Month: January 2021

NHL podcast with Matt Harrington: Sharks goalie Dubnyk can’t stop Wild in 4-2 loss; Caps pull off OT win with four players missing; plus more

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The celebration would be short but in the first period the San Jose Sharks Matt Nieto (83) who scored is congratulated by Erik Karlsson (65) and Patrick Marleau (12) against the Minnesota Wild on Fri Jan 22, 2021 at the Xcel Energy Center (AP News photo)

On NHL podcast with Matt Harrington:

#1 The Minnesota Wild (5-3-1) and the San Jose Sharks (4-3-2) at the Xcel Energy Center The Wild got a convincing win over the Sharks 4-1. The Wild got scoring from Joel Eriksson, Zach Parise, Kevin Fiala, and Jordan Greenway each scored a goal a piece. San Jose goalie Devan Dubnyk stopped 25 of 27 shots against his former team.

#2 The Washington Capitals (5-2) had four players including team captain Alex Ovechkin sidelined against the Buffalo Sabers (1-4) on Friday night. The Caps despite being four players short due to due to positive Coronavirus tests and protocols got by with an overtime shootout win 4-3 in DC.

#3 The Edmonton Oilers (2-4) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (4-2) at Toronto. The Leafs scored two goals in each of the second and third periods for the 4-2 win. The Leafs Mitch Marner, Adam Brooks, John Taveras, and Jimmy Versey each had a goal.

#4 In another razor close game the Pittsburgh Penguins (3-2) got a 4-3 win against the New York Rangers (1-2-1) at PPG Paints Arena. The Rangers might have lost but it was a close contest does that mean despite the loss the Rangers still can bring it or were they just up for the Pens?

#5 The Chicago Blackhawks (1-3-1) scored in each period and the Blackhawks goalie Kevin Lankinen held the Detroit Red Wings (2-3-0) to one goal and stopped 30 shots in the 4-1 win.

Matt does the NHL podcast each Saturday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Barracuda podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Reign get OT shootout victory 3-2 against Barracuda Friday

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The San Jose Barracuda forward Jayden Halbgewachs (89) takes the puck up ice as he’s pursued by the Ontario Reign’s forward Nick Halloran (32) on Fri Jan 22, 2021 at Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo CA (photo from sjbarracuda.com)

On the SJ Barracuda podcast with Marko:

#1 Marko, the Barracuda lost a razor edge close game in Ontario on Friday night 3-2 in a overtime shootout. The Barracuda came out at 15 seconds at the start of the game and getting on scoreboard.

#2 Marko, Talk about Kurtis Gabriel over two games he scored 36 seconds into Thursday night’s game against San Diego and Friday night against Ontario 15 seconds if the two thoughts here is his two quick goals out of opportunity or out of design by Barracuda head coaches Roy Sommer.

#3 With the score tied at 1-1 the Reign’s Blaine Byron scored his first goal of the season after intercepting a pass in the neutral zone and took the puck to the slot and shot the puck in the attacking zone past the Barracuda’s goalie Josef Korenar at 0:51 of the second period.

#4 The Barracuda’s Ryan Merkley passed to Jayden Halbgewachs who was at the door step of the goal and scored to tie the game up at 6:24 2-2.

#5 The pre season continues as the Barracuda will face the Tucson Roadrunners at Tucson Convention Center on Wed Jan 27th a 4:00pm face off. Marko the Roadrunners have always given the Barracuda headaches how do you expect the outcome of a game like this?

Join Marko Saturday nights for a look at the SJ Barracuda podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

San Jose State tops New Mexico 83-71 for first conference win

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Photo credit: @SanJoseStateMBB

By Ana Kieu

The San Jose State men’s basketball team finally picked up their first conference win of the season with a 83-71 victory over the New Mexico Lobos on Saturday at Burns Arena in St. George, Utah.

With the win, SJSU snapped a five-game losing skid and improved to 3-11, 1-9 Mountain West. Jalen Dalcourt, Sebastian Mendoza, Ralph Agee and Trey Smith all finished with 16 points. Omari Moore finished with 14 points.

Spartans head coach Jean Prioleau made two changes to his starting lineup, inserting Trey Smith and Caleb Simmons into the first five. The remaining starters were Omari Moore, Jalen Dalcourt and Ralph Agee.

Omari Moore opened the scoring with a layup for a 2-0 Spartans lead 48 seconds into the first half. It wasn’t long before the Lobos tied the game 2-2 at 18:46 when Valdir Manuel knocked down a jumper. The two teams went back and forth for the rest of the first half. Sebastian Mendoza started a fast break and finished it with a dunk to tie the game 33-33 with 1:27 left in the first half. Just 14 seconds later, UNM went ahead 35-33 on a 2-pointer from Rod Brown.

The Spartans trailed 35-33 at the halftime break. Trey Smith made four of six 3-point attempts for a career-best 12 points at halftime.

The Spartans reignited themselves for the second half. SJSU surged for their largest lead of the game, 59-54, with 8:36 left in the second half. Caleb Simmons made the layup. Just 28 seconds later, Omari Moore added a fast break dunk to make it 61-54 Spartans.

From there on out, SJSU didn’t let UNM affect their game. The Spartans extended their lead to 71-60 with 3-pointers from Sebastian Mendoza and Jalen Dalcourt in a span of 2:52. Jalen Dalcourt wrapped up the Spartans’ scoring with a pair of free throws, while Valdir Manuel concluded the game’s overall scoring with a jumper.

UNM fell to 5-9, 1-9 Mountain West. Valdir Manuel led all scorers with 25 points.

The Spartans take on the Air Force Falcons at the Ability 360 Sports and Fitness Center in Phoenix, Arizona on Thursday, January 28 at 6:30 pm PT.

Sacramento Kings game wrap: Kings snap four game loss streak with win over Knicks 103-94

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Its a battle for the ball between the Sacramento Kings guard Corey Joseph (left) and the New York Knicks center Nerlens Noel (right) Sat Jan 21, 2021 at Golden One Center in Sacramento (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Friday night the Sacramento Kings (6-10) took on the New York Knicks (8-9) followed by a scheduled second game against the Knicks Sunday evening. The Knicks have had a very solid start at 8-8 and much of their success had been attributed to Head Coach Tom Thibodeau.

In six years the Knicks had gone through seven coaches and now it looks like the Knicks have found the fit that they have so desperately looked for. While it is early in the season the Knicks are looking very good.

The Kings on the other hand have had some struggles and snapped a four game losing streak at Golden One Center with a 103-94 win over the Knicks to improve their record to 6-10. This game will present a challenge for the Kings because they struggled against drop schemes, a scheme that the Knicks run more than any other type of defensive scheme.

The good news for Sacramento is that they have one of the best young cores in the league in De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton. This duo is indeed impressive. Fox is coming off a career high 43 point and 13-assist effort while Haliburton is just 13 games into his career and already averaging 11 points and 5 assists per game.

Fox has said that Haliburton is built for this game. The maturity and skill that he plays with belies the fact that this is his rookie year. He, in fact, looked like a second or third year player. These two guys mutually admire each other and they work together with an uncanny ease and skill.

They are the bright spot on this team despite the struggles they are having. A lot was expected from both of them in this game. Another Kings player that has slipped under the radar is Richaun Holmes who is a stand-out. He is averaging 14.0 and shooting 76.9 percent. There are not many players out there that work as hard or efficiently on the offensive glass and he has a great pick-and-roll chemistry with the guards. He is another weapon that the Kings have on their squad.

The Knicks are coming in on a three game winning streak while the Kings are struggling with a four game slide losing a couple to the Clippers, and one to New Orleans and one to Portland. The Matchup predictor has the Kings with a 60.5 % edge over the Knicks at 39.5%.

This was a battle with the Kings leading at one point 23-17 in the first quarter. The Knicks began to pull a small lead as the half came to an end 54-49. The Kings Julius Randle led in scoring points with 14 after two quarters and the Kings had a nice showing from three of their starting players. Tyrese Haliburton had 13 points after a quiet start and De’Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes both turned in a nice first half showing with 11 points for each of them.

After trailing by 5 points at the half, the Kings took a 76-72 lead to end the third quarter. The King really turned it on in the fourth quarter although the Knicks did pull close on a number of occasions. The Kings finished the Knicks off in the final minutes, in a great nine point win for Sacramento. The Kings got impressive performances from Fox with 22 points, Barnes with 21 and 16 from Haliburton.

The Kings will next take on the Magic Wednesday in a road game. Tipoff is at 4:00 in Orlando.

Sharks Lose 4-1 to Wild; Sharks Dubnyk allows two goals against former team

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The Minnesota Wild’s Zach Parise puts the puck on net as San Jose Sharks goaltender Devan Dubnyk can only watch it go in in the second period during Fri Jan 22, 2021’s contest at the Xcel Energy Center in Minneapolis (Minneapolis Star Tribune photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 4-1 to the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Minnesota goals came from Joel Eriksson-Ek, Zach Parise, Kevin Fiala and Jordan Greenway. Cam Talbot made 11 saves on 12 shots in the first period. Kaapo Kahkonen made 17 saves after coming in for an injured Talbot. Matt Nieto scored the Sharks’ one goal and Devan Dubnyk made 25 saves on 27 shots faced for San Jose.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Bob Boughner said that he was generally pleased with the first 40 minutes, but the team needs more from the power play and the top six:

“We didn’t generate a lot of emotion from our power play, especially when we had chances. Didn’t capitalize on our chances. [LeBanc] Banker missed one here on the back door and it was basically a 2-1 game in my mind but … you know what, we need more from the big guys. We got another goal from Matt Nieto, on that fourth line here, and, you know, we need our best players to be our best players.”

Sharks forward Timo Meier explained what the team needs to do to create more offense: “It starts obviously in the D zone, breaking out better. Come with more speed through the neutral zone and I think a big thing is holding onto pucks in the offensive zone and wear down the D. I think that’s where we gotta do a better job.”

As for what is missing from their power play now, Meier said:

“I think we gotta just keep it more simple, get some pucks through. Net presence is important. I think for some amount of time we’re moving the puck well but we’re not really dangerous in front of the net. So I think we’ve just gotta fight to get, you know, an ugly one and that’ll give us some confidence back.”

Joel Eriksson-Ek scored first for the Wild just 5:01 into the first period. Jordan Greenway took a shot from the boards that Eriksson-Ek deflected in, from right on the edge of the blue paint. Assists went to Jordan Greenway and Ryan Hartman.

Matt Nieto tied the game just 1:11 later. Patrick Marleau got control of the puck ow in the zone and passed it to Erik Karlsson who was coming down from the blue line. Instead of takig a shot, Karlsson deviously tapped it over to Nieto i the slot. Nieto took the shot with two players in Talbot’s eyes. Assists went to Erik Karlsson and Patrick Marleau.

Each team had two power plays in the period, and each gave up short-handed chances in their first power plays. Evander Kane had a second short handed chance in the second Minnesota power play. The Sharks’ second power play looked very good, with the team holding the zone for over a minute before play stopped. Ferraro and Donato both made some nice plays.

When play stopped, Minnesota’s Talbot appeared to be injured but remained in the game. He did not, however, come back in the second period.

Minnesota took a lead in the second period, at 13:17. Zach Parise had just been stopped by Dubnyk but, seconds later, Parise was back in front of the net creating a screen for a shot from Nick Bjugstad. Dubnyk stopped that one but Parise found the loose puck and put it past the Sharks goaltender.

There were no penalties in the second period until 17:39, and then a few penalties were assigned after a near-fight between Jordan Greenway and Marie Ferraro. Ferraro got two for roughing, while Greenway got a double minor for roughing.

A power play for Minnesota early in the third did not change the score. The game remained 2-1 until the final two minutes. The Sharks made a final push by pulling their goaltender with just under two minutes left. That did not work out as Erik Karlsson could not hold the ouck off of a faceoff. Kevin Fiala snatched the loose puck at the Minnesota blue line and carried it down for the empty net goal, giving the Wild a 3-1 lead.

The Sharks persisted with the empty net only to have the Wild gain control again. Jordan Greenway took a shot from his own zone and made it 4-1. Assists went to Joel Eriksson-Ek and Marcus Foligno.

Despite the loss, there was one one bright stat in the Sharks’ game: they did better in the face-off circle, winning 58% of them. Tomas Hertl won all six of his draws, Logan Couture won a respectable 50% of his six draws, and Ryan Donato won two of his three.

The Sharks next play on Sunday, again in Minnesota at 5:00 PM PT.

Reign edge Barracuda in 3-2 shootout win

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Final score image from @ontarioreign 

by Marko Ukalovic

EL SEGUNDO, Calif—The Ontario Reign scored on all three shootout attempts to upend the San Jose Barracuda on Friday afternoon at the Toyota Sports Performance Center.

Kurtis Gabriel didn’t wait long to score is second goal of the pre-season. It took only 15 ticks into the game for him to get San Jose on the board. Gabriel redirected a Zach Gallant shot from atop the circle past Reign goaltender Jean-Francois Berube.

The Reign would manage to even the score on the power-play as 2020 second overall pick Quinton Byfield took advantage of a fortuitous bounce on a partially blocked shot below the right circle, and slid it into the open net for his second goal of the season at the at the13:35, mark..

The Barracuda outshot Ontario 11-7 in the opening 20 minutes.

In the second, with 51 seconds remaining in the frame, Ontario took its first lead as Blaine Byron intercepted a neutral-zone pass, cut to the slot as he entered the attacking zone, and beat ‘Cuda goalie Josef Korenar with a quick snipe for his first goal of the pre-season. 

Antti Suomela had a chance earlier in the period on a two-on-one rush but his shot from the far circle was turned aside by Berube. After two periods, the shots read 19 for each team.

In the third at 6:24, Ryan Merkley found Jayden Halbgewachs on the doorstep, for the equalizer for his second goal of the pre-season.

With under five minutes to play, the Barracuda nearly regained their lead on a similar play, this time Thomas Gregoire set up Gallant for a glorious close-range opportunity, but it wouldn’t go and the score would remain level.

Halfway through the three-on-three overtime, Ontario rushed up the ice on a two-on-one but Korenar came up large with a game-saving stop. Neither team would generate much in the way of offense in the remaining two and a half minutes.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda are back in preseason action on Wednesday 1/27 at 4:00 p.m. as they take on the Tucson Roadrunners at the Tucson Convention Center in Tucson, Arizona.

Cal Bears podcast with Michael Duca: Lots of defense but Cal falls four points short to UCLA 61-57 at Haas Pavilion

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The Cal Bears guard Ryan Betley (00) takes a jump shot against the UCLA Bruins guard Jaylen Clark (0) at Haas Pavilion on Thu Jan 21, 2021 (dailycal.org photo)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Michael, Cal tried to keep within range of one of the Pac 12’s best the UCLA Bruins but it wasn’t enough in a four point loss 61-57.

#2 For all their effort Cal took a 36-32 half time lead and maybe some confidence they might pull another upset off like they did in Utah last Saturday.

#3 The Bruins one to never give up stayed just ahead of Cal winning the second half of the game 29-21 which ended up being a four point win for UCLA.

#4 Despite the loss it was close and the Bears seemed to have improved their play. They beat the Utah Utes in a nine point game in Utah and played a close game with the Bruins has Cal head coach Mark Fox improved both offense and defense and has he changed the playbook to improve the recent games?

#5 Cal gets another test as they face another big force in the Pac 12 the USC Trojans. The Trojans last game on Thursday night against Stanford was canceled due to Coronavirus protocols if they can get healthy for Saturday how do you see Cal matching up with the Trojans?

Michael Duca does the Cal Bears podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary:Hank Aaron The Legitimate Home-run Leader (1934-2021)

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Hank Aaron with the Milwaukee Brewers and Oakland A’s Spanish broadcaster Amaury Pi Gonzalez during interview at the Oakland Coliseum circa 1976 (photo from Amaury Pi Gonzalez)

Hank Aaron The Legitimate Home-run Leader (1934-2021)

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

Hank Aaron who broke Babe Ruth Home Run record, arguably the most heralded record in American sports passed today, Friday January 22, 2021 at the age of 86. Aaron played for 23 years in major league baseball, hit 755 home runs drove-in 2,297 runs #1 in history and was selected to every All Star game each year in which he played.

He is the legitimate home run king because he had an exemplary career, free of scandals and had to endure direct death threats in person, verbal abuse by fans and by mail for many years.

He was a gentleman an icon and a quiet leader on the field respected by everybody. It was a privilege for me to interviewed Mr.Aaron when he came to Oakland already as the legitimate home run king with his last team the Milwaukee Brewers. Rest In Peace Hank Aaron an American original.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s lead Spanish radio play by play announcer and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal’s upset bid fails in the final minutes of a 61-57 loss to No. 24 UCLA

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By Morris Phillips

The strategy in the final minutes of a close contest for the trailing team is universal: foul, stop the clock, put your opponent on the foul line, hope for misses and lengthen the game.

But what if the referees are swallowing their whistles and letting both teams play? And your opponent is No. 24 UCLA who routinely defends without fouling?

Well, that strategy won’t work as Cal found out Thursday night at Haas Pavilion when their upset bid fell short in a 61-57 loss to the Bruins.

Jules Bernard’s 3-pointer with 2:08 remaining proved to be the pivotal basket, and gave UCLA a 59-55 lead in a game that was back and forth throughout the second half. Misses by Jarred Hyder on Cal’s ensuing two possessions brought Cal no closer. Finally, Hyder scored with 13 seconds remaining, but the Bears had to foul three times to regain possession. With just eight seconds remaining–and Cal again trailing by four after Johnny Juzang made two free throws–UCLA used one of their fouls to give to prevent a Cal 3-point attempt.

A pair of meaningless shots in the final seconds fell short for Cal, quietly ending their bid to upset the Bruins, who are now 8-0 and alone in first place in the Pac-12.

“We got the lead there late, tried to get our best defensive lineup in, and we kept them off the foul line,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “It was an advantage down the stretch. We knew we had fouls to give with the way we were trying to play defense, so that helped us.”

“We just couldn’t get to the foul line in the second half,” said Cal coach Mark Fox, who saw his team limited to 21 points after halftime after leading 36-32 at the break.

UCLA has now committed fewer fouls than all 14 of their opponents. They committed just 11 fouls in the game and only 20 were whistled prior to the furious final seconds. While Cal slowed the pace, the referees sped the game along. In a game that was completed in well under two hours, the undermanned Bears got few chances to catch their breath.

Grant Anticevich led Cal (7-9, 2-7) with 21 points and perfect 5 for 5 shooting from distance. While UCLA stopped the Bears near the basket, they allowed Cal 10 made threes, seven of those in the first half. That alone kept the Bears in a game in which they were outrebounded 38-23 and wilted as the game progressed.

Cal’s defensive effort against the ranked Bruins was commendable, but even Fox admitted his team controlled tempo better than they defended, and leaving Bernard open for his late three was their biggest mistake.

“To beat a high-level opponent, you have to play a little more mistake-free than we did today,” Fox admitted.

Matt Bradley tested his injured ankle in pre-game warm-ups but was ruled out, missing his fifth straight game. That again left Cal scrambling for offense from other sources that couldn’t deliver. Fox pointed out that Bradley’s absence has affected guard Ryan Betley, who missed his first seven shots and finished 1 for 8 in 33 minutes of floor time.

“Were asking too much of Ryan, and I think he’s worn down,” Fox said.

The Bears are scheduled to host USC on Saturday but COVID issues within the Trojans program has put the game in question. The USC-Stanford game on Thursday was canceled.

Barracuda rebound with convincing 4-1 win over Gulls

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The San Jose Barracuda’s defenceman Karlis Cukste (77) and the San Diego Gulls forward Andrew Potvralski (22) try and engage the puck at FivePoint Arena in Irvine on Thu Jan 21, 2021 in pre season action (sjbarracuda.com photo)

by Marko Ukalovic

IRVINE, Calif-The San Jose Barracuda jumped out to a quick start and never looked back as they scored four unanswered goals to beat the San Diego Gulls 4-1 in their second pre-season game on Thursday evening at FivePoint Arena.

San Jose split the two-game series with their SoCal division rival.

San Jose got on the attack early as a Gulls offensive zone turnover resulted in an odd-man rush for the Barracuda. Lean Bergmann set up Kurtis Gabriel in front of the net and Gabriel beat Gulls goalie Anthony Stolarz for the game’s opening goal just 32 seconds into the contest.

“I think they came out with a lot of speed early,” said Gulls head coach Kevin Dineen. “We certainly, after our last game, were feeling pretty good about ourselves. It was a good lesson for our players in knowing that this is a pretty good league. There are some good players out there. They came very hard at us and I felt like we got caught off guard. Those are the kind of things you’re glad happens in training camp, that these lessons are learned. You’re playing against good players and you need to be prepared every single night.”

The Barracuda extended their lead with a couple of power-play goals. The first was scored by Jayden Halbgewachs, who evaded a Gulls defender in front to send a forehand shot past Stolarz at the 4:50 mark of the opening frame.

Later on in the period, San Jose struck again on the man advantage as Antti Suomela one timed a shot by Stolarz, pushing the Barracuda lead to 3-0 with 4:42 remaining in the first.

San Jose struck again in the second period, with Kyle Topping snapping a wrist shot past Stolarz at the 11:18 mark of the middle frame, extending the Barracuda lead to four goals.

“We’re a development league and part of the development process is not always a smooth road,” said Dineen. “There are going to be bumps along the way, whether they are personal or as a team. I was happy with stretches of our game tonight, but at other times there are some hard lessons to be learned. That certainly played out tonight.” 

Late in the third period, Sam Carrick put the Gulls on the board. Shortly after San Diego finished killing a minor penalty, Jack Kopacka poked a loose puck towards Sam Carrick at center ice. Carrick rushed ahead on a breakaway and beat ‘Cuda rookie goaltender Samuel Harvey with a wrist shot over the glove, cutting San Jose’s lead to 4-1, the eventual final score. Carrick has collected 4 points (3G, 1A) in two preseason games.

In total, the San Jose would put 43 shots on Stolarz including 19 in the opening 20 minutes. While San Diego had its moments of heavy pressure at both the end of the second and third, the Gulls would beat Harvey just once on 34 shots.

Harvey (1-0) earned his first pro win in his pro debut, playing perfect hockey through the first 57 minutes and 38 seconds. Stolarz who celebrated his 27th birthday on Tuesday, took the loss in his season debut, allowing four goals in total.

UP NEXT: The Barracuda are back in preseason action on Friday at 3:00p.m. as they take on the Ontario Reign at the Toyota Performance Center in El Segundo, Ca.