SUNDAY SPORTS PAGE: STARS CROWNED SJHL CHAMPS

SJHL FINAL

For the second time in four years, the Battlefords North Stars are Champions of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. They knocked off the Flin Flon Bombers 7-4 Saturday night at Whitney Forum in Game 4 of the SJHL Final to complete the 4-0 sweep. Jordan Grill netted a pair of goals in the first period, Steven Kesslering had a pair in the win as well, and Josh Kotai was superb in between the pipes making 45 saves in the win. Kesslering finished the post-season with 14 goals and 4 assists and was named the 2023 SJHL Playoff MVP. The Stars will now have some time off before they represent the SJHL at the Centennial Cup in Portage, Manitoba beginning on May 11th.

WHL ROUND 2

WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg ICE spotted the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors a 2-0 lead, then roared back with five unanswered goals to post a 5-2 Western Hockey League playoff victory on Saturday night.

With the win, the ICE grabbed a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series. Game 6 is Monday in Moose Jaw, Sask.

Conor Geekie scored three goals for the ICE, while Matthew Savoie and Zach Benson netted singles.

Jagger Firkus and Brayden Yager scored for the Warriors, who led 2-0 after the first period and were tied 2-2 heading into the third.

The ICE outshot the Warriors 39-28. Both teams were 0-for-1 on the power play.

NLL

Saskatchewan’s own Laine Hruska stole the show, making 36 saves in his NLL debut as the Rush topped the Colorado Mammoth 12-11 in overtime on Co-op Field at SaskTel Centre on Saturday. The fourth quarter brought on a scare as Church would cap off his hat trick, but Colorado responded with four of their own, sending the game to overtime. Free lacrosse meant another opportunity for Church to shine and the superstar sent the fans home with a smile as he ended it 1:28 into the extra frame.

Saskatchewan (7-10) will finish up their season next weekend in Las Vegas against the Desert Dogs available to view on TSN+.

NHL ROUND-UP

Michael Amadio’s goal at 3:40 of the second overtime gave the visiting Vegas Golden Knights a 5-4 win over the Winnipeg Jets today to grab a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven series. The Jets trailed 4-1 heading into the third period and scored three times, including Adam Lowry’s goal with 22 seconds left in regulation, to force the overtime. Game four in the series is on Monday. Jack Eichel led Vegas with two goals and an assist. Neal Pionk had three assists for the Jets.

Morgan Rielly’s goal at 19:15 of overtime lifted the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday night, and the visitors grabbed a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven NHL playoff series. Noel Acciari, Auston Matthews and Ryan O’Reilly scored for the Leafs in regulation. O’Reilly’s goal was scored with a minute left in the third period to force overtime. Anthony Cirelli, Brandon Hagel and Darren Raddysh scored for the Lightning. Game 4 goes Monday night.

Dougie Hamilton’s goal at 11:06 of overtime lifted the New Jersey Devils to a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers and allowed the visitors to trim their deficit in the best-of-seven playoff series to 2-1 after losing the first two games at home. Jack Hughes also scored for the Devils, while Chris Kreider scored for the Rangers. Game 4 goes Monday.

Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, and Mikko Rantanen had two goals and an assist as the visiting Colorado Avalanche spoiled the return of NHL playoff hockey to Seattle by beating the Kraken 6-4. The Avalanche, who split the first two games of the best-of-seven series in Denver, grabbed a 2-1 lead in the first-round series. The teams were tied 3-3 heading into the final period. Jaden Schwartz scored twice for Seattle. Game 4 is on Monday.

THE REST

• Gerrit Cole and Alek Manaoh pitched scoreless ball after a chirpy buildup, and the New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 on pinch-hitter DJ LeMahieu’s walkoff bases-loaded single in the ninth inning. Rookie Anthony Volpe hit a two-run homer in the eighth off Yimi Garcia and pinch-hitter Danny Jansen hit a two-run homer in the ninth against Wandy Peralta after a leadoff walk to Alejandro Kirk. Anthony Rizzo doubled off Jordan Romano leading off the bottom half. Cole was forced to delay his first pitch when Manoah and Kirk slowly walked in from the bullpen to the dugout.
• Gervonta Davis delivered a stunning body shot in the seventh round on Saturday night in Las Vegas, causing Ryan Garcia to stumble back and then go to a knee, ending one of boxing’s most-anticipated matches in recent history with a knockout at 1:44. Davis improved to 29-and-0, with all but two of his victories by knockdown. It was the first defeat for Garcia, who won 19 of his first 23 fights by K-O. Davis’ victory could set up a showdown with undefeated Devin Haney, who owns all four major championship belts in the lightweight division.
• NEW YORK (AP) – Tobias Harris had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers overcame the absence of Joel Embiid to beat the Brooklyn Nets 96-88 on Saturday, completing a sweep that made them the first team to reach the second round of the playoffs.LOS ANGELES (AP) – Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Devin Booker added 30 and Phoenix defeated Los Angeles 11-100 without Kawhi Leonard to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.

  MIAMI (AP) – Jimmy Butler scored 30 points before leaving with a sore glute following a hard fall, and eighth-seeded Miami beat top-seeded Milwaukee 121-99 for a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

(SJHL.ca/CP/SaskRush.com)