An eight-year-old boy from Paris, Ont. got to meet his two “heroes” from the Toronto Maple Leafs for his birthday after a picture of him and his sign went viral online.
Richard Hodgkinson took his son Blake on a family vacation to Tampa Bay in celebration of his birthday, which included going to a Leafs’ game – his second ever.
Hodgkinson told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday that he and his family have been long-time fans of the Toronto franchise.
“We’ve all been Leafs’ fans forever. Certainly, since he was born, he’s always watched the Leafs,” Hodgkinson said.
“When he really started to understand what it was, you know, obviously [Mitch] Marner and [Auston] Matthews are the two big names for Toronto and quickly became his favourites.”
Ahead of the game, Hodgkinson said Blake wanted to make a sign for it – long before knowing his two favourite players weren’t playing Tuesday night’s game against the Lightning.
“I came from Toronto to see my heroes,” the front of the sign read, with Marner’s and Matthews’ jersey numbers printed.
“On the back, I believe it said, ‘Hey Auston, It’s my birthday. Can I have a stick?’ Or something to that effect,” Hodgkinson recalled.
“He was disappointed for sure when he found out that they weren’t playing, but he was still really excited to watch anyway.”
At the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs game on April 11. (Richard Hodgkinson)
Long-time TSN hockey commentator, Gord Miller, shared a photo of Blake with his sign on Twitter, which has been viewed over 700,000 times and has over 1,250 likes. An hour later, he followed up, noting the Leafs were working to find “this young fan.”
“Blake and I were in the concession getting snacks after the period, and Steve Keogh from the Leafs came and recognized Blake,” Hodgkinson said. “Then he gave him a hat and a puck and said, ‘Would you like to meet Auston and Mitch after the game?’ And Blake, of course, was grinning through the roof.”
After the game was over – which the Leafs won 4-3 – Blake got to head down and meet his “heroes” nearby the locker room.
In the video shared by the franchise on social media, the two players shook Blake’s hand, asked how everyone was doing, before looking at Blake’s handiwork with the sign he made.
“Well, we got some Sharpies. Do you want us to sign this for you?” Marner could be heard asking in the video.
Marner and Matthews not only signed Blake’s poster, but also signed a hockey stick, puck, hat, and his Marner t-shirt.
“He slept with the stick last night,” Hodgkinson said.
“He was speechless, and to a large extent, he still is … He’s been watching the video that was circulated about it. I don’t think yesterday he truly understood what was happening, and it’s starting to sink in on him this morning.”
Hodgkinson said Blake is an avid hockey player who hopes to one day make an AAA Hockey team – and after, the NHL.
“He loves to score goals, and he often tries to mimic Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.”
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
