Saturday Sports: Warriors Drop Mem Cup Opener

MEMORIAL CUP in Saginaw, MI

SAGINAW, Mich. (AP) — Zayne Parekh had a goal and two assists and the host Saginaw Spirit opened the Memorial Cup major junior hockey championship with a 5-4 victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday night.

Both playing in the four-team event for the first time, the teams were coming off long layoffs. Saginaw was idle since May 5 after a Game 6 loss to the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League’s Western Conference championship, while Moose Jaw wrapped up the Western Hockey League title May 15.

Saginaw led 4-0 midway through the second period, with Parekh having a hand in the first three goals. Nic Sima, Owen Beck, Jorian Donovan and Josh Bloom also scored, and Andrew Oke made 22 saves.

Brayden Yager had two goals and an assist for Moose Jaw.

On Saturday in round-robin play, OHL winner London will face the Quebec Major Junior Jockey League champion Drummondville Voltigeurs. Saginaw will return to action Sunday night against Drummondville.

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS (Round 3)

• NEW YORK (AP) — Barclay Goodrow scored at 14:01 of overtime and the New York Rangers beat the Florida Panthers 2-1 on Friday night in Game 2 to even the Eastern Conference final at 1-1. Goodrow fired a snap shot from between the circles over Sergei Bobrovsky’s right shoulder, sending the Madison Square Garden crowd that has been sitting on edge into a frenzy. Vincent Trocheck scored early and Igor Shesterkin made 26 saves for New York. Riding the excitement of having tough guy Matt Rempe back in the lineup, they showed a lot more life after being shut out 3-0 in the opener. Carter Verhaeghe scored for Florida and Bobrovsky made 29 saves. The series shifts to Florida for Games 3 and 4 on Sunday and Tuesday.
• The Edmonton Oilers are back in action Saturday night in the NHL’s Western Conference final. Edmonton seeks to jump out to a 2-0 lead on the road against the Dallas Stars. Connor McDavid scored the winner in double overtime to win Game 1 on Thursday. Games 3 and 4 will be in the Alberta capital on Monday and Wednesday.
• The Winnipeg Jets have a new head coach. The team named Scott Arniel as its bench boss yesterday, after serving as associate coach behind Rick Bowness since 2022. Bowness retired after the Jets were eliminated by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs. Arniel had a 10-5-and-2 record this season filling in behind the bench for Bowness during two absences.
• Don Waddell stepped down as president and general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, the team announced yesterday. Waddell built a roster that reached the NHL playoffs six straight years after missing it for nine in a row. The team said assistant general manager Eric Tulsky would work as interim GM until a permanent successor was found.

MLB

Colt Keith hit his first major league home run and Kenta Maeda (mah-EH’-dah) threw five scoreless innings in his return to help the Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 and snap a season-high five-game losing streak. Keith turned on a full-count, two-out pitch off Alek Manoah in the second inning. Maeda gave up four hits without a walk for his second win.

CEBL

Moose Jaw 5 Weyburn 3
Fort McMurray 13 Edmonton 3
Okotoks 11 Brooks 0

CFL

They’re calling it Super Saturday in the CFL. The league features a full slate of four preseason games beginning in Hamilton where the Tiger-Cats welcome the Ottawa RedBlacks. Elsewhere BC is at Calgary, Saskatchewan travels to Edmonton and Montreal hosts Toronto.

NBA

Luka Doncic hit the go-ahead three-pointer and posted his fifth triple-double of the playoffs to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 109-108 victory and a 2-0 lead on the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals. Doncic had 32 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds as the Mavericks erased an 18-point deficit that stood late in the second quarter and were still down 16 midway through the third.

CEBL

• Teddy Allen lived up to his nickname, Teddy Buckets, on Friday. The Sea Bears star scored 41 points while adding nine rebounds and six assists in Winnipeg’s home opener at Canada Life Centre, a thrilling 109-106 victory over the reigning champion Scarborough Shooting Stars. 
• Zane Watermen and LJ Thorpe combined for more than 35 points to help the Brampton Honey Badgers (1-0) come back from a double-digit deficit and take down the Niagara River Lions (0-1) 74-67. 
• Saturday night the Saskatchewan Rattlers (1-0) host the Montreal Alliance.

(Canadian Press)