Month: October 2024

Barracuda Shut Out Wild 5-0, Cagnoni Scores First Pro Goal

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San Jose Barracuda goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) holds his glove up to his ear to indicate “I can’t hear you” as he gets the love from Barracuda fans at Tech CU in San Jose after shutting out the Iowa Wild on Sat Oct 19, 2024 (San Jose Barracuda X photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Barracuda defeated the visiting Iowa Wild 5-0 on Saturday. Donavan Houle, Anthony Vincent, Colin White and Luca Cagnoni scored for the Barracuda. Yaroslav Askarovin made 25 saves for the shutout win. Jesper Wallstedt made 33 saves in the loss.

San Jose was short-handed one time in the first period and led Iowa in shots 15-10.

The Barracuda scored the first goal of the game at 11:44 of the second period. Anthony Vincent was knocked into Wallstedt early in the play. While the Wild expressed their anger at Vincent for falling into their goalie, Vincent took his time getting up and created quite a distraction in front of the net. Meanwhile, Donavan Houle found the puck and scored. Assists went to Ethan Frisch and Valtteri Pulli.

San Jose led in shots 15-7 in the second period. They were not short-handed in the second except for the first minute as their late first period penalty carried-over. They did have three power plays but did not score with the man advantage.

Anthony Vincent scored an insurance goal 4:10 into the third period. Donavan Houle won a battle along the boards to push the puck into the slot where Vincent caught it for the shot.

Houle got credit for his second of the game short-handed at 6:20. His shot was stopped but the Wild defense knocked the puck in the net while trying to move it back out.

Colin White made it 4-0 with another short-handed goal at 13:09. Collin Graf intercepted a drop pass near the Barracuda blue line and got the puck to White before skating into the Wild zone two-on-one with White.

Luca Cagnoni scored San Jose’s fifth goal of the night on the power play at 18:10. Cagnoni scored his first goal as a pro with a shot from just below the blue line and through traffic. Kasper Halttunen and Filip Bystedt got the assists.

The Barracuda will play again on Sunday at 3:00 PM PT in San Jose against the Wild.

More Of The Same, And Less Of What’s Needed: Cal Drops Another Close One, 24-23 to NC State

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA– By default, the Cal Bears are built to compete in close, contentious football games. Currently, winning those games is not part of the mix.

Freshman kicker Derek Morris’ field goal miss from 28 yards with 1:37 remaining left Cal short on the scoreboard in a 24-23 loss to North Carolina State, but a list of plays and issues kept the Bears winless in their inaugural trip through the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Making winning plays simply hasn’t happened for Cal in a painful, four-game losing streak that has been too little in the game’s biggest moments.

“I have to do a better job coaching the team so we can find a way to win these tight games,” coach Justin Wilcox said. “Everyone has to come back and own their part of it. We need to have high expectations and standards for the way we operate around here.”

The Bears looked the part in building a 13-10 halftime lead and extending it to 23-10 after three quarters. But that put gutty freshman quarterback CJ Bailey in position to survive six sacks and the punishment that came with them, and fashion a comeback that would be the Wolpack’s biggest since October 2012. Bailey threw two fourth quarter touchdown passes, the second 41 yards to Hollywood Smothers that gave NC State the lead with 6:32 remaining.

“His ability to keep composure is just very impressive,” Bailey’s teammate Davin Vann said. “He just continues to show me why he has the ability to play at this level and is going to succeed at this level and beyond.”

Bailey not only was under duress for the first three quarters, but he also was essentially without a run game as well. The Bears stuffed the Wolfpack, allowing an insignificant 29 yards on 30 rushing attempts.

But when afforded time, Bailey delivered, with 6’3″ Justin Joly using his height to snag four catches for 95 yards to lead the NC State receivers. The freshman, who began the season behind senior transfer Grayson McCall on the depth chart, finished 25 of 36 for 306 yards.

“He stays positive, and he’s just got that it factor when it comes to how he manages things and overcomes,” Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said of Bailey. “Even when he makes a bad play, it doesn’t rattle him.”

The Bears should have benefitted from all the upheaval in NC State’s lineup that saw them without leading rusher Jordan Waters and beholden to a new mic linebacker Kamal Bonner. But NC State touted their depth, and it proved to be the case as their first trip west since a 1960 game at UCLA turned out to be a winner.

Cal’s final drive encompassed 13 plays for 65 yards and put Cal in position to retake the lead. It also bought precious minutes for its defense that once again was on the short side of time of possession in part because of Thomas’ damaging, first half fumble. But the drive didn’t end well after a critical holding penalty on first down at NC State’s 16-yard line. Fernando Mendoza misfired on second down, and two short completions left Cal with a fourth down and sufficient time for NC State to respond had Morris converted a go-ahead field goal.

Again, a missed field goal in the final two minutes was not solely the reason for Cal’s loss.

The Bears (3-4, 0-4) have a non-conference game next Saturday against Oregon State in Berkeley.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Eklund, Celebrini injury updates; What’s missing during SJ’s losing streak

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San Jose Sharks William Eklund skates against the St Louis Blues on Sat Apr 6, 2024 at SAP Center in San Jose. Eklund did not play against the Winnipeg Jets on Fri Oct 18, 2024 due to an upper body injury. (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Mary Lisa, the San Jose Shark William Eklund didn’t play against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday due to a upper body injury. Eklund a part of the offense his injury impacts the Sharks line up.

#2 Macklin Celebrini missed his fourth game in a row due to a lower body injury. Celebrini has been on retroactive injury reserve dating back to Oct 10. Celebrini the Sharks No.1 draft pick is expected back any day now.

#3 Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said before Friday’s game that his benching Will Smith was just part of the plan and that it had nothing to do with Smith’s performance. Smith is the Sharks No.4 pick out of the 2024 NHL draft. Smith was a healthy scratch again on Friday night against the Jets.

#4 Sharks forwards Danil Gushchin and Givani Smith both sat out Thursday’s game in Chicago. Gushchin and Smith both played on Friday night in Winnipeg.

#5 The Sharks have now lost all five of their first five games to start the season. The Sharks closet games were against the St Louis Blues and Dallas Stars both one goal loses. Mary what seems to be the problem a lack of finesse on offense, not enough aggressiveness in crashing the net, not enough defense at the blue line and too much time on their end of the ice by the opposition.

Mary Lisa does the San Jose Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Leafs Woll is expected to return soon; Utah’s Ullmark could play Saturday against Tampa Bay; plus more NHL news

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Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll is expected to return from a lower body injury. Woll has been working out with the goalie coach and skill coaches (photo from nhl.com)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 Toronto Maple Leafs Joseph Woll is soon to return following a lower body injury. Woll made his first practice on October 8th. Woll had missed Toronto’s first four games. The last four days he’s been working with the goalie coach and skill coaches. Leafs head coach Craig Berube said that Woll looked good in practice and that Woll is heading in the right direction.

#2 Ottawa Senators Linus Ullmark is expected to return from undisclosed strain. Ullmark has missed the last two games and was evaluated Friday and could play against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night. Ullmark said he’s doing well and that’s he’s been putting in a lot of work.

#3 The Chicago Blackhawks Landon Slaggert signed two year $1.8 million contract with the Hawks. The deal is worth $900,000 per season and the contract is expected to start next season. Slaggert played for the Blackhawks last season scoring one goal and three assists. Slaggert right now is in the Blackhawks AHL affiliate Rockford. Slaggert picked up an assist in Rockford’s opener on Sep 29.

#4 The Utah Hockey Club’s John Marino is reportedly months away from joining the team. Marino is suffering from an upper body injury. Utah defenseman Sean Durzi is also out with a upper body injury. Durzi was listed out indefinitely. Utah head coach Andre Touringy said that Durzi should be back with the team sometime this season.

#5 The Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Alex Nedelijkovic is expected to return to the line up soon. Nedelikovic is suffering from a lower body injury. Nedelijkovic was reassigned to the Penguins AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Nedelijkovic is needed back soon to replace Penguins starting goaltender Tristan Jarry who has been out with an injury since Sep 30.

Len Shapiro does the NHL podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

MLB Post Season podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Mets Alonso lights up LA with 3 run homer in 12-6 win; Yanks one more win from fall classic

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The New York Mets Pete Alonso connects for a three run home run off Los Angeles Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty in the bottom of the first inning at Citi Field in New York on Fri Oct 18, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the MLB podcast with Stephen Ruderman:

#1 The New York Mets were able to stay alive on Friday night in game five with a 12-6 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers to move one game within a tie as the series is 3-2 Dodgers.

#2 The Mets Pete Alfonso hit a three run home run as the Mets jumped all over Dodger starter Jack Flaherty. Flaherty had a rough night pitching three innings getting lit up for eight hits and eight runs.

#3 The Mets Starling Marte had himself quite an evening with three doubles, four hits, and three RBIs. The Dodgers simply couldn’t contain Marte or the Mets line up.

#4 Both the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians wanted this one badly. With the Yankees leading the series 2-1 in game four the Yanks-Guardians tied 6-6 going to the top of the ninth. The Yankees were able to score twice and take the lead. Alex Verdugo was safe on a fielding error by Cleveland shortstop Brayan Rocchio that allowed Jon Berti to score putting the Yankees on top 7-6. The Yanks Gleyber Torres got a base hit to center that scored Anthony Vlope for a two run 8-6 Yanks lead and eventual win.

#5 The Yankees now move up 3-1 it has to be a little frustrating for Guardians manager Stephen Vogt as he and the Guardians face elimination they came all this way fought hard and if they can’t pick up a win in game 5 on Saturday at Progressive Field in Cleveland it’s all over for the Guardians.

Stephen Ruderman is a MLB analyst for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks Defeated 8-3 by Jets, Take a Big Step Back, Loss is Fifth Straight

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The Winnipeg Jets Gabriel Valardi (13) and Nikolaj Ehlers (27) celebrate Ehler’s goal as the San Jose Sharks Mikael Granlund (64) skates by in first period action at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg on Fri Oct 18, 2024 (Canadian Press photo via AP)

By Mary Walsh

The Sharks fell 8-3 to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday. Josh Morrissey, Nikolaj Ehlers, Neal Pionk, Kyle Connor, Cole Perfetti and Vladislav Namestnikov scored for the Jets, with two goals each from Ehlers and Perfetti. Connor Hellebuyck made 19 saves for the win. Tykler Toffoli, Luke Kunin and Fabian Zeterlund scored for the Sharks.MacKenzie Blackwood made 13 saves on 18 shots before being replaced by Vitek Vanacek, who made 15 saves on 18 shots.

After the game, Sharks forward Nico Sturm said:

“The truth is, we did take a big step back these last two games. I thought we looked really really good the first three games of the season. I thought we looked really good in Dallas, on the road against a Stanley Cup contender. And then we took two massive steps back these last two nights. It felt a lot like last year, these last two games.”

Josh Morrissey opened the scoring for the Jets at 1:59. Nikolaj Ehlers carried the puck in to the goal line before passing it back to Colin Miller at the point. Miller passed it along the blue line to Morrissey for a long shot into the far corner of the net.

Ehlers scored the next one for the Jets at 9:25. Mark Scheifele passed the puck to Gabriel Vilardi at the net. Instead of trying for the shot, Vilardi sent the puck back out to Ehlers in the faceoff circle. Ehlers did take the shot.

Tyler Toffoli made it 2-1 with a power play goal at 11:43, tipping a shot from Jake Walman at the point. Mikael Granlund also got an assist.

Ehlers scored his second of the game at 13:31. Cole Perfetti took the puck away from the Sharks in the neutral zone and passed it to Ehlers, who skated into the Sharks zone and scored.

Neal Pionk made it 4-1 at 18:48 with a wrist shot from the point. Assists went to Ales Iafallo and Vladislav Namestnikov.

At the end of the first period, the Sharks had been outscored 4-1 and outshot 15-8. They also took three penalties, two of which overlapped for some five on three time and the third was a too many men penalty. Altogether not a good period for the Sharks, but they did score a power play goal.

Kyle Connor made it 5-1 with a wrist shot from the slot less than two minutes into the second period. Assists went to Pionk and Valardi.

The Sharks changed goaltenders after that goal.

Luke Kunin scored to cut the Jets’ lead to 5-2. Cody Ceci took a shot from the point but it went off of Iafallo. Carl Grundstrom gathered it back up and passed it back to Kunin in the slot.

At the end of the second period, the Sharks had again been outshot 14-8, but were not outscored in the period.

Cole Perfetti made it 6-2 with a power play goal at 9:50 of the third period. Iafallo carried the puck almost to the net before passing it back to Perfetti in the slot for the shot. An assist also went to Namestnikov.

Fabian Zetterlund showed some push back with a goal less than 20 seconds later. Toffoli carried the puck in two-on-one with Zetterlund and made a late pass to set up the shot. An assist also went to Granlund.

Perfetti scored his second of the night, another power play goal at 12:55. Pionk and Namestnikov assisted. Namestnikov scored with a wrist shot in the final minute to make it 8-3. Pionk and Perfetti got the assists.

The final shot count was 36-22 Jets.

The Sharks next play on Sunday back in San Jose, against the Colorado Avalanche at 5:00 PM PT.

Kings Go 0-5 In Pre-Season Play Losing To Los Angeles Clippers 113-91

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Oct 17, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Jordan Miller (11) drives to the basket against Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) during the second quarter of NBA preseason game at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn ImagesKiyoshi Mio

By Barbara Mason

Thursday night the Sacramento Kings (0-5) lost their final pre-season game to the Los Angeles Clippers (4-1) 113-91. The Kings have lost every pre-season game as they continue to work to get ready for the 2024-25 season.

Sacramento’s newest acquisition DeMar DeRozan is working hard to complete the starting roster for the Kings. Sacramento now has a week of hard practice ahead of them as they prepare to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves to open the season at Golden 1 Center.

Thursday evening the Kings finished up their pre-season losing to the Clippers at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood. The Kings have lost all of their pre-season games and they are focused on working DeMar DeRozan into the starting lineup.

They did improve ball protection in their last game and continue to work hard as they prepare for the start of the regular season which gets underway on October 24 when they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves in Sacramento.

Kevin Huerter, Malik Monk, Orlando Robinson, Trey Lyles and De’Aaron Fox were all listed GTD with a return date of October 24th. James Harden, Kawhi Leonard and Derrick Jones did not play for the Clippers.

The Clippers got on top as the opening quarter wore down leading 30-20 after the first twelve minutes of play. The first quarter was sloppy at best for the Kings with 9 turnovers, shooting at 18% from downtown with only 30 % from the field.

Los Angeles continued to extend their lead in the second quarter and with 6:31 left in the first half the Clippers had a 28-48 lead. The Sacramento bench saw some action in the second quarter although Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, and Keegan Murray did play play in the quarter.

The Kings continue to push through the pre-season in an effort to get this lineup ready for the regular season. The Clippers took a 65-38 lead into halftime. They had outscored Sacramento 35-18 in the second quarter. The Kings finished the half with 13 turnovers, shooting 14% from downtown and 28% from the field. The Clippers were shooting nearly 60% from the field in this lopsided game.

The Kings made a rally attempt in the third quarter after trailing by as much as 27 points. They were able to pull to within 14 points before the Clippers pushed back holding onto a comfortable lead for the rest of the quarter. After three quarters Los Angeles had an 85-69 lead. The Kings were able to outscore the Clippers in the quarter 31-20.

The Clippers went on to win the fourth quarter 28-22 and the game 113-91. Domantas Sabonis finished with the high for the Kings with 24 points and 9 rebounds just shy of another double double. Keegan Murray had 11 points and 7 rebounds in the loss. Sacramento will now head back to Golden 1 Center to prepare for the start of the season next week.

The Kings will face the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first game of the 2024-25 season with the tipoff scheduled for 7:00 PM.

Sharks Lose 4-2 to Blackhawks, Penalty Kill Falters

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San Jose Sharks goaltender Vitek Vanecek (41) puts the stop on a Chicago Blackhawks shot at the United Center on Thu Oct 17, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks fell 4-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Blackhawks’ home opener Thursday. Taylor Hall, Tyler Bertuzzi, Nick Foligno and Jason Dickinson scored for Chicago. Petr Mrazek made 20 saves for the win. Tyler Toffoli and Fabian Zeterlund scored for San Jose and Vitek Vanecek made 23 saves in the loss.

In one of their more lopsided losses of the young season, the Sharks had a very slow start. In the first two periods, they were outshot 23-11 and took seven penalties, two of those overlapping. It is unsurprising, then, that the Sharks’ perfect penalty kill was broken as they gave up two powerplay goals.

After the game, Sharks forward Mikael Granlund talked about that start: “We were playing too slow with the puck, skating-wise. It’s tough to play when you’re just chasing the game, we were chasing the game the whole period. So we gotta be better at that and that cost us the game tonight.”

Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said: “We didn’t do anything well. Got off to a slow start, hasn’t been us. Couldn’t defend in our own end, couldn’t close quick enough, couldn’t get the forecheck going. Didn’t do anything well.”

The Blackhawks’ first goal came from Taylor Hall at 4:20 of the first period. Hall caught a long pass from TJ Brodie and entered the Sharks’ zone with speed before scoring with a wrist shot.

Tyler Bertuzzi made it 2-0 at the end of the period, on the power play. Teuvo Teravainen sent the puck to the net frpm the wing and Bertuzzi tipped in from the slot. Assists went to Teravainen and Connor Bedard.

Nick Foligno made it 3-0 in the first minute of the second period, again on the power play. Bedard sent the puck across the ice to Teravainen, who sent it back to Foligno in front of the net for a redirect.

Tyler Toffoli got one back for the Sharks at 18:17 of the period. William Eklund carried the puck to the goal line before centering the puck for Toffoli. Assists went to Eklund and Mikael Granlund.

Jason Dickinson made it 4-1 at 2:19 of the third. Joey Anderson passed the puck behind the net to Dickinson, who swept it around the post and into the net before Vanacek could get across.

Fabian Zetterlund made it 4-2 at 2:52, deflected Mikael Granlund’s shot off of his lower body. Assists went to Granlund and Eklund.

The Sharks next play Friday at 5:00 PM PT in Winnipeg against the Jets.

MLB Post Season podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Guardians come back from behind to get walk off HR from Fry in 10th; Dodgers go up 3-1 can eliminate Mets Friday

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Cleveland Guardians David Fry raises his arms in victory after hitting a bottom of the tenth two run walk off home run against the New York Yankees at Progressive Field in Cleveland on Thu Oct 17, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the MLB Post Season podcast with Stephen:

#1 Stephen Cleveland almost had this game. The Guardians had a 3-1 lead through six innings but the Yankees rallied in the top of the eighth inning for three runs to take a 5-3 lead. The Guardians would come back and tie up the game in the bottom of the ninth 5-5. The Guardians a team never to give up scored another two runs in the bottom of the tenth for the 7-5 win and pick up their first win of the ALCS.

#2 In the bottom of the ninth inning down 5-3 the Guardians sent up pinch hitter Jhonkensky Noel who belted a 404 foot home run to left field to tie up the game. Sometimes you never know what the pinch hitter is going to do. The Guardians got a game winning home run in the bottom of the tenth when David Fry hit a two run shot to left center for 399 feet to end the evening with a 7-5 win.

#3 In spite of the New York Mets walking Shohei Ohtani three times Ohtani did enough damage hitting a home run in the first inning scored a run in the third, and scored another run in the after Mookie Betts homered in the sixth inning.

#4 Dodgers Tommy Edman had a night at the plate against the Mets with a third inning RBI double, a two run RBI double in the eighth. Mookie Betts with a fourth inning two run RBI double, Betts with the homer in the sixth and scored on Will Smith’s RBI single in the eighth inning.

#5 Dodgers take a 3-1 lead in the series and could wrap it up in game five on Friday afternoon a 2:08pm PT first pitch at Citi Park. The Mets have absolutely struggled in this series in trying to figure out the Dodgers.

Stephen Ruderman is an MLB podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal looking to snap three game skid against NC State Saturday

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Cal Bears quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) had to run for his life pretty much all afternoon against Pitt Panther tackle Braylan Lovelace (0) and the Panther pass rush at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh on Oct 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris:

#1 There was no holding down Pitt Panthers last Saturday as they maintained their undefeated record now at 6-0 while Cal drop to 3-3.

#2 Close game but Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza couldn’t get enough points on the board as Cal fell short 17-15.

#3 For Mendoza he threw 27-37 for 272 yards and one touchdown. Did the Panthers have Mendoza running for daylight as he was running out of the pocket and often and ended up getting sacked six times.

#4 Cal’s defense kept the Bears in the game but the offense just couldn’t score enough to get by the Panther in the two point loss.

#5 Cal now focuses on the NC State Wolfpack (3-4)this Saturday with a 12:30pm PT kickoff at Memorial Stadium. The Wolfpack who have lost their last two games the last one against the Syracuse Orange 24-17. Cal comes into this game against NC State snake bitten having losing their last three games all close games against Florida State on Sep 21, to Miami on Sat Oct 5 and to Pitt on Sat Oct 12. Cal will no doubt be driven to get back in the win column after last week’s loss to Pitt with home field advantage.

Join Morris Phillips for the Cal Bears podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com