Sports

A Magical Night in Ottawa: Senators’ Norris scores twice in return

Published

11 months ago

October 19, 2023

After months of painful shoulder rehab and 270 days between games, Ottawa Senators centre Josh Norris didn’t mind admitting he leaned on his religious faith to get him through the tough days.

“I think God is pretty amazing,” Norris said, after a comeback night that would make an inspiring storyline for a children’s book.

The hockey gods weren’t bad either, deeming that Norris should be rewarded with two goals scored and a game of health and vigour in Wednesday’s 6-1 romp over the Washington Capitals.

Senators’ Norris dazzles in season debut with two-goal performance vs. Capitals

Fans at the Canadian Tire Centre cheered Norris the moment they spotted No. 9 on his first shift, less than two minutes into the game. They cheered louder at a closeup of him on the scoreboard monitor.

“It was a pretty long road and some hard days and we’re finally here now,” Norris said, notably reserved in a dressing room scrum postgame.

“It’s just a great night and I’m happy we won this game,” Norris said.

Norris scored his first goal on the power play at 12:29 of the first period, to give the Senators a 2-0 lead. Standing near the goal crease, Norris accepted a blind backhand feed from Drake Batherson and he had nothing but net, as they say in basketball.

Senators’ Norris scores to finish off beauty passing play in first game back from injury

Batherson said he had practiced the play so often with Norris he didn’t even look to see if he was present.

“I figured he was there, I didn’t know he was there,” Batherson said. “I got lucky.”

Norris’ second goal, early in the second period, came off a pass to the slot from Batherson, as Norris wired a snap shot past the glove side of Darcy Kuemper.

With primary assists on both Norris goals, Batherson had an eventful reunion with a linemate he has known in Ottawa and AHL Belleville and was more animated than Norris about the young centre’s night of triumph. Norris seemed humbled by it. Perhaps shocked.

“I was excited and I didn’t even score the goals,” Batherson said. “I can’t imagine what he was feeling.”

Despite the anticipation of getting their No. 2 centre back in the lineup – Batherson said his teammates were “pumping his tires all day” – Norris was determined to remain calm. Treat it like any other game, he said, which was no small feat, given that he played just ten games last season while undergoing a second shoulder surgery.

“I did hear the fans kind of give me a nice little ovation,” Norris said. “So, I thought that was really cool.”

Though he didn’t specify exactly when he knew his shoulder was ready for the first test of game action, Norris said he was told recently by the team’s medical staff that he was physically set to go. Some rather intense practice sessions, including aggressive faceoff work with assistant coach Ben Sexton, helped Norris find the confidence he needed in his own body.

“After talking to some docs and making sure everything was OK, I think most importantly, I just had to feel comfortable in my own brain,” Norris said. “Just trust yourself.”

There wasn’t much doubt about Norris’s comfort level with Batherson, who finally had the centre he needed to form an effective line with newcomer Dominik Kubalik.

“He’s such a good player,” Norris said of Batherson, “I like having him on my line.”

There’s an understatement.

Such was head coach D.J. Smith’s belief that Norris was ready, he let him take 11 faceoffs in the game, winning five of them. It was on a faceoff, remember, that Norris hurt his shoulder, almost one year ago to the day. He returned for three games in January, before shutting it down and getting surgery.

“Clearly, he’s in shape and give the development guys credit, they had him ready,” Smith said.

“I don’t know how many faceoffs he took leading up to this.”

Inference? A lot.

While Smith said he could hardly have expected a two-goal night in the 24-year-old’s first game back, he was not really surprised.

“You can see the difference (he makes),” Smith said. “He only needs one look and it goes away . . . one look, bang! It’s in the back of the net and now you’ve got the game under control. If he’s not there, do you win? You don’t know. If it’s a night where it’s not going in for us.”

‘Hard to say you’d see that’: Smith thrilled with way Norris looked in first game back

The Sens have not had any of those nights at home this season, where the puck is not going in. They have scored 16 goals in three home games while outscoring three Eastern opponents 16-5.

Despite what appears on paper to have been an easy game, Ottawa was not sharp in the first period against Washington and turned a lot of pucks over. Washington didn’t ‘Cap-italize’ and Sens goalie Anton Forsberg was a large part of the reason. He stopped 23 of 24 shots, including an early flurry in close from T.J. Oshie and Connor McMichael when the score was 1-0 for Ottawa.

This was the third straight game in which the Sens have allowed the visiting team fewer than 25 shots on goal as they improved their overall record to 3-1, tied with the Detroit Red Wings for first place in the Atlantic Division. The Wings visit Ottawa on Saturday.

The fact the Sens weren’t sharp early and still put a six-spot on the board is yet another sign of the team’s progression. Even on nights they aren’t at their best they have the firepower to win games.

Nice team win, but a spectacular individual show by Norris, who played 16:34 and had three of Ottawa’s 29 shots in front of 15,021 fans.

“He did what he gets paid for, put it right in the back of the net,” Batherson said. “Super pumped for him and his family. For him to get back out there tonight, I know how excited he was. He was just happy to play, let alone get two.”

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Red Wings sign Moritz Seider to 7-year deal worth nearly $60M

Published

7 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.

The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.

Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.

He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.

Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.

Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.

Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.

The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.

Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.

Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.

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Veterans Tyson Beukeboom, Karen Paquin lead Canada’s team at WXV rugby tournament

Published

8 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.

WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).

Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.

“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.

“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”

Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.

Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.

Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.

Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.

The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.

Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.

The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.

WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.

The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.

Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.

Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad

Forwards

Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);

Backs

Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).

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Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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Vancouver Canucks star goalie Thatcher Demko working through rare muscle injury

Published

8 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.

The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.

He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.

Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.

He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.

Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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