Blackhawks show support for St. Ignatius Prep hockey players injured in crash

CHICAGO — The head coach of the Blackhawks is one of many in the Chicagoland area who has his mind on the St. Ignatius College Prep junior varsity hockey team to start the week.

Luke Richardson opened his news conference Monday morning by sending his best wishes to the 16 players from the squad who were injured in a bus crash in Warsaw, Indiana on Saturday.

“I just want to first acknowledge the accident with St. Ignatius school’s team. We share the rink with them and they’re in our community and we just want to let the know that we’re thinking of them and hopefully full recoveries soon,” said Richardson at the United Center before the team hosts the Carolina Hurricanes Monday night.

According to police, the St. Ignatius team bus collided with a semitrailer that was observed swerving and speeding before the crash. The bus landed on its side and 16 players were injured, three critically, but there have been no fatalities.

As someone who has both played and coached in the game for decades on a number of levels, the accident hits home for Richardson. In his comments Monday, he brought up the bus accident involving the Humboldt Broncos junior team in Saskatchewan, Canada on April 6, 2018.

In that incident, 16 were killed and 13 were injured when their bus collided with a semitrailer.

“I know a few years ago in Humboldt, the junior team was hit hard obviously with that in Canada a few years ago. It just reminds us how precious everything really is,” said Richardson. “Hockey’s just a game, and we are a close community. We support the good times but definitely the trying times like this, and show we’re part of the community and we’re there for them. It’s a fast world out there right now, things happen quick, especially on the road, so we’ve all got to be just aware of that.”

Richardson didn’t know of any formal efforts by the team to aid those affected by the bus crash. The Blackhawks did release a statement on social media sending their best to the players after the accident on Sunday.

“We send our thoughts and prayers to the Saint Ignatius College Prep’s hockey team, their coaches and their families after the team was involved in a serious bus accident last night. Please join us in keeping them in your thoughts,” said the team in a statement.