Road clinch would be so special in The Room
There are romper rooms and hotel rooms, spare rooms and chat rooms, boardrooms and barrooms, classrooms and, uh, mushrooms.
Then there is simply The Room.
That's how hockey players often refer to their locker room, which essentially is their cathedral of character. Games, seasons and titles are won in there as much as on the ice.
Wednesday night the Blackhawks can prove again what they're made of against the Flyers in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at Philadelphia.
The Hawks lead the series 3-2 and theoretically don't have to win this one. They still could earn the championship Friday in the United Center.
But there's something special about winning on the road, where there's less room for error in a panic room like the Wachovia Center.
Road supremacy embellishes an athlete's resume. A victory Wednesday night especially would because the Hawks have failed 10 straight times in Philadelphia.
The skid includes 2 losses in this series. In fact neither team broke through on the road over the first five games.
The Hawks don't have much to prove away from home after winning seven straight road games earlier in this postseason.
But it's said in all sports that a playoff series doesn't begin until somebody wins on the road. So, wouldn't it be sweet for this one to end in a hostile environment like the Wachovia Center?
A debate flared in Chicago this week: Would it be better for the Hawks to win Game 6 at Philadelphia or Game 7 in the United Center on Friday?
Some fans here prefer the Cup be hoisted with them in attendance. Trust me, though, the Hawks want to get it over with as soon as possible.
Why? Partly because anything could happen in a winner-take-all Game 7 and partly because there's something affirming about clinching on the road.
We're not talking about men being men because the Hawks are all that already. Duncan Keith confirmed it by returning to the ice shortly after losing seven teeth against San Jose.
However, winning Wednesday night would be the cherry on top of playing injured, overcoming slumps and enduring all the other hardships that accompany a hockey season.
Grinding out a victory on Flyers ice would be the ultimate display of will, grit and character that hockey players insist reside in The Room.
The Hawks and the Flyers are resilient teams that possess all the intangibles required to play deep into the postseason.
The Flyers demonstrated their character by prevailing at Boston after trailing 3-0 in games in a best-of-seven playoff series and 3-0 in goals in a pulsating Game 7.
The Hawks demonstrated their character most recently by rebounding against the Flyers in the United Center this week after losing twice at Philadelphia.
Nobody would complain if the Hawks repeated the rebound by losing Wednesday night and winning Friday. But if they win in Philly both champagne in the Cup and pride in The Room will runneth over.
The character of completing the mission by staring down the Philly fanatics would be priceless compared to even the character of winning at home.
Of course, turning The Room into a trophy room wouldn't be bad either way.
mimrem@dailyherald.com