Sports

Maple Leafs win in overtime after Devils score own goal – Toronto Sun

Published

5 years ago

December 28, 2019

NEWARK, N.J. — There should have been post-game jocularity about the winning goal never being touched by a Maple Leaf, another narrow escape from a loose defensive effort and a toast to six straight wins under Sheldon Keefe, who matched Mike Babcock’s longest run.

But there was silence in the halls outside Toronto’s dressing room at the Prudential Center with thoughts of teammate Ilya Mikheyev, kept behind Friday night at a local hospital with what the club called “a significant laceration” to his right wrist.

“He’s stable and has full feeling in his hand and fingers,” Mikheyev’s agent Daniel Milstein said in a late-night e-mail. “Additional tests are being done and surgery is still a possibility.”

Late in the third period of what became a 5-4 Leafs’ overtime win, the Russian rookie accidentally glided into the airborne skate of New Jersey’s Jesper Bratt. He went after the puck, then realizing he was badly cut, sped off to the Leafs dressing room leaving a trail of red.

“It’s terrifying,” said goalie Michael Hutchinson, who saw the play unfold. “I saw a ton of blood from somewhere, a lot more than from a usual high stick.”

A Leafs medical staffer accompanied Mikheyev to the hospital. The 25-year-old had scored a first-period go-ahead goal.

“All I saw was him come off without a glove and I thought he was missing one,” Keefe said. “Then you got a sense of something serious happening and the players recognized it before I did. One of the terrible things you hate to see.

“(Skate cuts) seem to be more frequent, even from when I played. There has been lots done to try and prevent these types of things, but some of it is unpreventable with the nature of the game.”

With Trevor Moore and Andreas Johnsson already out, call-up Adam Brooks likely plays Saturday against the Rangers.

After Mikheyev exited, the Leafs had two chances to break a 4-4 tie on the power play, once when Jersey’s own man-advantage was negated by having six men out for an extended time, then on a Blake Coleman slash that carried into extra time. Those golden opportunities were frittered away, as was the first 3:30 of Toronto’s first period double-minor to Miles Wood for cutting Cody Ceci with a high stick before Zach Hyman scored.

With leading scorers Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner shut out, William Nylander assisted on the third-period tying goal by John Tavares. Then after losing the puck near Jersey’s net in extra time, Nylander retrieved it, drove the net and had Devils’ defender Damon Severson take it away, only to accidentally shoot it past Mackenzie Blackwood.

Nylander did not speak to reporters after the game, but much like the slip-shod 8-6 win over Carolina, Keefe was only focused on banking two more points to keep playoff traction.

“We’ve been a resilient team, but there was not a lot to like about our team today. It’s two points on the road, we’ll take it. We’ve been confident we can score and can find our way back in games, we just have to find ways not to give up the chances.

“I’m going to throw this one out for the most part and start fresh tomorrow.”

The Leafs haven’t played much catch-up hockey under Keefe.

But there was a lot of it Friday, where the Devils made them work off their Christmas turkey after a three-day break and a rare regular season day-of-game flight. Now showing signs of life after trading Taylor Hall, Jersey made it tough on the defensively challenged, far-too-fancy Leafs and Hutchinson, who did get his second straight win.

It was the first time in nine games the Leafs didn’t score the opener and first time they’ve trailed in the first period under their new coach.

The last six-game win streak was under Babcock in November of 2017.

A lack of finish was evident around Jersey’s net early on and they were vulnerable around Hutchinson, too. That resulted in Jersey’s goal, Justin Holl and Jake Muzzin both pushed off the puck behind Hutchinson, allowing Bratt to find Nico Hischier alone. After a mid-game shot block, Muzzin was limping to the bus afterwards.

In the span of 19 seconds, Toronto went in front of a team 12 games below .500. Hyman salvaged the power play by sweeping in a Morgan Rielly rebound and then Mikheyev had excellent net presence to tip in a Tavares point shot, his three-point night giving the captain seven in his past three games.

The Leafs lead didn’t last long into the middle period, thanks to back-to-back penalties. It led to a quick Nikita Gusev 5-on-3 strike. And no sooner did Kasperi Kapanen end a month-long goal slump by catching up to an Alex Kerfoot pass and burying it, than the same man coughed it up at the Devils’ blueline leading to Bratt’s 4-3 go-ahead goal.

lhornby@postmedia.com

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Sports

Champions Trophy host Pakistan says it’s not been told India wants to play cricket games elsewhere

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.

“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”

Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.

The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.

Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.

“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”

Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.

Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.

“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”

The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.

“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”

Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.

“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.

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AP cricket:

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Sports

Dabrowski, Routlife into WTA doubles final with win over Melichar-Martinez, Perez

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.

Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.

The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.

The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.

Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.

Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Sports

Winger Tajon Buchanan back with Canada after recovering from broken leg

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.

The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.

Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.

There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.

Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.

But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.

The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”

The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.

Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.

Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.

Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.

Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.

“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”

“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.

Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.

Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.

The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.

Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.

Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.

Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.

Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.

Canada Roster

Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).

Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).

Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).

Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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