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TORONTO – Marc Liegghio’s 48-yard field goal on the final play rallied the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to a thrilling 33-31 win over the Toronto Argonauts on Friday night.

Liegghio’s boot capped a solid seven-play, 35-yard drive with no timeouts for Hamilton. It came after Lirim Hajrullahu’s 28-yard field goal with 56 seconds remaining put Toronto ahead 31-30.

Hajrullahu’s kick came after Liegghio connected from 15 yards out at 12:50 to give Hamilton a 30-28 advantage. But Toronto starter Chad Kelly missed a wide-open DaVaris Daniels in the end zone.

And it appeared Toronto would get the ball at the Hamilton one-yard line on a pass interference call in the end zone. But it was overturned by the command centre.

Hamilton (5-9) swept the three-game season series with Toronto (7-7), its first since 2019. Overall, the Ticats have won three straight but more importantly they pulled within four points of the third-place Argos with both teams having four regular-season games remaining.

Hamilton starter Bo Levi Mitchell was 31-of-40 passing for 362 yards and a touchdown and improved to 15-2 all-time against Toronto, to the dismay of 18,210 spectators at BMO Field.

Kelly was 17-of-26 passing for 255 yards with a touchdown and interception. He also ran for two TDs.

His one-yard TD run at 9:08 put Toronto ahead 28-27 to cap a three-play, 70-yard scoring drive.

Hajrullahu’s 43-yard field goal at 1:29 pulled Toronto to within 24-21. But Liegghio countered with a 25-yard field goal at 7:35 to put Hamilton up 27-21.

Makai Polk had Toronto’s other touchdown. Deontra McMahon had a two-point convert while Hajrullahu kicked three field goals and a convert.

Jevoni Robinson and Antre Litre scored Hamilton’s touchdowns. Liegghio finished with six field goals and two converts while Nik Constantinou added a single.

Liegghio’s 25-yard boot at 7:35 of the third gave Hamilton a 27-18 advantage.

Litre’s two-yard TD run at 4:53 put Hamilton ahead 21-18. Liegghio made it 24-18 with a 10-yard field goal at 14:22 but it came after Toronto stopped Litre on five straight rushing attempts from its one-yard line.

The last two came when Hamilton got a fresh set of downs following a Toronto offside penalty after stopping Litre on third down.

Liegghio’s 45-yard field goal to end the second quarter cut Toronto’s lead to 18-14. But it came after a facemask penalty against tackle Brendan Bordner erased Mitchell’s 24-yard TD pass to Kiondre Smith earlier on the drive.

Kelly put Toronto ahead 18-11 with a 14-yard TD strike to Polk at 13:27. He then found McMahon for the two-point convert.

Constantinou’s 58-yard single put Hamilton ahead 11-10 at 11:26 after Kelly’s three-yard run at 8:56 made it 10-10.

Mitchell found Robinson on an eight-yard TD strike at 3:50. It was set up by Stavros Katsantonis’s interception and return to Toronto’s 19-yard line.

Hajrullahu’s 49-yard field goal at 3:17 of the first opened the scoring before Liegghio tied it with a 23-yard boot at 9:29.

UP NEXT:

Toronto: Hosts Montreal Alouettes (10-2-1) on Saturday night.

Hamilton: At B.C. Lions (7-7-0) on Friday night.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

PENTICTON, B.C. – Arturs Silovs was the Vancouver Canucks breakout star during last season’s playoffs — and not only for his fashion sense.

Now, with Vancouver’s leading goalie Thatcher Demko sidelined by a rare muscle injury, Silovs appears poised to take over the crease once again.

The 23-year-old Latvian remains unfazed by the opportunity.

“Just have to take it one day at a time. Take it as a challenge and be prepared,” he said at the Canucks training camp in Penticton, B.C.

Silovs’ cool, calm demeanour drew ample attention last spring — as did the pink paisley dress shirt Canucks forward J.T. Miller borrowed from Silovs’ locker and sported during a morning skate.

Silovs spent much of the regular season with Vancouver’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks, before joining the NHL club for its playoff run.

Over a matter of weeks, he went from being the third-string netminder to posting his first NHL shutout in a series-clinching victory over Nashville that vaulted the Canucks into the second round of the playoffs. He then stayed in net as the team ground its way through a seven-game series against the Edmonton Oilers.

Silovs went 5-5-0 across the post-season with a .898 save percentage, a 2.91 goals-against average and a shutout.

After time to reflect during the off-season, the six-foot-four, 203-pound goalie said the run held a lot of lessons.

“I think it showed me how best hockey is played, and in the toughest situations,” he said. “There’s so much pressure all around, right? And everyone wants to win. Everyone’s scrambling, trying to do their best.

“So I think that gave me a lot of confidence too, just being in the game, having good games, and having confidence and winning. And now I think it’s easier to get in with that experience under your belt.”

Silovs spent his summer working through a knee injury that kept him out of Latvia’s lineup during an Olympic qualifier.

Making the decision to sit out wasn’t easy for Silovs, but he wanted to prioritize his future and knew he wasn’t at the level he expected to be at when representing his country.

“I want to be at 100 per cent, not 80 per cent, right?” he said.

Latvia went unbeaten in the tournament and will compete at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy.

“I was pretty confident for our core for the national team,” Silovs said. “And I was confident enough that we were going to manage it and win it.”

With Demko sidelined indefinitely, it’s expected Silovs will be Vancouver’s starter through the pre-season, beginning Tuesday when the Canucks host the Seattle Kraken. He could also be in net when the regular-season campaign begins with a visit from the Calgary Flames on Oct. 9.

Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet isn’t nervous about having the up-and-coming goalie manning the crease.

“The way this team defends, the way we play the puck, I’m comfortable,” he said. “We have a certain way we want to play, and hopefully take pressure off a goalie, whether it’s Demmer or Silovs or whoever. I think that’s important.”

Both structure and a solid netminder were key for Vancouver through the playoffs last year, said defenceman Quinn Hughes.

“It wasn’t like we were playing so sound and stable that Arty didn’t have to make any saves,” he said. “I mean, he made some really good saves, and he’s a great, great goalie, and we’re lucky to have him in the organization with Demmer down. Obviously our structure helps us, but I don’t think that can take away what a what a good goalie Arty is.”

Even with defensive structure and solid goaltending, the Canucks ultimately fell to the Oilers in Game 7 of the second-round series.

It’s a result that still irks the squad as a new season begins, Silovs said.

“I think it just gives you hunger, right? It wasn’t enough. We were short. And I think, for me, I want to get better,” he said. “I think that’s great. We need that hunger to be successful.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2024.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Jonathan Aranda homered, six Tampa Bay pitchers combined on a five-hitter, and the Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 1-0 on Friday night.

Aranda went deep against José Berríos (14-10) with one out in the sixth inning.

The loss ended Berríos’ seven start winning streak, during which he had a 1.51 ERA. The right-hander allowed one run, six hits, one walk and had six strikeouts in six innings.

After Rays starter Tyler Alexander gave up two hits over 4 1/3 innings, Kevin Kelly (4-2) extended his scoreless streak to 22 innings after going 1 2/3 innings. Manuel Rodríguez worked out of a second-and-third jam in the seventh. Edwin Uceta and Colin Poche combined to get through the eighth before Hunter Bigge worked the ninth to get his first save.

The Rays limited Boston to one hit in a 2-0 victory on Thursday night.

Tampa Bay had a runner reach third in each of the first three innings against Berríos but went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.

Toronto’s Alejandro Kirk extended his career-best hitting streak to 13 games with a sixth-inning single.

Ernie Clement, filling in for injured Toronto shortstop Bo Bichette, made a couple of strong defensive plays. He made a lunging play on Jonny DeLuca’s two-out grounder during the third and started a nifty inning-ending double play in the fifth.

Clement walked leading off the eighth and stole second, but was tagged out trying to advance on Kirk’s grounder to third.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: Bichette (broken right middle finger) will see a hand specialist on Tuesday. … RHP Kevin Gausman, who left his start after throwing five no-hit innings Thursday against Texas with back tightness, is feeling better and could make his next scheduled start. … INF Will Wagner had his left knee scoped on Friday. … OF Daulton Varsho will have right rotator cuff surgery on Monday and there is a chance he won’t be ready for spring training next year.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays RHP Yariel Rodríguez (1-6, 4.29 ERA) and Rays RHP Taj Bradley (6-11, 4.39 ERA) are Saturday’s scheduled starters.

___

AP MLB:

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