Rinzel and Frondell score, Blackhawks beat Blues 4-2 in Kane's return to Chicago

CHICAGO (AP) — Sam Rinzel and rookie Anton Frondell scored 2 minutes apart in the second period and the Chicago Blackhawks held on in their home opener for their first win of the season, 4-2 over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night.

Patrick Kane played his first home game with the Blackhawks since signing a two-year, $16 million contract in July. The 37-year-old forward received a pregame video tribute and a roaring welcome from a sold-out United Center crowd in his return to the team for which he played his first 17 seasons.

Cole Smith scored a short-handed, empty-net goal with 1:09 left to make it 3-1, but Connor McMichael whipped in a power-play goal with 38 seconds left and goalie Joel Hofer on the bench to cut it to 3-2.

Frank Nazar slid in another empty-netter with 4 seconds remaining.

Spencer Knight made 25 saves for Chicago, which had lost its first three games on the road while being outscored 15-5. Knight stopped Pavel Buchnevich on a breakaway late in the second, and was sharp in the third to keep Chicago ahead.

Mason McTavish also scored for the Blues (1-2). Hofer stopped 17 shots.

St. Louis' Colton Parayko played in 803rd NHL game, matching Barret Jackman for the most in franchise history among defensemen and second overall behind forward Bernie Federko (927 games).

Blackhawks forward Teuvo Teravainen was injured in the second period and didn’t return.

Rinzel drifted to the slot and popped in a rebound of Nazar’s shot to tie it 1-all at 5:40 of the second as a Chicago power play expired.

Frondell put Chicago ahead, firing in a one-timer from the right side off a feed from Artyom Levshunov.

Blues: Host San Jose on Thursday.

Blackhawks: At the New York Islanders on Thursday.

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

St. Louis Blues goaltender Joel Hofer, left, makes a save on Chicago Blackhawks center Frank Nazar, right, during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Spencer Knight, left, makes a save on St. Louis Blues left wing Connor McMichael, right, during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)

Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane is introduced during the Blackhawks home opener against the St. Louis Blues in an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)

St. Louis Blues left wing Pavel Buchnevich, left, defends Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane, right, during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Artyom Levshunov (55) celebrates a goal by center Anton Frondell against the St. Louis Blues during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)

PERTH, Australia (AP) — A former Australian Catholic bishop was sentenced Wednesday to six years and six months in prison for sexually abusing two young Indigenous men.

A District Court of Western Australia state jury convicted Christopher Saunders, 76, in August of 13 out of 19 charges of sexual abuse that occurred between 2008 and 2019 in his sprawling Broome Diocese on the country’s tropical northwest coast.

Saunders will become eligible for parole in February 2031.

Saunders was acquitted of six charges involving a third accuser. He was accused of indecent dealing with a child over the age of 16. The age of consent in Western Australia is 16, but the law raises it to 18 if the older person is in a position of trust, power or responsibility.

Four charges involving a child younger than 13 were dropped on the first day of Saunders’ three-week trial.

Saunders is one of the most senior Australian Catholics to be convicted in a global clergy abuse scandal that has faced the Vatican for years.

Cardinal George Pell was convicted of abusing choirboys, and Archbishop Philip Wilson was convicted of covering up child sex abuse by a priest. But both clerics successfully appealed their convictions.

Prosecutors alleged Saunders lured young Indigenous men to his church-owned house with alcohol and cigarettes paid for with church funds.

Saunders led the remote Broome Diocese from 1996 until he resigned in 2021. The Outback diocese covers an area larger than France with only 50,000 people. Most of the region’s Catholics are Indigenous.

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said the sentence recognized the gravity and serious nature of Saunders’ offenses.

The sentence also recognized the profound impact on the victims and survivors of Saunders’ crimes, Costelloe said.

“To each victim and survivor who courageously revealed what they had endured, we want to say this: We are sorry for the pain and suffering that was inflicted on you. We are sorry that your trust was so directly and profoundly betrayed by a leader of the Church,” Costelloe said in a statement.

The Vatican began investigating Saunders in 2022, then handed the Western Australia Police Force a report on its findings the following year. Police charged Saunders in 2024.

While the report was never officially made public, the findings were leaked to Australia’s Seven Network television news, which reported Saunders likely sexually assaulted four Indigenous youths and potentially groomed another 67 Indigenous youths and men.

Former Bishop of Broome Christopher Alan Saunders arrives at the West Australian District Court in Perth, Australia, on Aug. 11, 2026. (Aaron Bunch/AAP Image via AP)