MONDAY SPORTS PAGE: WARRIORS, BRONCOS KEEP ROLLING

WHL

WARRIORS 6 PATS 3

REGINA, Sask. — Jagger Firkus scored twice and Brayden Yager had a goal and three assists as the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors beat the Regina Pats 6-3 Sunday in the Brandt Centre.

Pavel McKenzie, Atley Calvert and Lynden Lakovic also scored for the Warriors (43-20-0-3), who are assured of being seeded third in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Anthony Wilson, Zane Rowan and Corbin Vaughan scored for the Pats (22-37-4-2) who have already been eliminated from playoff contention.

Elsewhere in the WHL on Sunday:

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BRONCOS 5 OIL KINGS 4

Ryan Gould scored two goals and added an assist as the visiting Swift Current Broncos defeated the Edmonton Oil Kings 5-4 in Western Hockey League action on Sunday at Rogers Place. Ty Coupland, Clarke Caswell and Conor Geekie also scored for the Central Division-leading Broncos (38-21-4-2), who led 2-1 after the first period and 4-3 heading into the third.

THUNDERBIRDS 5 WINTERHAWKS 4 (OT)

SEATTLE, Wash. — Sawyer Mynio scored at 3:59 of overtime as the Seattle Thunderbirds rallied from behind to beat the Portland Winterhawks 5-4.

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COUGARS 6 GIANTS 3

LANGLEY, B.C. — Terik Parascak and Zac Funk each scored twice as the visiting Prince George Cougars beat the Vancouver Giants 6-3. Jett Lajoie and Carlin Dezainde also scored for the B.C. Division-leading Cougars (47-15-1-3).

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HITMEN 3 HURRICANES 2 (OT)

CALGARY, Alta. — Reese Hamilton scored at 3:12 of overtime as the Calgary Hitmen edged the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes 3-2.

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CHIEFS 6 WILD 1

SPOKANE, Wash. — Conner Roulette scored two goals and added an assist as the Spokane Chiefs whipped the visiting Wenatchee Wild 6-1.

NHL

JETS 6 BLUE JACKETS 1

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Tyler Toffoli scored twice and added an assist, leading Winnipeg past Columbus 6-1. Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and an assist, and Kyle Connor, Logan Stanley and Vladislav Namestnikov also scored. Sean Monahan added two assists and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 30 shots for the Jets, who pulled even with the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche atop the Central Division.

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RANGERS 5 ISLANDERS 2

NEW YORK (AP) — Jonny Brodzinski scored the go-ahead goal in the second period and the New York Rangers defeated the New York Islanders 5-2 on Sunday. Bo Horvat scored twice, Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves, but the Islanders lost their fourth consecutive game.

Elsewhere in the NHL on Sunday:

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HURRICANES 7 SENATORS 2

OTTAWA, Ont. (AP) — Dmitry Orlov recorded four points and Carolina scored four goals in the third period to beat Ottawa. Thomas Chabot and Tim Stutzle scored for the Senators, who had their three-game win streak halted. Anton Forsberg stopped 31 shots.

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GOLDEN KNIGHTS 3 DEVILS 1

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jack Eichel scored his 21st goal of the season and Vegas beat New Jersey. William Carrier and William Karlsson also scored for Vegas, while goalie Logan Thompson stopped 20 shots. Defenceman Noah Hanifin had two assists.

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PENGUINS 6 RED WINGS 3

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby matched Wayne Gretzky for seventh-most goals with a single franchise in NHL history, and Pittsburgh beat Detroit. Crosby’s 583rd career goal, his first in 12 games and No. 33 on the season, helped the Penguins keep their playoff hopes alive after dealing star winger Jake Guentzel at the trade deadline.

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BLACKHAWKS 5 SHARKS 2

CHICAGO (AP) — Ryan Donato, Kevin Korchinski and Joey Anderson scored in a 1:23 span of the third period, and Chicago beat San Jose. Philipp Kurashev and Connor Bedard also scored for the Blackhawks, who have won four of their last six games. Petr Mrazek finished with 24 saves.

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BLUES 4 DUCKS 2

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Robert Thomas scored two power-play goals in the third period, and St. Louis Blues beat Anaheim for their fourth consecutive victory.

MLB

Joey Votto found the swing he wanted and capitalized. The Toronto native homered on his first at-bat of the Toronto Blue Jays 5-5 tie against Philadelphia on Sunday. Votto joined the Jays on a minor-league deal last week with an invite to spring training after 17 years with Cincinnati. He was a six-time all-star with the Reds and named N-L MVP in 2010.

NBA

The visiting Toronto Raptors lost their seventh straight game today, dropping a 111-96 decision to the Orland Magic. Paolo Banchero scored 29 points for the winners, while Franz Wagner had 22 points. Jordan Nwora led the injury-ravaged Raptors with 18 points, while Gary Trent Junior chipped in with 15 points.

WORLD WOMENS CURLING

Rachel Homan’s Team Canada will take a 3-and-oh record into Monday’s game against Norway at the world women’s curling championship in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Homan defeated Tabitha Peterson’s United States team 10-6 in their lone game on Sunday. Italy and Switzerland, both 3-and-0h, are tied for top spot with Homan in the 13-team championship.

GOLF

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Already the best in the world, Scottie Scheffler added another layer to his legend Sunday. He became the first player to win back-to-back in 50 years of The Players Championship by matching the biggest comeback and the lowest closing round by a winner.

Scheffler holed out for eagle from the fourth fairway and had four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn, sending him to an 8-under 64 and a one-shot victory that wasn’t decided until the final putt.

MARCH MADNESS

• March Madness is here. Defending champion Connecticut, along with Houston, Purdue and North Carolina are the top seeds in a March Madness bracket that started going haywire even before the pairings came out. Of the four top seeds, only UConn heads into the tournament coming off a win. That played into the Huskies receiving the No. 1 overall seed. The other three top seeds lost in their conference tournaments.
• South Carolina is the the top overall seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks are looking to become the 10th women’s basketball team to go undefeated for an entire season. Caitlin Clark and Iowa also received a No. 1 seed. Both schools are in the Albany Region and wouldn’t potentially face off until the national championship game. Iowa knocked South Carolina out last season in the Final Four. USC and Texas earned the other No. 1 seeds. Tennessee continued its streak of making the tournament every season since it began in 1982.
• UConn is the betting favorite to win a second straight national title, but repeating is not easy. Houston has now been tested by a power-conference schedule after joining the Big 12. Purdue will be eager to put aside last year’s loss to 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson. Here’s a quick early prediction: UConn, Houston, Gonzaga and longshot Michigan State reach the Final Four. Then Houston denies UConn a repeat in the championship game.

USPORTS

The Concordia Stingers are back on the mountain top of U Sports women’s hockey. The Stingers edged the Toronto Varsity Blues 3-1 on Sunday in Saskatoon in the championship final of the U Sports championship tournament. In Toronto, the University of New Brunswick Reds capped off a perfect season with a 4-0 victory on Sunday over the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes in the men’s hockey championship final. The Reds compiled a 43-and-oh record during the 2023-24 season.

(Canadian Press)