OTTAWA – A Tim Hortons’ promotion in the midst of a matinee affair at Canadian Tire Centre asked a father and his young son to match answers.
A no-win proposition for pops, as he was tested on his son’s favourite snack, superpower and Sens player.
After the duo missed the mark on two of three, the sad-faced youngster appeared unwilling to high-five dear old dad as the Jumbotron returned to action.
It mirrored the type of disappointment that was palpable later on in the Calgary Flames dressing room as Calgary somehow missed the free spot on their bingo card.
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Facing a rebuilding Senators club that had yet to win in 2020, the Flames had a chance to go into the week-long break winning seven of eight to secure top spot in the Pacific.
A fluky own-goal off Travis Hamonic’s stick credited to Brady Tkachuk seven minutes in was symbolic of how the bounces would go on this night.
Despite out-shooting the hosts 42-21, the Flames limped into the holiday with a 5-2 loss that underscored the team’s offensive woes this season.
Wrapping up a three-game eastern Canadian road trip that saw them lose to two of the league’s most vulnerable clubs, the Flames will have plenty of time to think about the tough road ahead.
“It’s absolutely dried up,” said Matthew Tkachuk of the offence on the road swing.
“We only had three goals in three games and two of them came in the last five minutes of a 4-0 game. I don’t really have an answer for ya there, otherwise we all would have changed it. I have no idea.
“We felt great about ourselves after the Toronto (2-1 shootout win), as we should have. If we get this one tonight we go into the break feeling really good about ourselves and try to gather some momentum for the last 32 games. But this didn’t allow us to feel that way tonight.”
The only feel-good moment Flames fans experienced came on the opening draw when Brady and Matthew lined up on the wing, marking their fourth NHL tête-a-tête.
With 40 friends and family members looking on from a pair of suites, the official immediately waved out Elias Lindholm and Artem Anisimov, summoning the brothers to do the honours.
“We got that out of the way last year and this year…we weren’t going to do it,” said Matthew, who lost bragging rights to his baby brother for the first time in four outings.
“Wes (McCauley) was great – he said, ‘if I’m reffing, you guys have got to do the opening draw – your mom will love it.’ He snapped that back on me pretty good and seemed to destroy the rest of our team tonight too.”
Matthew gave his younger brother a light cross-check to the back after the draw, for funsies.
Brady finished the evening with a goal and an assist in a game that saw the Flames down 1-0 after the first period in which they outshot Ottawa 15-3.
“It was kind of a crazy bounce, but we’ll take that,” said Brady of his goal, which saw his centring pass to Anthony Duclair bounce off Hamonic’s stick and over surprise starter David Rittich.
“It’s always nice scoring in front of a bunch of people.”
The Flames, who continue to languish near the bottom of the tables in terms of league scoring, continued to put plenty of shots and pressure on Sens goalie Marcus Hogberg in the second before Chris Tierney and Connor Brown made it 3-0. The shots at that point were 25-10 for the frustrated visitors.
“That’s the season – some games you deserve to be down and you’re up and you win ’em,” said Mark Giordano.
“And a night like tonight, I thought especially after the first, we deserved better. This trip, we were really having trouble scoring goals, obviously. I guess the only positive coming out of it is it’s nice to see Janks get his first of the year and hopefully that will get him going.”
Indeed, with the hosts up 4-0 late, Mark Jankowski converted a nifty backhand for his first of the season.
Noah Hanifin added another in the final two minutes, which did nothing to change the demeanour of a Flames bunch that missed a great opportunity to bolster their momentum.
“It’s a long (break) so you’re going to have lots of time to think about how we’re going to have to come back these last 32 games,” said Matthew.
“Last year we didn’t necessarily come back after this break and play our best hockey, and that kind of showed in the playoffs. We have to come back ready to go for this home stretch because there’s no room for error right now with where we are and where we want to be.”
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results on Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed in Carneys Point, New Jersey, on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.
“’You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.
The defense described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.
“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defense lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”
Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.
He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police.
When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.
“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins’ admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
Higgins has a master’s degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at the double funeral on Monday.
