MONTREAL — B.C. Lions head coach Rick Campbell expected Saturday night’s game to come down to the wire. And at the end of the day, his team made big plays when it mattered most.
Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. threw for more than 300 yards for the fourth consecutive game, and the Lions (8-4) snapped a two-game CFL losing streak by defeating the Montreal Alouettes (6-5) 34-25 in a back-and-forth affair.
Up 27-25 with five minutes left, Lions safety Quincy Mauger picked off Montreal quarterback Cody Fajardo to prevent a touchdown before B.C. added to its lead and sealed the win.
“That’s what it comes down to, right? Late in the fourth quarter it’s about which team makes more plays,” said Campbell, who was especially proud of his team for beating a “good” Alouettes team a second time this season.
“Our guys made the plays and obviously that interception was a huge one.”
Before Fajardo’s interception, Montreal had faked a punt on third down and running back Jeshrun Antwi rushed 43 yards to get within 22 yards of B.C.’s end zone.
Alouettes head coach Jason Maas gave credit to Mauger for making a play.
“If (Fajardo) could see the whole field to do it maybe he throws a little bit differently or doesn’t throw it at all,” said Maas. “But at the end of the day, that one I’ll give them credit, that guy made a play.”
Despite the turnover, Montreal had time on the clock and came close to quickly regaining possession on the ensuing drive, but was undone by two penalties.
First came an unnecessary roughness call on linebacker Tyrice Beverette after the whistle with B.C. on second and 14, then defensive tackle Almondo Sewell received a roughing-the-passer penalty on a play that was initially ruled a sack.
Lions running back Taquan Mizzell eventually ran the ball seven yards into the end zone to give B.C. the nine-point lead with 1:33 left and put the game out of reach.
The reverse of Sewell’s sack after a challenge by the Lions received loud boos from the 17,112 spectators on hand, but Maas had more issues with the first penalty.
“The one I was more disappointed with was a second and 14 call where we get a good stop and then we take an unsportsmanlike conduct and we cannot have that,” said Maas. “That was more detrimental to us.”
Adams, starting in Montreal for the first time since being traded by the Alouettes last season, went 21-for-33 for 306 yards and three touchdown passes for B.C. (8-4) at Molson Stadium. He also rushed for 54 yards.
“This is a second home for me, spent seven years here, so it means a lot,” said Adams. “I’m absolutely gonna cherish this, man. I got the game ball right here, I’m gonna keep it with me because this is a big win.”
He connected twice for touchdowns with Lions receiver Alexander Hollins, who totalled 88 receiving yards.
“He came to compete,” said Campbell of Adams. “Really glad he’s on our side. He wasn’t going to be denied tonight, you can see the effort he put in.”
On the other end, Fajardo was having a solid game for Montreal before throwing two late picks — including the crucial turnover to Mauger.
Besides his interceptions, Fajardo threw for 308 yards on 22-for-35 completions, but also had only one touchdown pass despite multiple opportunities for more.
It has been a constant theme this season for the Alouettes. They entered Saturday night’s game tied for second-last in offensive touchdowns with 17, only six of which were off Fajardo throws.
“At the end of the day, our red zone offence is not very good,” said Maas. “It wasn’t good enough tonight, it hasn’t been all year, and it starts with me. I’m the play caller and I’ve got to start picking better plays to call.”
Montreal kicker David Cote went 4-for-5 on field goals with one rouge. B.C. kicker Sean Whyte was 2-for-2.
The fourth quarter had started with a moment of magic from Montreal running back William Stanback, split the defence down the middle and rushed to a 69-yard TD — his first of the season — to put Montreal up 25-24.
B.C. then kicked a field goal to go up 27-25.
Montreal’s Austin Mack built on his league lead in receiving yards with 143 on seven receptions, including one touchdown.
After Montreal kicked a field goal to open the scoring, B.C. produced the first touchdown of the game with 4:44 remaining in the first quarter.
In the second, Adams let it fly down the middle and Hollins brought it down under double coverage before running into the end zone for a 62-yard TD to give the Lions a 17-6 lead.
The Alouettes got downfield twice before the half ended, and cut the deficit to 17-12.
To open the second half, Montreal broke through with Mack making an acrobatic catch deep in the right side of the end zone and just barely staying in bounds, redeeming an end-zone pass he dropped in the first half and giving Montreal an 18-17 lead after missing a two-point convert.
B.C. regained the lead with 2:20 left in the third, going up 24-19 as Adams connected with Keon Hatcher on a 17-yard TD pass before Stanback replied with his TD run to open the fourth.
UP NEXT
The Alouettes head to Toronto next week for the first of two consecutive games against the Argonauts. Montreal then plays host to Toronto the following week.
The Lions have a bye week and next play at home on Sept. 16 against the Ottawa Redblacks.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2023.
CALGARY – The Calgary Flames have re-signed defenceman Ilya Solovyov and centre Cole Schwindt, the NHL club announced Wednesday.
Solovyov signed a two-year deal which is a two-way contract in year one and a one-way deal in year two and carries an average annual value of US$775,000 at the NHL level.
Schwindt signed a one-year, two-way contract with an average annual value of $800,000 at the NHL level.
The 24-year-old Solovyov, from Mogilev, Belarus, made his NHL debut last season and had three assists in 10 games for the Flames. He also had five goals and 10 assists in 51 games with the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers and added one goal in six Calder Cup playoff games.
Schwindt, from Kitchener, Ont., made his Flames debut last season and appeared in four games with the club.
The 23-year-old also had 14 goals and 22 assists in 66 regular-season games with the Wranglers and added a team-leading four goals, including one game-winning goal, in the playoffs.
Schwindt was selected by Florida in the third round, 81st overall, at the 2019 NHL draft. He came to Calgary in July 2022 along with forward Jonathan Huberdeau and defenceman MacKenzie Weegar in the trade that sent star forward Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
KING CITY, Ont. – Oman scored 10 runs in the final over to edge Nepal by one wicket with just one ball remaining in ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 play Wednesday.
Kaleemullah, the No. 11 batsman who goes by one name, hit a four with the penultimate ball as Oman finished at 223 for nine. Nepal had scored 220 for nine in its 50 overs.
Kaleemullah and No. 9 batsman Shakeel Ahmed each scored five in the final over off Sompal Kami. They finished with six and 17 runs, respectively.
Opener Latinder Singh led Oman with 41 runs.
Nepal’s Gulsan Jha was named man of the match after scoring 53 runs and recording a career-best five-wicket haul. The 18-year-old slammed five sixes and three-fours in his 35-ball knock, scoring 23 runs in the 46th over alone when he hit six, six, four, two, four and one off Aqib Ilyas.
Captain Rohit Paudel led Nepal with 60 runs.
The 19th-ranked Canadians, who opened the triangular series Monday with a 103-run win over No. 17 Nepal, face No. 16 Oman on Friday, Nepal on Sunday and Oman again on Sept. 26. All the games are at the Maple Leaf Cricket Ground.
The eight World League 2 teams each play 36 one-day internationals spread across nine triangular series through December 2026. The top four sides will go through to a World Cup qualifier that will decide the last four berths in the expanded 14-team Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Canada (5-4) stands second in the World League 2 table. The 14th-ranked Dutch top the table at 6-2.
Oman (2-2 with one no-result) stands sixth, ahead of Nepal (1-5).
Canada won all four matches in its opening tri-series in February-March, sweeping No. 11 Scotland and the 20th-ranked host Emirates. But the Canadians lost four in a row to the 18th-ranked U.S. and host Netherlands in August.
Canada which debuted in the T20 World Cup this summer in the U.S. and West Indies, is looking to get back to the showcase 50-over Cricket World Cup for the first time since 2011 after failing to qualify for the last three editions. The Canadian men also played in the 1979, 2003 and 2007 tournaments, exiting after the group stage in all four tournament appearances.
The Canadian men regained their one-day international status for the first time in almost a decade by finishing in the top four of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff in April 2023 in Bermuda.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024
PENTICTON, B.C. – Rick Tocchet has already warned his Vancouver Canucks players — the looming NHL season won’t be easy.
The team made strides last year, the head coach said Wednesday ahead of training camp. The bar has been raised for this year’s campaign.
“To get to the next plateau, there are higher expectations and it’s going to be hard. We know that,” Tocchet said in Penticton, B.C., where the team will open its camp on Thursday.
“So that’s the next level. It starts day one (on Thursday). My thing is don’t waste a rep out there.”
The Canucks finished atop the Pacific Division with a 50-23-9 record last season, then ousted the Nashville Predators from the playoffs in a gritty, six-game first-round series. Vancouver then fell to the Edmonton Oilers in a seven-game second-round set.
Last fall, Jim Rutherford, the Canucks president of hockey operations, said everything would have to go right for the team to make a playoff push. That doesn’t change this season, he said, despite last year’s success.
“The challenges will be greater, certainly. But I believe the team that we started with last year, we have just as good a team to start the season this year and probably better,” he said.
“As long as the team builds off what they did last year, stick to what the coaches tell them, stick to the system, stick together in good times and bad times, this team has a chance to do pretty well.”
Some key players will be missing as Vancouver’s training camp begins, however.
Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin announced Wednesday that star goalie Thatcher Demko will not be on the ice when the team begins it’s pre-season preparation.
Allvin did not disclose the reason for Demko’s absence, but said the 28-year-old American has been making progress.
“He’s been in working extremely hard and he seems to be in a great mindset,” the GM said.
Demko missed several weeks of the regular season and much of Vancouver’s playoff run last spring with a knee injury.
The six-foot-four, 192-pound goalie has a career 213-116-81 regular-season record with a .912 save percentage, a 2.79 goals-against average and eight shutouts across seven seasons with the Canucks.
Allvin also announced that veteran centre Teddy Blueger and defensive prospect Cole McWard will also miss the start of training camp after each had “minor lower-body surgery.”
Vancouver previously announced winger Dakota Joshua won’t be present for the start of camp as he recovers from surgery for testicular cancer.
Tocchet said he’ll have no problem filling the holes, and plans to switch his lines up a lot in Penticton.
“Nothing’s set in stone,” he said. “I think it’s important that you have different puzzles at different times.”
The coach added that he expects standout centre Elias Pettersson to begin on a line with Canucks newcomer Jake DeBrusk.
Vancouver inked DeBrusk, a former Boston Bruins forward, to a seven-year, US$38.5 million deal when the NHL’s free agent market opened on July 1.
The glare on Pettersson is expected to be bright once again as he enters the first year of a new eight-year, $92.8 million contract. The 25-year-old Swede struggled at times last season and put 89 points (34 goals, 55 assists) in 82 games.
Rutherford said he was impressed with how Pettersson looked when he returned to Vancouver ahead of camp.
“He seems to be a guy that’s more relaxed and more comfortable. And for obvious reasons,” said the president of hockey ops. “This is a guy that I believe has worked really hard this summer. He’s done everything he can to play as a top-line player. … The expectation for him is to be one of the top players on our team.”
A number of Canucks hit milestones last season, including Quinn Hughes, who led all NHL defencemen in scoring with 92 points and won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top blue liner.
Several players could once again have career-best years for Vancouver, Tocchet said, but they’ll need to be consistent and not allow frustration to creep in when things go wrong.
“You’ve just got to drive yourself every day when you have a great year,” the coach said. “You’ve got to keep creating that environment where they can achieve those goals, whatever they are. And the main goal is winning. That’s really what it comes down to.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
