MONTREAL — The Montreal Alouettes finished their regular season with a win against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday afternoon at Percival Molson Stadium.
In a preview of the Eastern Semi-Final between these two teams next weekend, it was the home team that was victorious with a 22-20 win.
Receiver Tyson Philpot scored a major on the Alouettes first possession of the ball game, while kicker David Cote was good on two of three field goal attempts in the victory. Returner James Letcher Jr. also found the end zone, scoring on a punt return in the fourth quarter.
Cody Fajardo connected on six of eight passes for 55 yards and a touchdown before stepping aside for Caleb Evans and eventually Davis Alexander. Evans finished the contest completing five of 10 passes for 30 yards while Alexander connected on five of six passes for 51 yards.
Bo Levi Mitchell and Taylor Powell both saw action for the Tiger-Cats behind centre. Mitchell completed five of 10 passes for 53 yards while Powell connected on 10 of 19 passes for 106 yards and two interceptions.
Sean Thomas Erlington scored a touchdown on the ground for Hamilton and Tyreik McAllister scored on a missed field goal return in the loss.
Fajardo’s first pass was to Cole Spieker for 24 yards, pushing his team down to the Hamilton six-yard line. The next play was the game’s opening touchdown, a six-yard strike to Tyson Philpot in the back of the end zone for six. With the completed convert, the Alouettes took an early 7-0 lead.
Things slowed down in the next few series as the defences settled in and the teams traded two-and-outs as the first quarter continued.
Just as it looked like Montreal was going to be held to another two-and-out, head coach Jason Maas challenged that there was defensive pass interference on the play and it was successful, giving them a fresh set.
Dylan Wynn sacked Fajardo on first down, bringing up second and 20. The Als QB then tossed to Spieker and the receiver kicked the ball just past the the line of scrimmage, just as the team did a few weeks ago with Jeshrun Antwi, setting up an onside kick that he could recover himself for a first down. It didn’t amount to any points, however, as Montreal had to punt the all away.
On Hamilton’s next possession, Mitchell and co. were moving the chains and got down to Montreal’s 17-yard line. They finished the drive with a 24-yard Marc Liegghio field goal. A penalty on the field goal pushed things back five yards and Liegghio had to re-kick from 29 yards. His boot was good and cut the Alouettes lead to 7-3 with a just over a minute and half left in the first quarter.
Following an Als two-and-out, Montreal’s defence forced a turnover on the first play of the Ticats ensuing drive. Reggie Stubblefield knocked the ball out of Kiondre Smith’s and Darnell Sankey recovered the ball as the opening 15 minutes finished. David Cote attempted a 44-yard field goal but missed it and McAllister returned it 122 yards for a major score. Those six points, along with the convert, gave Hamilton their first lead of the afternoon (10-7).
A few possessions later for both teams, Cote attempted his second field goal of the afternoon, this time from 36 yards, and it was good. That tied the score 10-10 with six and half minutes left in the second frame.
That would be the final scoring play of the opening half as the teams headed to the locker room for the break.
Defences held strong to start the third quarter and four and a half minutes into the frame, Joseph Zema punted the ball through Hamilton’s end zone for a single point. The rouge broke the tie and put Montreal ahead, 11-10.
Taylor Powell, who replaced Mitchell for the second half, got into a rhythm moving down the field. Liegghio connected on his 33-yard field goal to finish the drive, taking the lead back from Montreal (13-11) with four and a half minutes left in the quarter.
Montreal scored to start the fourth quarter with a James Letcher Jr. punt returned 99 yards for a touchdown. Montreal went for two, and was successful, finding Spieker in the back corner of the end zone. That score increased the Alouettes lead to 19-13.
On the ensuing drive, Powell and co. moved the chains down into Montreal territory. From the five-yard line, Sean Thomas Erlington took a hand off and stretched out into the end zone for a major score. With the completed convert, the Ticats regained their lead (20-19) with nine minutes left in the game.
When Montreal hit the field on their next drive, Cote missed another field goal, this time from 50-yards out. The coverage unit was all over McAllister this time and did not allow the Ticats returner to take the miss to the house. Hamilton still held their one-point lead with just under seven minutes on the clock.
Montreal defensive back Kabion Ento hauled in his third interception of the season on Hamilton’s next possession. Powell looked for Terry Godwin but it tipped off the receiver’s fingers, off another Alouette defender’s helmet, and into Ento’s hands, who returned it to the Hamilton 52-yard line.
Davis Alexander, who replace Evans at quarterback earlier in the second half, took over and started moving down the field as the three minute warning approached, looking to take the lead back from Hamilton.
Cote’s 23-yard field goal attempt was good and Montreal took a 22-20 lead with a minute and a half left in the game.
The Als defence held strong, forcing the Tiger-Cats to go for it on third and 15 and an incompletion to Omar Bayless, who was covered by Ento, meant Hamilton turned the ball over on downs.
Montreal tried to run the clock out but had to punt the ball back to Hamilton with six second left. Sankey intercepted Powell’s hail Mary attempt to seal the deal.
Next up for these two clubs is the Eastern Semi-Final in Montreal on Saturday, November 4. Kickoff for the winner-takes-all contest is 3:00 p.m. ET.
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.
