CHAMPAIGN—Illinois fired Bruce Weber on Friday, letting go of a fiery coach whose first three years with the Illini included a run to the national championship game before a long slide the past six years ended with a 17-15 mark this season.

“Bruce is everything you’d want as a coach,” athletic director Mike Thomas said. “We had great success here but in the last four or five years, I don’t know if you want to say [that] we’re running in place, or maybe even digressed.”

Thomas, who has also fired football coach Ron Zook and women’s basketball coach Jolette Law in his first year on the job, said fans expect the Illini to be “a factor” in the Big Ten and the “national conscience” each season.Weber met separately with reporters, joined by his family and most of his young team.

“This is a bottom-line business. We all know it,” Weber said. “It’s the reality of the coaching profession. But I leave here with no regrets. I believe this program is on solid footing. I am very proud of what this basketball program has accomplished in my tenure.”

Weber choked up when he thanked his wife, Megan, for being with him “as he lived his dream to be a college basketball coach.”

Weber spent nine years at Illinois and led the Illini to the 2005 NCAA title game, losing to North Carolina. He finished 210-101 at Illinois, trailing only Lou Henson and Harry Combes in wins at the school.However, his teams were just 55-66 in the Big Ten over the past six seasons, including 6-12 this year. The Illini closed the year 2-12 and lost in the first round of the Big Ten tournament on Thursday, beaten by Iowa 64-61 — a far cry from January, when they were atop the Big Ten.Thomas said the school would accept an NIT bid if one is offered and assistant Jerrance Howard is the interim head coach. The athletic director said Howard has expressed interest in staying on as an assistant.

A national search for Weber’s replacement will begin immediately and Virginia Commonwealth coach Shaka Smart, Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall and Butler’s Brad Stephens, among others, all could be candidates for the job. Thomas said he wouldn’t rule out hiring an assistant coach, but said, “I think that there’s a preference for someone who has head coaching experience.”

Illinois has never had a black head coach in football or men’s basketball, a point two university trustees brought up when football coach Tim Beckman was hired. One of those trustees, James Montgomery, said he could support any new coach “under the circumstances where there is a fair and complete open process that’s transparent.”

Firing Weber will cost Illinois $3.9 million to cover the three years remaining on his contract. Zook’s buyout cost the school $2.6 million and Law will receive $620,000.The basketball team’s collapse this season followed a 10-0 start. Henson, who stills lives part of the year in Champaign and knows Weber well, said the decision was inevitable.

“Intercollegiate athletics, you know, there’s so much money at stake,” he said. “This is one of the toughest seasons I think I’ve gone through and I think Illinois has gone through. Some of the time you can do a super job of coaching and things don’t work out. And for some reason this team just didn’t mix, and I don’t know why.”

Aside from the 1915 national title that’s distant history, Weber’s tenure in Champaign included the program’s absolute peak seven years ago. A tough, dynamic team led by Deron Williams, Luther Head and Dee Brown fought back from a 15-point deficit to tie North Carolina in the final five minutes before losing the championship game 75-70.Weber brought it up Friday.

“Every time I visit St. Louis, I think about the Final Four experience,” he said. “I still can remember standing on the top of the hotel and seeing tens of thousands of Illinois fans covering the streets in orange. An amazing sight.”

Weber faced criticism from some fans from virtually the moment he was hired in 2003. Some saw the coach from Southern Illinois — where he took the Salukis to two NCAA Sweet 16s — as a downgrade from Bill Self, who left for Kansas. In his first season, a black-clad Weber held a mock funeral for Self after hearing the comparisons too often.And after the championship game, his teams never again quite reached that kind of high. Many fans never gave him credit for the title game, dismissing it as a product of superior players recruited by his predecessor.Illinois lost recruiting battles for big-name Chicago players like Derrick Rose who helped other teams make deep NCAA runs. And one of the few top-shelf recruits who came to Champaign, McDonald’s All-American Jereme Richmond, played sparingly in one season at Illinois before declaring for the 2011 NBA Draft.And rather than being consistently good like the Big Ten’s marquee teams, the Illini sometimes turned in bafflingly bad performances. Illinois has lost six of its past 10 to Penn State, including a 38-33 performance in 2009 that many fans still recall as a low point.This year’s team included six freshmen and initially wasn’t expected to do much. Yet the Illini moved into the Top 25 after an 11-2 start that included a win over then-No. 19 Gonzaga. In January, after a surprising win over Ohio State behind 43 points from Brandon Paul, the team was in first place in the Big Ten.Illinois followed that with nine losses in their next 10. The low point might have been the 80-57 loss at Nebraska that ended with players crying in the locker room.For Weber, it might have been the Purdue loss on Feb. 15 in a game billed as a must win. The Illini led late, only to see Robbie Hummel — who has said he wanted to play at Illinois but wasn’t seriously pursued — ice the game. The Boilermakers, coached by former Weber assistant Matt Painter, have beaten Illinois seven straight times.

“You have to develop a culture and I think maybe the last three years all I did was worry about winning instead of developing a culture and a toughness,” Weber told reporters. “That’s my fault.”

Players took to Twitter to express support for Weber.

“Coach Weber is a very special man and will always have a place in my heart,” wrote sophomore center Meyers Leonard. “Although we butted heads some he was there for me no matter what.”

As for Weber’s future, unsourced media reports linked him to a possible return to Southern Illinois, where Chris Lowery was fired last week. An SIU spokesman declined comment Friday.

GLENDALE—Travis Wood boosted his chances of earning a spot in the Cubs’ rotation, allowing one run while pitching into the third inning of a 5-1 win over the White Sox on Friday.Wood was lifted with one out in the third and the bases loaded but Randy Wells entered and got Paul Konerko to bounce into an inning-ending double play.Projected starter Chris Sale gave up three runs in three innings, including Edgar Gonzalez’ two-run homer.Sale was more frustrated with his two-out walk to Junior Lake, a mistake that preceded the homer.

“It goes to show you how much walks really kill you,” Sale said.

Marlon Byrd later also homered for the Cubs.

Dwight Howard had 29 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic to a 99-94 victory against the Bulls on Thursday, snapping an eight-game winning streak.The Bulls twice overcame double-digit deficits and led 91-89 with 2:56 to play after Derrick Rose passed to Carlos Boozer for a jumper.Orlando responded with an 8-1 run started by Jameer Nelson’s lob to Howard for a dunk. Ryan Anderson hit a 3 and a pair of free throws in the game-deciding rally.The Magic bounced back from a 100-84 loss at Charlotte, beating the league-best Bulls two nights after losing to the last-place Bobcats.Boozer led the Bulls with 26 points. Rose added 17 points and nine assists, but shot 6 for 22 from the field.Jason Richardson scored 18 points and hit four 3-pointers for the Magic. Orlando hit 11 3-pointers.Orlando led by 10 early in the fourth quarter before the Bulls tied the game with a nine-point run. Boozer scored eight points in the first three minutes of the quarter. The Magic jumped out to a 17-point lead in the first quarter after a conventional three-point play finished by Howard capped an 11-point Orlando run. Orlando shot 15 for 20 and hit six 3-pointers in the opening period.The Magic still led by 15 after Howard put in a lob from Hedo Turkoglu with 1:58 to go in the first half. Howard scored 19 points before the break.Kyle Korver scored eight consecutive Bulls points to keep them in the game, then they reeled off the last 10 points of the quarter to gain the momentum heading into the break.Luol Deng hit a wide-open 3 after an offensive rebound by Joakim Noah, cutting the Orlando lead to single digits for the first time since midway through the first quarter. Nelson threw away a pass and Rose hit a running 3 as the half expired, drawing the Bulls within 57-52. In the third quarter, Boozer capped an 8-2 run with a short jumper that gave the Bulls their first lead of the game. Orlando responded with a 13-4 run to end the quarter, the last six of its points coming on back-to-back Richardson 3-pointers.

NOTES—The Bulls again played without guards Richard Hamilton (right shoulder contusion) and C.J. Watson (left ankle sprain). Hamilton has missed 25 of the Bulls 41 games this season because of injuries, while Watson sat out for a third consecutive game. No timetable was given for either player’s return, though coach Tom Thibodeau said Watson is “getting close.” … Thursday’s game was the first of a tough four-game stretch for Orlando leading into next Thursday’s trade deadline. After playing the Bulls, the Magic have home games against Indiana and Miami, then a road game at San Antonio.

INDIANAPOLIS—Northwestern had one goal this season — earning the school’s first NCAA tournament bid.The Wildcats can’t do anything more to help themselves now. When their best shooters went cold at the wrong time Thursday, Northwestern failed to wrap up a key first-round Big Ten tournament victory and wound up falling 75-68 in overtime to 10th-seeded Minnesota — a loss that could send the Wildcats back to the NIT. All they can do now is wait for the other conference tournaments to play out and hope everything breaks their way.

“It’s just every emotion you think, the staff and the players. It’s beyond frustrating,” Wildcats coach Bill Carmody said. “It’s just very hard right now. I don’t know what else to say, you know, I thought the effort was there tonight, it just didn’t work out. The ball didn’t bounce right for us.”

No, it didn’t have to be like this.The Wildcats (18-13) lost by eight in overtime against Michigan on Feb. 21, and lost 75-73 on Feb. 29 against Ohio State. Winning either game against those ranked teams would have solidified their position with the selection committee.But with one win or possibly two in Indianapolis, Northwestern looked like it might still sneak in.The problem: Northwestern made only one basket over the final 9:53, missed an opportunity to win it with a buzzer-beater at the end of regulation and got outscored 6-0 in the final minute of overtime — a crushing blow that caused so much heartache Northwestern’s players begrudgingly lined up to shake hands with Minnesota’s players after the clock hit all zeroes.

“This is probably the closest, as far as the bubble goes, we’ve stayed on the bubble here the entire team,” John Shurna said after scoring 21 points. “It was a game we wanted to win, it wouldn’t have put us in but a loss doesn’t mean we’re out.”

JerShon Cobb finished with a career-high 24 points to lead Northwestern, which went 3-3 over its final six games and will anxiously await Sunday night’s tourney draw to see if it has done enough to make the 68-team field.Minnesota (19-13), meanwhile, will continue to try and play its way into the draw.Next up is No. 10 Michigan, one of three teams to share the league’s regular-season crown. A victory in Friday’s quarterfinal round would give coach Tubby Smith win No. 100 since coming to Minneapolis, and could revitalize Smith’s magical postseason touch. He’s now 35-14 all-time in conference tourneys and 7-4 in Big Ten play.If the Golden Gophers continue playing the way they did on Thursday, an upset is certainly possible. Minnesota was led by freshman Andre Hollins, who scored 11 points in the first seven minutes and finished with a career-high 25. Austin Hollins and Rodney Williams each finished with 12 points.But it was the closing stretch that impressed Smith most. Minnesota’s suffocating defense didn’t give up any open looks, the Gophers matched the Wildcats’ will and they eventually forced Northwestern into a bevy of costly mistakes.Even without the injured Ralph Sampson III (back), Minnesota was just good enough to take advantage.After the teams combined to make 16 3-pointers, out of 25 first-half baskets, both teams wanted to do more damage inside in the second half.That turned the game into a virtual draw until Cobb scored four straight points to give Northwestern a 61-57 lead with 4:06 to play in regulation.It was all Gophers after that. They tied the score at 61 when Andre Hollins and drove in for a layup with 1:02 to play in regulation, and after Minnesota failed to take the lead on a midrange jumper with about 3 seconds left, Northwestern’s Dave Sobolewski rushed the buzzer-beater that bounded off the back of the rim to force overtime.

“It felt great that we finally came out and executed down the stretch because that’s where we struggled early in the year,” Andre Hollins said. “It just felt great that we had that opportunity.”

Northwestern was still within 69-68 with 1:22 to go, but Minnesota got a layup from Andre Hollins, a dunk from Rodney Williams and two free throws from Chip Armelin to seal it and put the Wildcats in waiting mode.

INDIANAPOLIS—Matt Gatens scored 20 points to help Iowa defeat Illinois 64-61 Thursday in the first round of the Big Ten tournament in what might have been the final game for Illini coach Bruce Weber.Speculation has been that Weber would be fired after the season. The Illini closed the regular season having lost eight of nine, with their only win coming against Iowa.Illinois nearly saved Weber for at least another day – D.J. Richardson missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds that would have tied the score.Of course the Illini could get an NIT bid,but manay College Football Coaches,including Illinois’s Ron Zook were fired BEFORE the Bowl they were invited to. Meyers Leonard had 18 points and six rebounds and D.J. Richardson and Joseph Bertrand added 11 points each for Illinois (17-15). Brandon Paul, Illinois’ top scorer, finished with four points on 2-for-11 shooting and committed seven turnovers.Aaron White had 13 points and nine rebounds for eighth-seeded Iowa (17-15), which has won four of its last six and will play No. 1 seed Michigan State on Friday.Iowa trailed by four at halftime but outrebounded the much bigger Illini 27-17 after the break.Illinois shot well early and jumped to a 24-19 lead. Richardson’s 3-pointer as time expired in the first half gave the Fighting Illini a 31-27 lead at the break.Leonard scored 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the first half, helping Illinois shoot 50 percent in the first 20 minutes. Gatens scored nine points in the first half for Iowa.A layup by Richardson pushed Illinois’ lead to 40-33 and prompted forced the Hawkeyes to call time out.Just as Illinois appeared ready to create some space after a nice baseline drive and baby hook shot by Leonard pushed its lead to 44-37, Iowa quickly recovered. A 3-pointer by Gatens, then a steal and dunk by Gatens cut Illinois’ led to two. Melsahn Basabe’s dunk with just over 12 minutes left tied the score, and then a put-back by White gave Iowa a 48-46 lead.Iowa stretched the advantage to 57-50 on a jumper by Gatens, and the Hawkeyes remained ahead into the final minute.Iowa led 60-56, and Illinois had the ball. But Paul threw the ball right to Iowa’s Roy Devyn Marble on the inbounds pass. Marble was fouled but missed the free throw. But White, playing with four fouls, grabbed the rebound. Gatens was fouled with 37.6 seconds left, and he made both free throws to put Iowa up 62-56.Bertrand drained a 3-pointer to cut Iowa’s lead to 62-61 with 16.1 seconds left.But Gatens made two more free throws to set up Illinois’ final possession.

MILWAUKEE — Derrick Rose faked like he was going to drive to the basket again, creating just enough of a cushion on defender Brandon Jennings. Then he slid to his left in a split second, drilling a winning shot at the buzzer.

The reigning league MVP sure knows how to thrill a stadium filled with Bulls fans — even when he isn’t playing at home. Rose’s off-balance shot just inside the 3-point line capped a 30-point night that powered the Bulls to a 106-104 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.

“It was like a kid, all the things that you dream about,” Rose said. “It felt good. You’re on the road, going against a team that’s giving you their all and you hit a nice shot like that.”

Rose was mobbed by his teammates near halfcourt as a predominantly pro-Bulls crowd roared in approval, bursting out in chants of “M-V-P!” Joakim Noah added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, who have won eight straight.

“It was like a movie,” Noah said. “Hit the shot, no time left on the clock, you hear the horn, the ball goes through the net. It must be an unbelievable feeling to hit a shot like that.”

Jennings noted that Rose wasn’t having a particularly good night shooting from outside, so the Bucks were expecting him to drive.

“I tried to make him take as difficult a shot as he could,” Jennings said. “I was playing him to go to the basket, of course. He hit a step-back jump shot with a hand in his face. Hey, man, you go ahead and take that one.”

Bucks coach Scott Skiles said Rose made an incredibly tough shot look easy.

“What a luxury to have, you don’t even need to run a play,” Skiles said. “You can just bring it in, throw it to a guy and he can get whatever shot he wants.”

Ersan Ilyasova had a career-high 32 points and Drew Gooden added a season-high 27 for the Bucks, who were coming off a home win over Philadelphia on Monday. The Bulls held Jennings to 11 points on 4 for 18 shooting. Jennings had scored 27-plus points in his previous three games coming into Wednesday. With the Bulls often double-teaming Jennings on defense, especially early, Gooden was left open for several outside shots — and he cashed in, scoring 16 first-half points to keep the Bucks in the game.

“I mean, it was a little difficult,” Jennings said. “But like I said, Drew was hitting shots, Ersan was playing big for us.”

Once again, the Bradley Center was taken over by Bulls fans — although the Bulls home-away-from-home-court advantage wasn’t quite as pronounced as it was in the Bulls’ Feb. 4 victory at Milwaukee, a Saturday night game that drew a huge crowd comprised mostly of Bulls fans. Still, the Bucks received a jarring greeting when they took the floor before Wednesday’s game — mostly boos — and the crowd was decidedly pro-Bulls most of the game. When Milwaukee’s Mike Dunleavy Jr. missed badly in the second quarter, he was subjected to “Airball!” chants.It left the Bucks in the odd position of having to talk about tuning out the crowd at home.

“It hurts a lot that we lost this one, just the fact that we played so hard for 48 minutes,” Jennings said. “Guys were down there battling. We didn’t let the crowd get to us at all.”

The crowd apparently did get his attention before the game.

“I told the guys before the game, we’re just going to tune that out and play basketball,” Jennings said.

The Bulls have won all four meetings with the Bucks this season.With the Bulls up by two, Rose lost the ball out of bounds and officials initially ruled it went off a Bucks player. After a replay review, the call was reversed and the ball went to the Bucks with 55.2 seconds left. Milwaukee’s Beno Udrih then drove for a layup, tying the game with 42.9 seconds left. Rose drove on Jennings, then tried to hit a turnaround jumper — and drew a foul on Jennings and hit both shots for a 104-102 lead with 32.5 left. Ilyasova scored inside, tying the game again with 24 seconds left and setting the stage for Rose’s last-second shot.

“It was a great play by him,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He took the clock down, he didn’t leave any time because it was one of those games where whoever had the ball, you thought they were going to score next.”

NOTES—The Bulls were still without guards Richard Hamilton and C.J. Watson because of injuries. Hamilton has a right shoulder injury, while Watson has a left ankle sprain….The Bucks were without defensive ace Luc Richard Mbah a Moute because of a right knee injury, and Udrih played despite left knee soreness…..Stephen Jackson continues to sit out with hamstring soreness, and no timeline has been established for his return.

CLEVELAND—Mike Douglas scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, leading Western Michigan to a 71-54 win over Northern Illinois in the second round of the Mid-American Conference tournament on Wednesday night.Douglas, one of three senior starters, scored 11 during a decisive 17-1 run as the eighth-seeded Broncos (14-19) opened a 56-38 lead midway through the second half and coasted.Demetrius Ward added 13 and became the 36th player in Western Michigan history to score 1,000 career points.The Broncos will meet fourth-seeded Kent State in the quarterfinals Thursday. The Golden Flashes beat the Broncos 78-73 in overtime on Feb. 4.Tony Nixon scored 11 to lead the 12th-seeded Huskies (5-26), who upset Eastern Michigan, the MAC West’s regular-season champion, to advance to Cleveland.

“I can’t help but have a big smile on my face,” Peavy said. “I know I gave up a few runs. But it’s fun to be out there and I feel good and absolutely nothing on my body is hurting.”

Alex Gonzalez went 2 for 3 with a double, a triple and four RBIs for Milwaukee. Ryan Braun had the day off and wasn’t in the lineup. Starting pitcher Marco Estrada pitched two scoreless innings. He struck out one and allowed three hits.Peavy focused on his fastball command, throwing few breaking balls. At one point, he threw eight consecutive fastballs to one side of the plate. He allowed an RBI triple to Norichika Aoki, a two-run double to Gonzalez and two infield singles.Peavy said he has no issues with an eye infection he dealt with earlier in camp. He wore contact lenses on the field, but he has ordered goggles in case they are needed in an emergency.Peavy has said he hopes to pitch a full season after all the injuries. He began last season on the disabled list while recovering from surgery to repair a detached muscle in his shoulder, which he injured July 6, 2010. He made his 2011 season debut May 11.Peavy then spent time on the DL in June for a strained adductor, and he didn’t pitch after Sept. 6 because of a tired arm. He finished the season 7-7 with a 4.92 ERA.Estrada allowed two singles in the first inning and a double to Jordan Danks in the second inning. Estrada is slated for the bullpen but could join the rotation if there is an injury. He filled in for injured starters last season. He was 4-8 with a 4.08 ERA, making seven games among his career-high 43 major league appearances.Brewers closer John Axford threw a scoreless inning. Taylor Jungmann, Milwaukee’s 2011 first-round draft pick, allowed an unearned run in two innings.The Sox fell to 0-3 this spring, but first-year manager Robin Ventura said he liked the players’ at-bats and Peavy showed good velocity. A.J. Pierzynski and Brent Morel hit doubles.

“Down here, it’s different because guys are working on stuff,” Ventura said. “Even though you want to win the games, it’s more important for guys to see certain kinds of at-bats.”

NOTES:—Prospect Brock Kjeldgaard was in left field instead of Braun and went 0 for 5. .Second baseman Rickie Weeks started as the Brewers designated hitter for the third consecutive game because of a sore shoulder. .Jesse Crain, who is competing with Matt Thornton to be the White Sox closer, made his spring debut after he was scratched Monday because of a migraine. He allowed a run and two hits, struck out two and walked one in an inning. . White Sox prospect Jared Mitchell hit a two-run home run in the fifth. Ventura said the outfielder is making an impression after missing the 2010 season with an ankle injury.

SURPRISE—Jeff Samardzija made a strong opening bid for a spot in the Cubs rotation.He allowed one hit in three scoreless innings Wednesday, and the Cubs defeated the Kansas City Royals 6-4.Cubs manager Dale Sveum says Samardzija appears to be on a mission.

“He’s 100 percent correct,” said Samardzija, a standout receiver at Notre Dame who chose baseball over the NFL. “I hold a lot of stuff in. I don’t say too much stuff. I have a big chip on my shoulder, especially the older I get and slowly see my football skills diminishing. You’ve got to understand I’ve got to start pitching good.”

Samardzija, who has made only five starts in the majors, is trying to earn one of two vacancies in the Cubs’ rotation after going 8-4 with a 2.97 ERA in 75 relief appearances last year.He had some ugly ERAs during brief appearances in the majors in 2009 and 2010 before a breakthrough 2011, when he went 8-4 with a 2.97 ERA in 75 relief appearances.

“That topic has been a roller coaster,” he said. “There are times I don’t mind it at all. There are times it really cuts to me. I feel like I made that decision based on the right reason, from my heart that’s what I wanted to do was play baseball. I never felt I had to defend myself. The truth is you’ve got to prove to them that it’s the right reason and that’s what I’m trying to do.I’m trying to be the Cubs pitcher and not the former Notre Dame football player.”

Left-hander Jonathan Sanchez, acquired by the Royals from San Francisco in an offseason trade, got little help from his fielders.The Cubs took advantage of three errors, two by third baseman Mike Moustakas, to score four runs in the first off Sanchez. The inning included RBI singles by Bryan LaHair, Jae-Hoon Ha and Darwin Barney.Sanchez, who was obtained in a trade with San Francisco for the Royals big offseason acquisition, threw 31 pitches in the first inning in his spring training debut. He allowed four runs, three earned, on four singles. Sanchez was limited to 19 starts last season with a severe ankle sprain and left biceps tendinitis.

“I’m healthy. I hope I’m going to have a pretty good year,” Sanchez said. “It was my first time out there in seven months. It was kind of different. I was throwing all my pitches, a lot of fastballs. I wasn’t sharp. I was throwing my fastball down in the zone. Something positive was I threw one split(-finger fastball) and it worked.”

Eric Hosmer and Yuniesky Betancourt had run-producing doubles for the Royals, while Max Ramirez drove in two runs with a ninth inning single.

The Cubs had 15 hits. Starlin Castro, Reed Johnson and LaHair each contributed two hits.

NOTES—Geovany Soto, who has been out with a groin strain, is expected to play this weekend. Non-roster C Jason Jaramillo has been held out of games with leg problems. . Actor Rob Riggle, who grew up in Kansas City, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

ST. LOUIS—Jaroslav Halak won his sixth straight start to match a career best and St. Louis’ penalty killers ran their streak to 32 stops in a row, lifting the Blues to the top of the NHL with a 5-1 victory over the Blackhawks on Tuesday night.Andy McDonald scored two goals and Vladimir Sobotka had a short-handed score for the Blues, who are tied with the New York Rangers with a league-best 91 points pending Vancouver’s late home game against Dallas. St. Louis is 27-4-4 at home for an NHL-best 58 points and retained momentum from a season-best 5-1 trip that established it’s now a road presence, too.Andrew Brunette scored his 10th goal and first since Jan. 2 for the Blackhawks, who had won their previous three games but failed to get off a shot during three of their power plays. Goalie Ray Emery lost to the Blues for the first time in four career starts.Halak has seized the starting role after a season-long job share with All-Star Brian Elliott. He has started six of the last seven games.The Blues took a 2-0 lead in the first on goals by T.J. Oshie and McDonald.Oshie’s long-distance deflection from the left circle went between David Backes’ legs before trickling between Emery’s pads early in the game. The Blues then scored on the power play for the sixth time in 15 games with 38 seconds to go on a bad-angled backhander by McDonald that deflected off defenseman Dylan Olsen’s skate. Scott Nichol stole the puck and set up Sobotka’s backhander at 1:46 of the second, extending the lead to 3-0.The Bears got on the board early in the third when Carlo Colaiacovo failed to clear the puck, with Brunette deflecting a wrist shot from the point by Brent Seabrook. St. Louis restored its three-goal gap on McDonald’s fifth goal in four games, on a rush with Alex Pietrangelo, with 4:44 to go and Jason Arnott scored in the final minute.Halak got lucky on the Blackhawks’ best chance in the first. Patrick Sharp’s shot hit the left post and instead of banking off the goalie’s backside and into the net the puck got trapped under Halak’s body and eventually squirted out.The Blues have outscored the opposition 29-13 in the first period over the last 13 games.

NOTES—The Blues are 34-0 when scoring three or more goals. … Blackhawks C Jonathon Toews missed his eighth straight game with concussion-like symptoms. … Pietrangelo had two assists, giving him 29 points in his last 29 games, including five goals. Fellow defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk also had two assists