THURSDAY SPORTS: BLADES, WARRIORS WIN BIG

WHL

SASKATOON – Alexander Suzdalev had a hat trick and an assist in his second game of the season to lead the Saskatoon Blades to a 7-2 win over the Vancouver Giants on Wednesday night in the Western Hockey League.

The Blades acquired Suzdalev and a draft pick from the Regina Pats on New Year’s Eve.

WARRIORS 5 ROYALS 0

MOOSE JAW, Sask. — Jackson Unger earned a 15-save shut out as the Moose Jaw Warriors downed the Victoria Royals 5-0.

Denton Mateychuk, Pavel McKenzie, Kalem Parker, Rilen Kovacevic and Brayden Yager all scored for Moose Jaw (23-15-2).

REBELS 3 CHIEFS 1

RED DEER, Alta. — Jeramiah Roberts scored a goal as the Red Deer Rebels topped the Spokane Chiefs.

ROCKETS 5 THUNDERBIRDS 2

KELOWNA, B.C. — Andrew Cristall and Gabriel Szturc each scored twice as the Kelowna Rockets defeated the Seattle Thunderbirds.

NHL

DENVER (AP) — Valeri Nichushkin scored two power-play goals, Nathan MacKinnon had an assist to extend his season-opening home points streak to 23 games and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 on Wednesday night.

DALLAS (AP) — Roope Hintz, Joe Pavelski, Tyler Seguin and Jason Robertson — Dallas’ four top goal producers — scored and the Stars beat Minnesota 7-2 to sweep a home-and-home set and the season series.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Sean Couturier scored the lone shootout goal and Philadelphia overcame an early deficit to beat Montreal 3-2.

TORTS

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia Flyers coach John Tortorella lashed out at a beat reporter during his postgame news conference Wednesday night, questioning a report surrounding the trade of top prospect Cutter Gauthier on Monday.

Gauthier told Flyers general manager Danny Briere that he didn’t want to play in Philadelphia or for the Flyers. Unable to sign Gauthier, Philadelphia traded the Boston College star to Anaheim on Monday for defenseman Jamie Drysdale.

On Monday, a reporter with a podcast affiliated with the team said, citing an organizational source, that former Flyers forward Kevin Hayes’ “fingerprints are all over this.” Hayes, a former Boston College player, now plays for St. Louis.

Tortorella took issue with the report after Philadelphia’s 3-2 victory over Montreal on Wednesday night.

“Is the guy here that caused Kevin Hayes a problem?” Tortorella asked.

“Yes,” he answered.

“Are you kidding me? You think Kevin Hayes is going to do something like that? … ,” Tortorella said. “It just pisses me off that you guys throw that around and affect someone’s life. Kevin Hayes and I had a problem and we couldn’t come to an agreement how to play.

“That’s a good man. That’s a good man. And what you said is going to stay with him. That’s what you guys don’t understand. You’re going to sit there and say you have the right sources. …”

Tortorella then called it a “silly podcast.”

FOOTBALL

The decision seems less a firing and more a separation, but one the 72-year -old Carroll was at least somewhat forced to accept following discussions with ownership. Carroll will move into an undefined advisory role within the organization, according to Wednesday’s statement from owner Jody Allen.

Meanwhile Nick Saban’s coaching reign has come to an end. His dominance over college football, however, will forever linger in lore.

Saban, who won seven national championships — more than any major college football coach — and turned Alabama back into a national powerhouse that shattered an Associated Press poll record for most consecutive seasons at No. 1, announced his retirement Wednesday.

“The University of Alabama has been a very special place to Terry and me,” Saban said in a statement. “It is not just about how many games we won and lost, but it’s about the legacy and how we went about it. We always tried to do it the right way.”

(Canadian Press)