SUNDAY SPORTS

WHL

Dryden Hunt had a pair of goals as the Regina Pats handed the Saskatoon Blades their fourth loss in a row, 6-2 at the Credit Union Centre Saturday evening.

Morgan Klimchuk and Chandler Stephenson each had a goal and two assists for the Pats (23-17-5), who led 5-0 after the first period, while Dyson Stevenson and Jesse Zgraggen had a goal apiece.

Cameron Hebig and Connor Sanvido scored for Saskatoon (12-31-4).

Daniel Wapple made 28 saves for Regina. Alex Moodie started in net for the Blades but was pulled after allowing three goals on six shots. Troy Trombley turned away 26-of-29 shots in 52 minutes of relief.

The Pats host Kootenay next Friday in a nationally-televised game on Rogers Sportsnet.

NFL

The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks have worked themselves into next weekend’s NFL conference championships.

LeGarrette Blount had four of the Patriots’ six rushing touchdowns in a 43-22 win over the visiting Indianapolis Colts. Blount scored the Pats’ first three TDs on three-yard runs before ripping off a 73-yard scoring burst with 12:55 remaining, less than two minutes before Stevan Ridley scored his second TD of the night. Blount accounted for 166 of the Patriots’ 234 rushing yards.

Tom Brady failed to throw a touchdown pass for only the second time in his last 23 playoff games, finishing 13 of 25 for 198 yards and no interceptions. He fared better than Andrew Luck, who threw for 331 yards but was intercepted four times.

The Pats now await the winner of Sunday’s game between the Broncos and San Diego Chargers in Denver.

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In Seattle, Marshawn Lynch ran for 140 yards on 28 carries and provided the Seahawks’ two touchdowns in a 23-15 triumph over New Orleans. Lynch scored on a 15-yard run 43 seconds into the second quarter to put Seattle ahead 13-0. He also had a 31-yard touchdown run with 2:40 remaining to all but clinch the Seahawks’ third trip to a conference title game, and their second since rejoining the NFC.

Lynch carried a Seattle offence that had only 277 total yards and attempted just 18 passes under blustery conditions. Russell Wilson completed nine of his passes for a career-low 103 yards and no interceptions.

Steven Hauschka hit three field goals in the first half, including a 49-yard kick in the opening quarter.

The Seahawks blanked the Saints until Khiry Robinson scored on a one-yard run early in the fourth quarter. Seattle also limited Pro Bowl tight end Jimmy Graham to one reception for eight yards.

Drew Brees was 24 of 43 for 309 yards and one touchdown, a nine-yard scoring pass to Marques Colston with 26 seconds left. Colston also recovered the onside kick to give New Orleans a chance to send the game into overtime. He caught a pass during the final drive but threw an illegal forward pass that caused officials to run off the final 10 seconds.

Seattle will take on the winner of Sunday’s game between the Carolina Panthers and visiting San Francisco 49ers.

NHL

The Anaheim Ducks have widened their lead in the NHL’s Western Conference with their sixth consecutive victory and 16th in their last 17 games.

Hampus Lindholm scored twice and Ryan Getzlaf notched his 23rd of the season as the Ducks outscored the Coyotes 5-3 near Phoenix. Jonas Hiller made 28 saves in his 13th straight win for Anaheim, the NHL’s longest streak since Detroit’s Chris Osgood did it in 1996.

The Ducks improved their NHL-best record to 34-8-5 and 73 points, five ahead of Chicago.

The Blackhawks suffered their third straight loss as Andre Markov scored his second of the night at 1:28 of overtime to give Montreal a 2-1 win over Chicago. The Blackhawks managed to extend the game on Marian Hossa’s goal midway through the third period before losing their third in a row. They also absorbed their 10th non-regulation loss, tying them with Detroit for the NHL lead.

Pittsburgh tops the East by eight points over Boston after Chris Kunitz and Matt Niskanen tallied in the Penguins’ 2-1 win at Calgary. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27 shots as the Penguins bounced back from Friday’s loss in Edmonton to win for the 18th time in 22 games.

Tuukka Rask was the star in Boston’s 1-0 shutout of San Jose, stopping 26 shots for his league-high fifth shutout of the season and 21st of his career. Neither team scored until Carl Soderberg beat Antti Niemi with 7:35 remaining.

Also on NHL ice Saturday:

– Ryan Malone scored twice and Valtteri Filppula produced the tiebreaking goal in Tampa Bay’s 6-3 win at Philadelphia. It was a 3-3 game until Filppula and Martin St. Louis tallied late in the second period to help the Lightning end the Flyers’ 10-game home winning streak.

-Third-period goals by Tomas Tatar and Danny Cleary sent Detroit past Los Angeles 3-1. Tatar also set up Riley Sheahan’s goal and Jimmy Howard turned back 40 shots for the Red Wings.

– Ryan O’Reilly scored twice, including the game-winner with 7:16 to play in Colorado’s 4-2 verdict over Minnesota. Gabriel Landeskog and Maxime Talbot also scored as the Avalanche won for the fifth time in seven games.

– New Jersey beat Florida 2-1 on Marek Zidlicky’s goal with 2.1 seconds showing on the overtime clock. Michael Ryder scored for the fourth straight game and Cory Schneider stopped 29 shots in the Devils’ second straight win.

– Ottawa killed off a penalty in overtime before Mika Zibanejad and Jason Spezza scored shootout goals to lift the Senators past Nashville 2-1. Kyle Turis scored in regulation and Craig Anderson stopped 32 shots as the Senators improved to 5-0-1 in their last six games.

– Boone Jenner and Mark Letestu each scored twice as Columbus doubled up Winnipeg 6-3. The Jets led 1-0 until Letestu’s short-handed tally sparked the Blue Jackets’ four-goal second period.

(CP/AP)