Fox has hot hand leads with 49 points as Kings defeat Jazz 121-117

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Saturday night. The Kings played for the second time in as many days after losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. The Kings lost on Friday by the final of 130-126 in an overtime affair.

De’Aaron Fox scored a franchise-record 60 points, which proved too few to win the game. The Kings (7-6) welcomed the Utah Jazz (3-8) on Saturday night. The Jazz were coming off a win at home against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.

The Jazz discarded the Mavs 115-113. On Saturday, the Kings and Jazz tipped off at 7 p.m. PST in Sacramento. The Kings were short-handed on Saturday as they played without Malik Monk, DeMar DeRozan, and Domantas Sabonis, who were out with ankle, back, and back injuries, respectively. The Kings defeated the Utah Jazz 121-117 on Saturday night at Golden One and Fox led with 49 points in the win.

In the first quarter, Fox picked up where he left off the night before. Fox scored 18 points in the first quarter to propel the Kings to a slim early lead. Swipa was clearly on another planet, and Kings fans were here for it.

The Kings outscored the Jazz 35-31 in the first quarter. It was clear that the message of taking the open shots resonated with the team. The Kings needed to keep the energy up in the second quarter.

In the second, the Kings came out with good energy. However, they got sloppy late in the quarter. The Kings built up a 12-point lead in the quarter, only to see it evaporate into a one-point lead going into halftime.

The Kings went into halftime leading 64-63 after being outscored by the Jazz 32-29 in the second quarter. Fox led the way in the first half with 26 points. Keegan Murray was yet to get going in a game in which the Kings desperately needed him to score.

In the third quarter, the Kings lost their halftime advantage. The Jazz outscored the Kings in the third quarter 31-26 to lead the game 94-90 going into the fourth quarter. The Kings couldn’t get much going offensively except for Fox. Kevin Huerter and Murray had combined for 20 points in the game through three quarters. Someone other than Fox had to step up in the fourth if the Kings hoped to win the game.

In the fourth quarter, it was the Fox show once again. The Kings’ PG scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to push the Kings over the finish line. The Kings outscored the Jazz 31-23 in the final quarter to win the game 121-117.

Fox scored 49 points in the game with nine assists. Fox is only the third player in NBA history to score 109 points across a two-day span. The other players to do that are Kobe Bryant and Wilt Chamberlain. Lauri Markkanen led the Jazz in defeat with 25 points.

Reacting to Fox being the third player ever to score 109 points across two days, Mike said, “Wow … I can’t be more proud of him. It was just phenomenal to watch him do it—Wilt, Kobe, and Foxy.”

Up Next: The Sacramento Kings will stay home to take on the Atlanta Hawks on Monday at Golden 1 Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. PST. Malik Monk will be out with an ankle injury. The availability of DeRozan and Sabonis remains up in the air.

Syracuse Comes West To Bear Hunt In Capturing 33-25 Win Over Cal

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Coach Fran Brown’s preparation–for the post-game press conference–was flawless.

Accordingly, his Syracuse football team was best prepared to counter Cal’s momentum, built off consecutive wins, and took control of what could have been a tight game early.

“I was with coach (Kirby) Smart, and he told me, ‘we will not be hunted,'” Brown said. “And I told the team before the game, ‘we will not be hunted. We do the hunt.’ I’m not walking out here, scared.”

Not scared, and not preoccupied with tough results versus Boston College and Pitt, Syracuse surprised the Bears early and held on for a 33-25 road win. Cal’s bowl aspirations were put on hold with the loss, as was their path out of the cellar of the ACC standings.

For the first time in a season of jarring results, Cal was beaten from start to finish, with little to say had one or two plays gone their way.

Fernando Mendoza was intercepted twice in the first quarter, and the tone was set. Mendoza’s game shrunk, and the confidence on the visitor’s sideline grew.

“You can’t turn over the ball like that… It was my worst turnover game of the season by far, and [it] just simply was not my day,” Mendoza said.

“To start fast and get up early, that was big. And both sides of the ball did it,” Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord said.

McCord triggered a quick passing attack and effective run game to the extent that Cal’s defense was gassed early. Play action pass plays were especially successful as the Orange led 13-0 and extended that lead to 27-7 at halftime. McCord and the offense racked up 299 yards in offense in the first half, while skillfully navigating away from Cal’s defensive playmakers.

“We certainly were outplayed today. There’s no doubt about that,” coach Justin Wilcox said. “I don’t see anything we did very well.”

Two lengthy run plays highlighted Cal’s attack with Jaivian Thomas’ 75-yard dash trimming Syracuse’s lead to 13-7 in the second quarter. On Cal’s first offensive snap of the fourth, Jadyn Ott broke free for 53 yards. But that drive stalled, and Cal could only cut the deficit to 30-17 after Ryan Coe converted a 44-yard field goal with 12:43 remaining.

Jackson Kennedy’s 32-yard field goal capped a 13-play Syracuse drive that effectively ended Cal’s afternoon by taking a chunk of the time remaining. Mendoza connected with Jonathan Brady on a five-yard TD pass, but Cal failed to regain possession with a successful onside kick in the final minute.

In his first year at Syracuse after a fulfilling season with Georgia as defensive backs coach in which the Bulldogs won the National Championship and Brown was named the #1 national recruiter by 24/7 Sports, Brown’s Orange have been confident despite mixed results on the field. Their damaging loss at Pittsburgh on October 24 was a nationally-televised embarrassment, but Brown refused to reference it after beating Cal.

Instead, the ebullient Brown celebrated Cal’s picturesque campus, stated his respect for Wilcox, and his team’s emphasis on limiting Nyziah Hunter (three catches for 42 yards) and not getting victimized by Bears’ cornerback Nohl Williams. With all boxes checked regarding Syracuse’s first visit to Berkeley since 1968, Brown concluded by celebrating himself.

“I should have let y’all hear my song,” Brown said before powering up his hand-held, Bluetooth speaker cued to Lil Durk’s “100 Grand,” a reference to his disclosure that to his wife’s dismay, he doesn’t shower after losses.

“Smelling like a hundred racks,” Brown mimicked confidently.

Wranglers whip up on Barracuda in 6-2 win in series opener

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Jose Barracuda forward Anthony Vincent (#76) battles with Calgary Wranglers defenseman Jerrod Tinordi (#26) after the whistle during the Wranglers 6-2 win over the Barracuda at Tech CU Arena on Saturday Nov 16, 2024. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — The Calgary Wranglers scored four unanswered goals to cruise past the San Jose Barracuda in a 6-2 victory on Saturday evening at Tech CU Arena.

Calgary has won two games in a row and remained undefeated on the road with a 5-0 record. San Jose had its two-game winning streak snapped and lost for the just the second time at home.

San Jose (8-5-0) drew first blood in the with Danil Gushchin first goal of the season 90 seconds into the game. Cuda captain Andrew Poturalski started a counterattack over to Colin Graf. Graf led a two-on-one into the Wranglers zone. Graf threw a rink wide pass over to Gushchin who made a move fore-hand to backhand as he beat Wranglers goalie and former San Jose Sharks prospect Devin Cooley with a top shelf goal.

Calgary (12-3-0) had a strong finish to the opening frame with two goals in a span of 2:27 to close out the first period with a 2-1 lead. First, William Stromgren led a 3-on-1 rush inside the Barracuda zone. Walker Duehr made a back handed pass to Jonathan Aspirot who buried the puck into an open net for his first goal of the season at the 16:32 mark.

Then Duehr was on the receiving end of a centering pass from Dryden Hunt and Duehr blasted a one-timer past ‘Cuda goalie Yaroslav Askarov for a power play goal, his ninth goal of the season at the 18:59 mark.

The Wranglers kept their foot on the gas pedal to start the second period as they scored their third goal within two minutes to start the period. A turnover by the Barracuda inside their own zone led to Rory Kerins lifting a backhander from just outside the crease past Askarov for his team-leading 11th goal of the season at the 1:49 mark.

Calgary scored its fourth unanswered goal just before the sixth minute mark of the middle frame. Stromgren maneuvered around three ‘Cuda defenders before finding Sam Morton who redirected Stromgren’s pass into the short corner of the net for his third goal of the season at the 5:54 mark.

Gushchin scored his second goal of the game and season with San Jose having pulled Askarov for an extra attacker late in the third period. Graf slid a pass over from the left slot to Gushchin who beat Cooley to the short side with a wrist shot 2:21 remaining in the game.

Adam Klapka and David Silye added empty net goals to seal the deal for Calgary. Klapka scored his fourth goal of the season at the 18:28 mark and Silye his first goal of the season at the 19:10 mark.

Cooley (9-2-0-3) stopped 31 of the 33 shots he faced to earn his ninth victory of the season. Askarov made 19 saves on 23 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 0-for-2 on the power play. Calgary went 1-for-3.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Duehr 2) Gushchin 3) Morton.

UP NEXT: San Jose and Calgary conclude their two-games series on Sunday at 3:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

Sharks Fall 4-3 in SO to Penguins, Come Back From 3-0 to Tie Game, Again

Published on by M WalshLeave a comment

Pittsburgh Penguins Bryan Rust (17) celebrates his goal with Evgeni Malkin (71), Jack St Ivany (3) and Michael Bunting (8) first period against the San Jose Sharks at PPG Pants in Pittsburgh on Sat Nov 16, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday. Bryan Rust, Evgeni Malkin, Jesse Puljujarvi and Sidney Crosby scored for the Penguins. Alex Nedeljkovic made 26 saves for the win. Tyler Toffoli and Mikael Granlund scored for the Sharks. Vitek Vanacek made 8 saves on ten shots in the first period. Mackenzie Blackwood made 25 saves on 26 shots in the second, third and overtime periods.

The Sharks earned points in three games in this four game road trip. Of this tally, Tyler Toffoli said: “We’re staying in games and giving ourselves a chance to win. It’s a matter of time before we are able to play with leads and finish games off.”

The Sharks have made some impressive comebacks recently. Of this trend, Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said:

“Credit to the guys, we stuck with it. It’s a hole we don’t want to be in and we’re in it too often right now. But I give the guys a lot of credit for battling back and getting a point in this game where it wasn’t looking pretty for a long time. We’ve got to look and find some ways to start on time.”

Blackwood said that he had about five minutes to prepare to get in the game. “It’s tough, you know. Obviously you’re cold and you have no feel of the game so you gotta go in there and get into the game quick. Typically, I struggle with that, I’ve struggled to come off the bench and put up a good performance. So I’ve been working on it.”

Warsofsky said, of his goaltenders: “I haven’t gotten an update yet on Vitek, just told he wasn’t coming back. Outstanding by Blackwood. Some of the best saves you’ll see in this League this year I assume.”

The Penguins scored just 1:01 into the first period. Bryan Rust carried the puck up from behind the net and backhanded it under Vitek Vanacek. Assists went to Michael Bunting and Evgeni Malkin.

Evgeni Malkin put the puck in the net at 5:46. Carrying the puck in, he cut across the slot and shot the puck off the post and in with a backhand. The Sharks challenged the goal as offside and the goal was overturned.

Jesse Puljujarvi got that goal back at 6:34. Drew O’Connor took a shot from the boards, and the rebound from that shot slid in front of Puljujarvi as he arrived at the net. Vanacek could not get across in time and Puljujarvi had an open net. A secondary assist went to Owen Pickering.

The teams were tied in shots at the end of the first period at 10-10. The Penguins took the only penalty of the period. Vanacek did not return for the second period due to injury. Blackwood stepped in.

Sidney Crosby made it 3-0 at 4:19 of the second with a shot through traffic from the point. Assists went to Erik Karlsson and Anthony Beauvillier.

Tyler Toffoli got the Sharks on the board with a power play goal at 12:05 of the second. Will Smith got the assist. Macklin Celebrini carried the puck into the zone but his pass was intercepted. Will Smith got the puck back and sent it to the net. Toffoli arrived at the net just in time to gather up the puck and score.

The Penguins outshot the Sharks 10-7 in the second period. The Sharks had two power plays and one shortened penalty kill in the period.

Mikael Granlund cut the lead to one goal at 6:56 of the third period. William Eklund made a pass off the boards to Fabian Zetterlund in the neutral zone. Zetterlund carried it over the blue line and made a cross-ice pass to Granlund, who caught the puck in the slot and shot without breaking stride.

Tyler Toffoli tied the game with his second goal of the night. Ty Dellandrea carried the puck in along the boards before finding Toffoli on his way to the net. Toffoli skated around several defenders to get in position for the shot. Assists went to Dellandrea and Jake Wallman.

Third period shots were close again, 11-10 Sharks. The Penguins took the only penalty in the period. In overtime, the Penguins dominated 6-1 in shots but Blackwood shut the door.

Mikael Granlund and William Eklund scored in the shootout. Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and Alexander Wennberg were stopped by Nedeljkovic.

Sidney Crosby, Anthony Beauvillier and Evgeni Malkin scored in the shootout. Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell were stopped by Blackwood.

The Sharks next play on Monday back in San Jose against the visiting Detroit Red Wings at 7:30 PM PT.

Cardinal Knocked Down Nesting Cardinals 38-35 on Senior Day Home Finale Thriller on the Farm; Kenney GWFG!

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Stanford Cardinal kicker Emmett Kenny (13) watches his game winning field goal in the fourth quarter against the Louisville Cardinals at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto at Sat Nov 16, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Michael Roberson

STANFORD, Calif. — The Stanford Cardinal (3-7, 2-5 ACC) won their final home game of their inaugural season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, 38-35 over the Louisville Cardinals (6-4, 4-3 ACC), on a cool afternoon in Palo Alto.

Despite winning the coin flip and possessing the ball first to start the game, Stanford was unable to hold on to their early 10-0 lead. Louisville was able to spread their wings, and fly away–as so eloquently sung by the R&B group, Troop–for most of the game, but it was a 60-minute contest.

The Cardinal did nothing with the opening drive of the game; however, they were able to spoil the Cardinals’ initial drive. Stanford forced a turnover by Louisville, when their QB, Tyler Shough attempted a pass to Mark Redman, it was deflected by defensive tackle Zach Rowell, and intercepted by senior linebacker Gaethan Bernadel.

Stanford parlayed that early gift into three points on the scoreboard. Senior kicker Emmet Kenny booted a 41-yard field goal to put his team up 3-0.They would add more in less than two minutes of game time play. They forced there fine feathered guest from the Bluegrass State to punt the ball.

Junior QB Ashton Daniels launched a 62-yard bomb to freshman WR Emmett Mosley V, , to give the home team a 10-point lead, 10-0. Things were looking good for the Cardinal, but the Cardinals record indicated that they had the propicity to tally some points themselves.

They did just that with a little more than a minute left in the quarter. Redshirt-junior running back Donald Chaney burst through the line for a one yard touchdown. The red birds were within three, 10-7. That also was the score after 15 minutes of combat, the Cardinal up by three going into the second quarter.

Midway through the quarter number two, Stanford improved on their lead, with another field goal (24) by Kenney. The Cardinal went up by six, 13-7, but that did not last long. Louisville responded less than three minutes later to finally take the lead.

Freshman running back Duke Watson rushed for a five yard touchdown, and with the extra point, the Cardinals went ahead by one, 14-13.They were able to add more before the half.

Junior wide receiver Chris caught a ten yard touchdown pass from Shough, with :49 before intermission, giving the Cardinals an eight-point advantage at that point, and eventually at halftime. 21-13, Louisville.

Early in the second half, Duke Watson was at it again. The first-year exploded for a 68-yard run to paydirt. That scoring drive gave Louisville their first double-digit lead 28-13, widening the margin to 15.

Stanford pride showed up, and the Cardinal was able to score with :07 in the third stanza. Daniels completed another TD pass ((13 yards), this time to Elic Ayomanor. The Cardinal pulled within seven, after a successful two point conversion, 28-21, U of L.

A little more than five minutes into the final quarter, the running Duke made another appearance in the endzone. Watson scampered five yards to the TD zone, to place them in front by two touchdowns, 35-21. The game seemed to be in the Cardinals’ wings, not the Cardinal tree.

Freshman sensation Emmett Mosley V had to have made his four predecessor namesakes proud with his historic performance in the game, Especially the fourth quarter, when he took over, Mosley caught two crucial touchdown passes, Daniels hit him for a four yarder, and Justin Lamson tossed his (25) with :45 left in regulation. At that juncture of the conference battle, it was tied at 35′

Louisville had the ball, hoping to end it, avoiding overtime. Instead, they failed to move the sticks on a 4th down play near midfield, not attempting the potential game-winning field goal either. Not only was that questionable on the behalf of Louisville, but they committed some egregious errors too.

With a few seconds left, and Stanford also near midfield, too far away for a makeable field goal, the Cardinals committed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty with a second left.

That tagged on 15 yards to their trek downfield. Next, they jumped offsides on the field goal attempt. Five more yards, and the Cardinal were absolutely in FG range, with the 20-yards gift.

“It was the Penalties, you know, that gave us the opportunity. He [UL HC Jeff Brohm] didn’t expect to have two penalties to put us in that, but he is playing to win, you know.” Stated Stanford HC Troy Taylor.

Emmet Kenney stepped up and booted a 52-yard Game-Winner, and the crowd of 18, 685 were truly gleeful that Stanford won their second home game at the stadium, but first ACC home victory.

Stanford will next be in action Saturday, November 23 across the Bay versus Cal, in the first inaugural ACC Battle of the Axe, at 12:30 PM on the ACC Network. Louisville heads back to Kentucky to host Pitt, on the same date on ESPN2, game time: TBD.

Interview Exclusive Mayor Juslyn C Manalo of Daly City: Are Migrants Safe In Daly City from project 2025 deportation?, Also SF Mayor Breed’s election loss and Oakland Mayor Thao’s recall; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Daly City Mayor Juslyn Manalo stopped by for a podcast with Sportstalk radio to discuss her recent re-election and the worries migrants may have regarding deportations and Project 2025, San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s loss for re-election and Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s recall. (photo still from Daly City meetings You Tube)

Daly City Mayor Juslyn C Manalo stopped by the Sports Talk microphones to talk about her recent re-election and current events.

Mayor Manalo talked about Daly City public safety, affordable housing, and that Mayor Manalo said that she got over 51% of the vote to get re-elected and that there was an activation of voters who had came out.

One of her proud achievements as mayor was reinstating Fire Engine 95 and that she was able to bring back a fire engine that was eliminated during the great recession. It wasn’t easy but she was able to get that engine back for the Daly City Fire Department.

Mayor Manalo commented on the recent worry about immigrants being arrested and picked up for being suspected for being an illegal immigrants regarding the coming Trump administration and ICE enforcing Project 2025. Manalo makes clear that California is a sanctuary state and wants to assure Daly City immigrants that Daly City is welcoming state.

We also asked Mayor Manalo about San Francisco Mayor London Breed who lost her recent election and what it was to have been able to have been able to work at times with Breed and comment about her leaving office.

Also being Mayor it’s a tough job at times and Mayor Manalo did express her thoughts about Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao who will be leaving office after serving only two years after being recalled.

The Cow Palace was used as a sports facility in the past for such minor league hockey teams such as the defunct minor league teams the San Francisco Spiders and San Francisco Bulls. Mayor Manalo talks about how important the Cow Palace is for the City of Daly City.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks conclude 4 game road trip in Pittsburgh tonight

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

San Jose Sharks Tim Liljegren (center) celebrates his goal with teammates Cody Ceci (left) and Luke Kunin in the first period against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thu Nov 14, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 New York Rangers Mika Zibanejad Jimmy Versey, Vince Trocheck, scored a goal each in the second period and that was all the scoring the Rangers needed to defeat the San Jose Sharks 3-2 on Thursday night.

#2 Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said that the Sharks did improve their first period which they had lost in most games this time they shutout the Rangers 1-0. They didn’t win the game but they did figure out how to improve in the first period

#3 The Rangers got goaltending help from Igor Shesterkin who stopped 25 shots and held the Sharks to just two goals enough to win the game by a goal.

#4 Former Rangers and current Shark Barclay Goodrow who played three seasons in New York got a standing ovation from the Madison Square Garden fans during a third period break in the action.

#5 Mary Lisa, the Sharks complete this four game road trip tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Pants Arena. The Penguins have lost four of their last five games. The Sharks have lost three of their last four games. How do you see the match up between the Sharks and Penguins tonight?

Mary Lisa covers the San Jose Sharks road games at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Fox 60 points not enough in OT Thriller; Kings bow to Timberwolves 130-126

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox (5) takes a jump shot over the Minnesota Timberwolves guard Nickiel Alexander Walker (9) in first half action at Golden One Center in Sacramento on Fri Nov 15, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Friday night in Sacramento. The Kings came into the game with a record of 7-5 on the season. The Kings had won two of their last three games. The Kings welcomed the Minnesota Timberwolves to Golden 1 Center on Friday night.

Contrary to the Kings, the Timberwolves had lost the last three games they played. The Wolves would be looking to get on track, and the Kings would be looking to improve on a solid start to the homestand. Tip-off was set for 7 PM PST. The Kings lost to the Timberwolves 130-126.

In the first quarter, the Kings’ offense looked out of sorts. However, that was entirely predictable. The Kings were playing on Friday without DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk, who were both injured. On the other hand, the mostly healthy Timberwolves were on a mission to snap their skid.

The Wolves outscored the Kings 32-27 in the first. De’Aaron Fox started red hot for the Kings with nine in the quarter. Anthony Edwards matched the energy with eight points.

In the second quarter, the Kings continued to struggle. The Kings’ offense didn’t have good spacing and flow in the first half. Granted, the Wolves were shooting well. Fox was really the only reason the Kings stayed in the game in the first half. He finished the half with 21 points.

The Kings were outscored 30-27 in the second quarter as they trailed 62-54 going into halftime. Edwards led the Wolves with 13 points. The Kings would need to tighten the defense and get a contribution from someone not named Fox in the second half to have a chance.

In the third quarter, it was more of the same uninspiring basketball from the Kings. There’s not much else to say. The Kings were outscored 36-28 in the third quarter to dig themselves into a 98-82 hole going into the fourth quarter. Could they make a run?

In the fourth quarter, Fox went absolutely insane. Fox scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to bring the Kings all the way back to a tie game as time expired. The Kings came back to tie the game 115-115 going into overtime.

In overtime, Fox continued to impress, but it wasn’t enough. Fox scored six points in overtime, but the Kings were outscored 15-11 to lose the game 130-126. Edwards had seven overtime points to seal the deal for the Timberwolves. The Kings were led by Fox with 60 points in defeat. The Timberwolves were led by Anthony Edwards, who scored 36. The 60 points from Fox was a career high and franchise record.

Up Next: The Kings stay home to take on the Utah Jazz on Saturday night at 7 PM PST. The Kings will be on the second night of a back-to-back.

Vegas Forwards Lay Down Two Pair as Golden Knights Defeat Utah HC 4-2 

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Utah Hockey Club Mikhail Sergachev (98) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Fri Nov 15, 2024 (AP News photo)

Tomas Hertl and William Karlsson each score twice in Vegas victory over Utah

SALT LAKE CITY–Coming off of a heart-stopping 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night, the Utah Hockey Club faced another stiff challenge on Friday squaring off against the Pacific Division leading Vegas Golden Knights.  The two teams had already faced each other in Las Vegas two weeks earlier where Utah found itself losing 4-3 in overtime.

Utah forward Logan Cooley drew first blood at 11:16 of the first period with his third goal of the season, assisted by Matias Maccelli and Dylan Guenther. Utah finished the period besting Vegas 16-9 in shots on goal and winning 86% of faceoffs.

Moving on to the second period, Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev notched his 4th goal of the season at 6:59 on the power play to make it 2-0, assisted by captain Clayton Keller and Alexander Kerfoot. With the goal, Sergachev extended his home goal-scoring streak to four consecutive games. 

Later in the period, with Utah defenseman Michael Kesselring in the penalty box for hooking against Keegan Kolesar, Tomas Hertl brought the Golden Knights back to within one on a power play goal assisted by Nicolas Roy and Jack Eichel.

Unfortunately for Utah, the third period was all Vegas. At 8:23 Tomas Hertl evened things up with his second power play goal of the game, assisted by William Karlsson and Jack Eichel.  With a minute and eighteen seconds left in regulation, Karlsson gave the Golden Knights their first lead of the game which also turned out to be the game-winner, assisted by Kaedan Korczak and Cole Schwindt.  With Utah netminder 

Karel Vejmelka on the bench to give his squad an extra attacker, Karlsson struck again unassisted into the empty net with 29 seconds left to send fans to the parking lots as Vegas came away with a 4-2 victory. 

Utah Hockey Club Head Coach André Tourigny addressed the media following the game. “Well, I don’t think we played as good with the puck, but I think it started in the second. I think in the second we were not as urgent defensively giving a few men rush…It’s not like they generate the few man rush we give them, so that started there. I think in the third we…it’s not like we collapsed, and we still had a few chances, but I don’t think we connected really well on our power play, and that cost us momentum.” 

Tourigny, commenting on the difference between the first and third periods, said, “There (was) two teams on the ice, in the first there (was) only one. When they showed up, there started to be a game. I think from there it was 50/50. I don’t think it’s for them or us. I think it was 50/50. It’s a good team, Stanley Cup champion contender. And you know what? One thing you can learn from them in that game is, even when we dominate, they just hang there. They just hang there and hang there. We could not get the big goal. It’s the killer goal, (would) have probably changed everything, but we could not separate ourselves, like you mentioned, after the first period, you know, we had (a) 1-0 lead instead 2-0 or 3-0 lead. And that (would) have separated us. Instead of that, they stayed in it and scored a goal in their power play and scored another goal in their power play, and then they get a tip at the end of the game.”

One highlight for the home team was finishing with a season-high 34 shots after averaging 25.9 shots per game over the previous 16 matches.

Utah still has a chance to wrap up its three game homestand on a winning note on Monday as Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals make their first NHL visit to Salt Lake City for a 7:00pm (MST) matchup.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings face Timberwolves at Golden One tonight; Sac coming off win against Phoenix

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

The Phoenix Suns guard Tyus Jones (21) figures the only way to stop the Sacramento Kings forward DeMar DeRozan (left) is by hanging onto his jersey in the first half at Golden One Center in Sacramento on Wed Nov 13, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 On Wednesday night Sacramento Kings beat the short handed Phoenix Suns 127-101 on at Golden One in Sacramento. The Kings took advantage of the Sun short handedness with DeAaron Fox scoring a team leading 29 points.

#2 The Kings Kevin Huerter contributed with a season high 22 points. Donmantas Sabonis finished with 11 points, ten rebounds, and seven assists which helped the Kings win their second game in four days.

#3 Jeremiah, talk about how the absence of the Suns Kevin Durant has impacted their games. Durant has missed three straight due to a strained calf. The Suns really struggled in this one.

#4 The Kings had a wide gap on the Sun in the fourth quarter with a 26 point lead before the Suns scored five points making it 93-88 but the Suns were a few points and a few players short. The Kings have now won three of their last five games.

#5 The Kings host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. The Timberwolves are coming off losing to the Portland Trailblazers in a two game sweep. Will the Kings be able to keep the momentum going and will the Timberwolves come back from the double loss to Portland at Golden One?

Jeremiah Salmonson covers the Sacramento Kings at http://www.sportsradioservice.com