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Blackhawks to start season with 3 goalies on roster

The competition for the backup goalie spot behind Cristobal Huet apparently will continue into the regular season for the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Hawks set their regular-season opening roster on Wednesday, choosing to keep 13 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders. The roster features 18 players that were part of the club's run to the 2009 Western Conference Final.

Here is the breakdown by position:

Forwards: Troy Brouwer, Dustin Byfuglien, Dave Bolland, Ben Eager, Colin Fraser, Patrick Kane, Tomas Kopecky, Andrew Ladd, John Madden, Patrick Sharp, Radek Smolenak, Jonathan Toews, Kris Versteeg.

Defensemen: Cam Barker, Brian Campbell, Jordan Hendry, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Aaron Johnson, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Brent Sopel

Goalies: Corey Crawford, Cristobal Huet, Antti Niemi

In addition, the Hawks have assigned forwards Bryan Bickell, Evan Brophey, Jake Dowell, Rob Klinkhammer and Jack Skille to the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL, and have placed forwards Adam Burish and Marian Hossa on injured reserve.

The Hawks open the regular season against the Florida Panthers in Helsinki, Finland as part of NHL Premiere 2009 on Friday at 11 a.m.. The teams face off again in Helsinki on Saturday at 11 a.m.

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