fantasy novels by the lake, eating hot dogs or complaining about the state of Pittsburgh sports teams.