SUNDAY SPORTS
WHL
Richard Nejezchleb scored with four seconds remaining in overtime as the Wheat Kings narrowly escaped blowing a three-goal lead, and hung on to beat the Regina Pats 4-3 in Brandon Saturday night.
John Quenneville, Tyler Coulter and Jens Meilleur gave Brandon (21-16-4) a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes of play.
Colby Williams scored twice in the third period for Regina (20-18-4) and Patrick D’Amico had the other to complete the comeback and earn at least one point.
Jordan Papirny made 31 saves for the Wheat Kings while Dawson MacAuley stopped 36-of-40 shots for the Pats.
Regina is now sixth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. They host Red Deer Wednesday at 7:00 pm on 620 CKRM.
NHL
Torey Krug snapped out of an 11-game goal drought and helped the Bruins win for the fifth time in seven games, thumping the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 on Saturday.
Tuukka Rask stopped 36 shots for the Bruins, who embark on a three-game California trip.
Elsewhere on ice:
– St. Louis quickly fell behind 2-0 before Patrik Berglund scored twice in the Blues’ 6-2 win over Columbus. Alex Pietrangelo and Vladimir Sobotka each had a goal and an assist in the Blues’ fifth consecutive win.
– Jakub Voracek had the game-winner while Philadelphia was scoring three straight goals in the third period of a 5-3 win at Phoenix. The Flyers trailed 3-1 before improving to 4-1 on their six-game road trip.
– Dominic Moore scored twice and the New York Rangers shattered their season high for goals in a 7-1 rout of the Maple Leafs in Toronto. Fifteen of the 18 Rangers skaters had at least one point, with Carl Hagelin delivering a goal and an assist.
– Third-period goals by Dustin Brown and Jeff Carter gave Los Angeles a 2-1 win over Vancouver and ended the Kings’ season-worst five-game losing streak. Jonathan Quick stopped 27 shots in his first game since injuring his groin on Nov. 12.
– Henrik Zetterberg scored the first and last goals in Detroit’s 5-1 rout of Dallas. Jimmy Howard handled 44 shots for the Red Wings, who were tied 1-1 until Joakim Andersson and Drew Miller scored 14 seconds apart late in the first period.
– Ryan Suter notched his first career hat trick while scoring two of Minnesota’s three power-play goals in a 5-3 victory over Washington, the Capitals’ fourth straight loss. Suter scored his two power-play goals during a 42-second span of the second period.
– Ottawa beat Montreal 4-3 on Clarke MacArthur’s power-play goal 58 seconds into overtime. The Senators coughed up a two-goal lead in the third period after Mark Stone and Erik Condra scored 14 seconds apart to put them ahead 3-1 in the first.
– Jordan Staal and Brett Sutter scored 57 seconds apart in the second period to put Carolina ahead 3-1 in a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders. Anton Khubodin stopped 37 shots in winning for the fourth time in as many starts this season.
– Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and Semyon Varlamov stopped 30 shots as Colorado earned its third straight win, 4-3 over San Jose. It was MacKinnon’s first two-goal game.
– Florida blew a two-goal lead in the last 5:08 of regulation before Tomas Kopecky scored the deciding shootout goal to give the Panthers a 5-4 win over Nashville. Tim Thomas stopped 38 shots for the Panthers.
– Power-play goals by Matt Moulson and Matt D’Agostini pushed Buffalo past New Jersey 2-1. D’Agostini’s tally snapped a 1-1 tie with 8:11 remaining and sent the Sabres to their fifth consecutive home win.
NFL PLAYOFFS
The Indianapolis Colts are just the second team in NFL history to win a playoff game after trailing by at least 28 points.
The Colts trailed 38-10 early in the third quarter before Andrew Luck threw three of his four touchdown passes to rally Indianapolis to a 45-44 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. That puts the Colts into the AFC divisional playoffs on the road against either Denver or New England.
The comeback comes one day after the 21st anniversary of Buffalo’s rally from a 32-point deficit in a 41-38 victory against Houston.
The Colts didn’t take their first lead of the day until Luck hit a streaking T.Y. Hilton for a 64-yard touchdown with 4:21 remaining. Luck was 29 of 45 for 443 yards and three interceptions in his first playoff victory. His prime target was Hilton, who had 13 receptions for 224 yards and two TDs.
The Chiefs managed just a pair of field goals after Alex Smith’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Knile Davis 1:21 into the second half. Smith completed 30 of his 46 passes for 378 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Kansas City finished the game without AFC rushing champ Jamaal Charles, who suffered a concussion on the opening possession.
Joining the Colts in the next round are the New Orleans Saints, who blew a 20-7 lead in the second half before Shayne Graham hit a 32-yard field goal as time expired to give them a 26-24 triumph at Philadelphia. The Saints’ first road playoff victory puts them in the NFC divisional playoffs at Seattle.
The Eagles had a 7-6 lead until the Saints scored consecutive touchdowns in the third quarter. Drew Brees threw a 24-yard TD pass to Lance Moore early in the second half before Mark Ingram’s four-yard scoring run put New Orleans ahead by 13. But the Saints needed Graham’s fourth field goal of the night to oust the Eagles and win for the first time in six road playoff games.
Brees was 20 of 30 for 250 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, while Ingram carried 18 times for 97 yards.
New Orleans did a nice job neutralizing the Eagles’ top offensive weapons, although Nick Foles thew for two touchdowns and LeSean McCoy ran for a one-yard score. Foles finished with just 195 passing yards, McCoy had 77 yards on 21 carries and DeSean Jackson was held to three receptions.
Sunday’s NFL playoff match-ups feature San Diego at Cincinnati (12:05 pm) and San Francisco at Green Bay (3:40 pm).
NFL-TITANS
The Tennessee Titans have fired Mike Munchak after three seasons as head coach and 31 years combined with the franchise as a player and coach. Munchak, who had a year left on his contract, flew to Texas on Friday morning to meet with team officials. He was 22-26 since being hired Feb. 7, 2011.
PGA-TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) – Zach Johnson is the leader at the midway point of the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. Johnson fired a 7-under-par 66 for a 13-under total. He got into mix with four birdies on a five-hole stretch on the front nine, and never came close to a bogey.
Defending champion Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar and Jordan Spieth are three shots back at minus-10.
(With files from the Associated Press)
Would be nice to see Travis Brown in a Pats uniform.
Bob Nixon
I loved hearing the words "Saskatchewan Roughriders" (re: Freeman) and "University of Regina, Saskatchewan" (Re: Hicks), during the broadcast of the NFL games Saturday.
I agree with Bob. Travis would be a excellent addition to the Pats roster. He brings excellent skill and a physical side to his game.
Darwin Z
Bob, would they have anything to trade with after the Stephenson and Klimchuk deal?
Yea T Brown's excellent skill and physicality comes with a team leading -32 plus/minus!
Bill W
Whatever happened to Alex Forsberg? flop?
Brown is not what the Pats need on the blueline, yes he has skill but he takes way to many chances offensively. The Pats need to develop the defensive defenseman (Reagan in the future) we don't need more offensive minded players in our lineup.
Alex Forsberg is actually having a decent season on a terrible PG team (what a surprise) he would be tied with Connor Gay on the Pats for 18yr old scorers. Keep in mind the teams these kids play on, Forsberg has skill just has no 1 to play with to display it
Thanks for the opinion Forsberg, much respect.