Sports

Maple Leafs’ chaotic, controversial loss to Coyotes leaves fans in despair

Published

2 years ago

October 18, 2022

The Maple Leafs haven’t beaten the Coyotes at home in regulation in literally 20 years. One of the strangest streaks in sports trudges on. (Getty)

There are tough ways to lose hockey games, and then there’s whatever just happened to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Monday’s game against the Arizona Coyotes had a wild finish to say the least, and was a game sure to go down in Leafs lore as one of their finest duds.

Despite sleepwalking their way to a 2-0 deficit to the lowly Coyotes through two and a half periods, the Maple Leafs found their legs late, notching a pair of goals from William Nylander and Mitch Marner to tie the game.

That’s when all hell broke loose and things began to go haywire for the Buds.

A brutal interference penalty by Calle Jarnkrok kicked off the chaos, as the Maple Leafs winger was sent to the box with just 2:05 remaining in the game.

From there, while on the penalty kill, the Maple Leafs did what they do best — collapse with the stakes at their highest. Justin Holl was the culprit in this instance, with what can only be described as one of the most eye-poppingly brutal giveaways you may ever see, providing Arizona a late 3-2 cushion.

Down and out, fans voiced their displeasure with raucous boos, until once again, the absolute tomfoolery that is the Maple Leafs struck again. With just 39 seconds left in the game, Alex Kerfoot managed to tie things up just 54 seconds later. Or so viewers thought.

As it turned out, an improbable hand pass call on Morgan Rielly would wipe out the Kerfoot tally and seal the Maple Leafs’ fate. The Coyotes would add an empty net goal to secure the improbable victory as dramatic underdogs, while keeping their point streak in Toronto, spanning 20 years, alive.

The call — which some Leafs fans argued was incorrect — along with the abhorrent result, left Maple Leafs Twitter in an all-too-familiar state of distress and despair that only the most jaded of fan bases can eloquently express.

Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was none too pleased with the result, and wasn’t pulling any punches during his postgame press conference.

“The difference between us and Arizona is that we have elite players,” he said. “Our elite players didn’t play like elite players tonight.”

Following the loss, the Maple Leafs own a middling 2-2-0 record on the season. Perhaps far more disheartening is their two losses have come against the 31st- and 32nd-ranked teams from last season in the Coyotes and Montreal Canadiens.

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Sports

Edler to sign one-day contract to retire as a Vancouver Canuck

Published

19 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.

The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.

He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.

The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.

Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.

“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”

Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

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Sports

Sixth-ranked Canadian women to face World Cup champion Spain in October friendly

Published

1 day ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.

Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.

The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.

In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.

Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.

Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.

The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.

Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.

It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.

Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.

FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.

And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.

“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024

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Sports

Maple Leafs announce Oreo as new helmet sponsor for upcoming NHL season

Published

1 day ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.

The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.

The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.

Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.

The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.

Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

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