Morning Chirps: Hall of Fame inductions, Vanacker keeps Brantford undefeated

The Chicago Blackhawks will have a late-afternoon meeting with the St. Louis Blues. The inaugural Blackhawks Hall of Fame class will be on hand to be honored by the United Center faithful. Of course, we’ll have a full day of game coverage for you, so be sure to check back in with us.

Blackhawks Chirps

• The Blackhawks held their first Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Friday at the new USG Arena. The current team joined numerous alumni and some lucky season ticket holders for the festivities hosted by Pat Foley. The class included all the players whose numbers had already been retired: Glenn Hall, Pierre Pillotte, Keith Magnuson, Bobby Hull, Denis Savard, Stan Mikita, Tony Esposito, and Marian Hossa. They were joined by Duncan Keith, Steve Larmer, and Troy Murray.

• Blake Murray, Troy’s son, gave a heartfelt speech to accept the honor for his late father.

• Savard introduced Larmer, one of my favorite players growing up.

• Finally, Hossa introduced Keith, who was not only grateful for his teammates and coaches but also for everyone else behind the scenes, including the training and equipment staff. The entire ceremony will be shown on CSHN at 2:30 this afternoon.

• From the first Hall of Fame class to a youngster many hope will join them someday, Justin Lynch looked into whether Anton Frondell should play center or wing.

• Defenseman Alex Vlasic is the Blackhawks nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is given each year “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”

• The Rockford IceHogs debuted all-white Screw City uniforms for their home finale against the Iowa Wild. Unfortunately, they were unable to send the fans home happy after losing 5-4. Joey Anderson led the way with a goal and an assist. Samuel Savoie, Rem Pitleck, and Jamie Engelbert also found the back of the net. Prospects Jiri Felcman and Martin Misiak recorded assists. With the loss, the IceHogs fall into last place in the Central Division. They are one more Milwaukee Admirals point away from being eliminated from playoff contention.

• In the Ontario Hockey League, the Brantford Bulldogs took a 2-0 series lead on the North Bay Battalion with a 4-1 win. Marek Vanacker scored two goals, including the game-winner. He has five goals in six postseason games.

• The Kitchener Rangers opened their series with the Soo Greyhounds with a 3-1 victory. Jack Pridham was held pointless, but did have two shots on goal. A.J. Spellacy did not find the scoresheet in the Windsor Spitfires’ 4-2 victory to take a 1-0 series lead over the Flint Firebirds.

• On this date in 1993, Chelios recorded an assist for his 500th career point during a tie with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Two other personal milestones were achieved on this night: Dirk Graham scored his 200th goal, and Dave Christian played in his 1,000th game.

• In 1997, Alexei Zhamnov netted his sixth career hat trick as the Blackhawks beat the Calgary Flames 4-3 to clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 28th straight season. At the time, this was the longest active playoff streak in professional sports. The streak ended the following season, as the Blackhawks qualified for the playoffs just once between 1998 and 2009.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, April 11: Matt Keith.

NHL Chirps

• Jason Dickinson has had to fight off numerous injuries over the past two seasons with the Blackhawks. He will miss the Edmonton Oilers’ game against the Los Angeles Kings today after suffering a leg injury on Wednesday. He has a goal and four points in his 17 games since he was traded from Chicago to Edmonton.

• Lukas Reichel was reassigned to the Providence Bruins as the Boston Bruins make room on the roster for James Hagens. After scoring a goal and recording an assist in his team debut, he has just one assist in his last eight games and was a healthy scratch in two of the last three games. Sound familiar?

• The Dallas Stars are dealing with a plethora of key injuries heading into the postseason. Defenseman Miro Heiskanen left Thursday’s game against the Minnesota Wild with a lower-body injury. Head coach Glen Gulutzan said he was undergoing an MRI and will miss the last three games of the regular season. He is hopeful that his top defenseman will be back at the start of the playoffs. Gulutzan is also hopeful that Roope Hintz will be ready for Game 1 against the Wild.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, April 11: John Gould, Jim Nill, Pierre Lacroix, Trevor Linden, Ben Clymer, Alexandre Burrows, Brandon Montour, David Gustafsson, and Calen Addison.