JOHNS HAUNTS BLACKHAWKS IN TOURNAMENT OPENER

Traverse City, Mich. – For 59 minutes it looked as though the Chicago Blackhawks rookie team was going to open the 2015 Rookie Tournament in Traverse City, Mich. with a win over the Dallas Stars on Friday night.

However, defenseman Stephen Johns and the Stars had other plans. Trailing late in the contest 2-1, Dallas pulled their goaltender in favor of the extra attacker and it was former Blackhawks draft choice Johns who gave Dallas life with 42.5 seconds left. Johns ripped a shot from the point that snuck through traffic and found the back of the net to tie the game at 2-2.

Then, just 16 seconds later, the Stars struck again to take a 3-2 lead. Devin Shore found Cole Ully and he buried the go-ahead tally with just under 30 seconds to go in the game.

The Blackhawks were stunned by the late turn of events but nearly tied the game back up on a great chance in the waning seconds. Dallas sealed the game with 2.5 ticks left on the clock as Jason Dickinson added an empty netter.

After a scoreless first period, the Blackhawks offense started to click in the second frame. Just 19 seconds into their second power play of the night, Tanner Kero sent a cross-ice pass for Ryan Haggerty to one-time to the back of the net and take a 1-0 lead.

Dallas responded with their first goal of the night exactly halfway through the game. Emil Molin finished off a two-on-one breakaway with Ludwig Bystrom to tie the game at 1-1.

Chicago regained control of the game when Hayden McCool scored with 2:59 left in the second period. Blackhawks 2015 second round draft pick Graham Knott setup McCool with an easy tap in to make it a 2-1 game.

Despite the loss, goaltender Brandon Hope looked good between the pipes for Chicago, stopping 29 of the 32 shots he faced.

The Blackhawks are back on the ice to take on the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 4 p.m. (ET).