SATURDAY SPORTS PAGE: ALOUETTES PRESEASON FIREWORKS

OTTAWA – The Montreal Alouettes scored 10 points in the final two minutes to register a 22-21 win over the Redblacks in the pre-season opener for both CFL teams Friday.

“We wanted to win, so that was the unfortunate takeaway. We just have to continue to find ways to make sure we close out games no matter who is on the field,” said Redblacks starting quarterback Nick Arbuckle.

“Other than that I thought we did a lot of good things. A lot of young guys made plays, our veterans that were out there in the first half, I thought we executed well, but there’s some things we need to clean up and finish our drives in the end zone.”

Jose Maltos had five field goals, including one from 42-yards out on the final play of the game, to give the Alouettes the win. This after Davis Alexander threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Quartney Davis at 13:08. After the Maltos conversion, the Redblacks’ lead was cut to 21-19.

Lewis Ward kicked four field goals for the Redblacks but also missed a conversion on the game’s first touchdown.

Daniel Oladejo had that first touchdown and it came at 6:02 of the fourth quarter giving the Redblacks an 18-12 lead. The game had featured eight field goals before that, four from each side.

Punter Richie Leone also kicked a 12-yard field goal for the Redblacks with two minutes to play for a 21-12 lead.

Oladejo hauled in a 13-yard touchdown pass from Tyrie Adams, who came on in relief of Nick Arbuckle in the third quarter.

The Alouettes started former Redblack Caleb Evans, but Alexander and Mike Glass also took snaps behind centre.

The first three quarters were all field goals as Ward outkicked Maltos 12-6.

The teams will meet in Montreal on June 10 to open the regular season, but before that the Redblacks will complete their pre-season on Thursday against the Toronto Argonauts as they meet in Guelph, Ont. The Alouettes host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday.

MEMORIAL CUP

KAMLOOPS, B.C. – The Quebec Remparts scored three goals in four-and-a-half minutes early in the second period to snap a 1-1 deadlock and then coasted to an 8-3 victory over the Kamloops Blazers in the first game of the 2023 Memorial Cup Championship tournament.

James Malatesta scored three times and Kassim Gaudet added a pair for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champions.

The Remparts showcased their speed, depth and goaltending against the host Blazers, who were playing their first game since May 8 when they were eliminated by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Hockey League’s Western Conference final.

Nathan Gaucher, Theo Rochette and Zachary Bolduc also scored for the Remparts, who led 5-2 heading into the final period. Justin Robidas chipped in with three assists, while Pier-Olivier Roy added two helpers.

Caedan Bankier, Daylan Kuefler and Matthew Seminoff scored for the Blazers, who were outshot 33-30. Logan Stankoven had three assists for the Blazers.

Robidas said his teammates were “a little bit nervous” at the beginning of the game, but felt they relaxed in the second and became more confident as the game progressed. In the first period they (Blazers) came out strong and we weren’t necessarily ready for that. In the second we settled down the crowd a little bit, got the momentum and we went from there.”

The Remparts went 1-for-1 on the power play, while the Blazers were 1-for-7.

POKE CHECKS: The WHL champion Seattle Thunderbirds play Ontario Hockey League champion Peterborough Petes on Saturday (6 p.m. ET), while the Blazers will try to rebound against the Petes on Sunday (6 p.m., ET).

NHL

The Las Vegas Golden Knights will be aiming to punch their tickets to the Stanley Cup final on Saturday when they host the Dallas Stars. The Golden Knights lead the best-of-seven Western Conference final 3-1 and can wrap up the series with a victory in Game 5. The winner of the series meets the Florida Panthers in the Cup final.

WHC

Team Canada had the day off Friday to prepare for its Saturday semifinal game against Latvia at the men’s world hockey championship in Tampere, Finland. The United States meets Germany in Saturday’s other semifinal. Canada advanced to the semis by beating Finland 4-1, while Latvia upset Sweden 3-1.

MLB

The visiting Toronto Blue Jays did all their scoring in the third inning en route to a much-needed 3-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night. Kevin Kiermaier and Bo Bichette homered in a three-run third, pitcher Kevin Gausman won for the first time in more than a month and the Jays won for the just second time in their last nine games. The Twins stranded 13 runners on base.

NBA

The Boston Celtics can defy the odds on Saturday night should they beat the Miami Heat and tie the NBA Eastern Conference finals at 3-3. The Celtics trailed the series 3-0 at one point, but have rattled off back-to-back wins to stay alive. Game 6 is in Miami. Game 7, if needed, will be played Monday in Boston. The winner faces the Denver Nuggets in the N-B-A finals.

CEBL

The Montréal Alliance outscored the Niagara River Lions 30-17 in the fourth quarter to earn an 84-69 win on home court Friday night (May 26) at Verdun Auditorium. Blake Francis netted a game-high 32 points and grabbed 7 rebounds as his jumpers fell throughout the game. He finished with 12-23 from the field and 5-11 from beyond the arc. 

The all-star backcourt of Cat Barber and Jalen Harris helped the Scarborough Shooting Stars (1-0) spoil the Brampton Honey Badgers (0-2) home opener and 2022 CEBL championship banner ceremony with an 80-78 victory on Friday night. The Shooting Stars were efficient from behind the three point line all evening, ending the game with 11 total three pointers—six of which came from the duo of Harris and Barber. 

(Canadian Press/CEBL Communications)