SUNDAY SPORTS PAGE: NLL, NHL, CFL, WHL
NLL
Vancouver, BC – The Saskatchewan Rush found their groove in the fourth quarter to beat the Vancouver Warriors 14-8 at Rogers Arena on Saturday, February 4th.
Veteran Kyle Rubisch charged the turf and opened the scoring for the Rush. Vancouver answered back to tie it up, but Ryan Keenan put Saskatchewan back on top after a sleek behind the back pass from Mark Matthews. The Warriors found the net three more times in the first to finish with a 4-2 lead.
The second quarter was another tight battle. Holden Garlent, Austin Madronic and Robert Church each tacked on a goal. Vancouver fought back and slipped two more past Alex Buque to keep their lead and finish the first half with a score of 6-5.
The second half started out quiet in the scoring department with a lone goal from Keenan to tie it up 6-6. The third quarter was a heated one on the turf with eight penalties handed out between the two teams.
The final quarter was nothing but excitement for the Rush. Church added another to his count and the Warriors found one more. Saskatchewan closed it out with a six-goal run. Keenan snagged another hat trick and rookie Jake Boudreau scored his first career NLL goal. Marshall Powless kept the power coming and Madronic scored his second of the night. Marty Dinsdale and Mark Matthews each added to the count and Jerrett Smith added an empty netter to finish it 14-8. Saskatchewan extends their record to 4-2 and will head to Calgary next Friday to meet up with the Calgary Roughnecks for the first time since preseason.
NHL
Detroit Red Wings centre Dylan Larkin scored a hat trick today to lead the Atlantic Division in a 7-5 win over the Central in the final of the NHL all-star’s three-on-three tournament in Sunrise, Florida. Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk was named tournament MVP with four goals and three assists in two games for the Atlantic side. Next year’s all-star showcase will be held in Toronto for the first time since 2000.
Meanwhile NHL commissioner Gary Bettman defends the way the league and two teams handled developments involving Pride night celebrations. Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Ivan Provorov (PROH-voh-rawv) did not take part in warmups citing religion for his refusal to wear a Pride-themed jersey. The New York Rangers opted not to wear Pride jerseys or use Pride stick tape as part of their night despite previously advertising they planned to do so. Bettman said the league has to respect individuals’ choices.
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CFL
CFL free agency is fast approaching with teams trying to get players under contract before the market opens Tuesday. The Toronto Argonauts have signed both kicker Boris Bede (bee-dee) and linebacker Wynton McManis to one-year contract extensions. The Saskatchewan Roughriders re-signed defensive lineman Pete Robertson.
WHL
LANGLEY, B.C. – Logan Stankoven and Ryan Hofer each had a goal and assist and the visiting Kamloops Blazers edged the Vancouver Giants 3-2 in Western Hockey League action on Saturday.
Matthew Seminoff chipped in with a goal for the Blazers (30-19-4-2), who will host the Memorial Cup tournament from May 26 to June 4. Caedan Bankier had two assists for the winners, who had difficulty beating superb Giants’ netminder Brett Mirwald.
Dylan Anderson and Ty Thorpe scored for the Giants (18-24-4-2), who were outshot 54-36 at Langley Events Centre.
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OIL KINGS 5 HITMEN 1
CALGARY, Alta. – Luca Hauf scored twice as the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings upset the Calgary Hitmen 5-1.
Rilen Kovacevic, Loick Daigle and Rhett Melnyk also scored for the Oil Kings (8-37-3-0).
Riley Fiddler-Schultz scored for the Hitmen (23-18-5-2).
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BLADES 3 ICE 2
SASKATOON, Sask. – Jake Chiasson scored at 3:21 of the third period and the goal stood up as the winners as the Saskatoon Blades edged the visiting Winnipeg ICE 3-2.
Brandon Lisowsky and Egor Sidorov also scored for the Blades (31-12-3-1).
Connor McClennon scored twice for the ICE (37-7-1-0), who outshot the Blades 36-24.
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TIGERS 4 HURRICANES 2
MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – Oasiz Wiesblatt scored twice as the Medicine Tigers overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes 4-2.
Cayden Lindstrom and Tyler MacKenzie also scored for the Tigers (20-21-7-1), who were outshot 37-32.
Logan McCutcheon and Tyson Laventure scored for the Hurricanes (27-18-3-2).
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SILVERTIPS 1 THUNDERBIRDS 0
EVERETT, Wash. – Beau Courtney scored a first-period goal and Tyler Palmer made 35 saves for the shutout as the Everett Silvertips edged the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds 1-0.
The Western Conference-leading Thunderbirds (35-9-1-1) outshot the Silvertips 35-25 but could not beat Palmer in Everett’s (24-22-2-0) net.
Both teams were 0-for-3 on the power play.
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WINTERHAWKS 4 AMERICANS 1
PORTLAND, Ore. – Gabe Klassen scored a goal and added an assist as the Portland Winterhawks defeated the visiting Tri-City Americans 4-1.
Diego Buttazzoni, Marcus Nguyen and Aidan Litke also scored for the Winterhawks (35-10-2-1).
Adam Mechura scored for the Americans (25-17-4-1), who were outshot 43-26.
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COUGARS 4 ROYALS 2
PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – Koehn Ziemmer scored twice and Chase Wheatcroft added a goal and assist as the Prince George Cougars clipped the visiting Victoria Royals 4-2.
Caden Brown also scored for the Cougars (21-21-4-0), who outshot the visitors 31-20.
Marcus Almquist and Reggie Newman scored for the Royals (14-31-4-1).
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ROCKETS 4 RAIDERS 0
KELOWNA, B.C. – The Kelowna Rockets scored twice in the first period and then held on to defeat the visiting Prince Albert Raiders 3-0.
Elias Carmichael scored twice for the Rockets (17-26-3-0), while Marcus Pacheco and Carson Golder netted singles. The Rockets were outshot 51-23 but received brilliant shutout goaltending from Talyn Boyko.
The Raiders (19-27-3-0) were 0-for-5 on the power play, while the Rockets were 1-for-3.
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REBELS 1 CHIEFS 0 (SO)
SPOKANE, Wash. – The visiting Red Deer Rebels peppered 45 shots at the Spokane net, but needed a Ben King goal in the three-round shootout to edge the Chiefs 1-0.
Dawson Cowan stopped 45 shots in regulation and overtime for the Chiefs (9-33-2-3), while Kyle Kelsey stopped 26 shots to record the shutout for the Rebels (34-10-1-3).
(SaskRush.com/Canadian Press)
