Sharks Fall 3-2 in OT to Oilers, Give Up another Lead in the Third

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Edmonton Oilers Connor Brown (28) scrambles for the puck against the San Jose Sharks Cody Ceci (4) in the second period at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Sat Dec 21, 2024 (Canadian Press via AP photo)

By Mary Walsh

The San Jose Sharks were defeated by the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 in overtime Saturday. Zach Hyman, Mattias Ekholm and Leon Draisaitl scored for the Oilers. Calvin Pickard made 20 saves for the win. Luke Kunin and Jan Rutta scored for the Sharks. Yaroslav Askarov made 39 saves in the loss. Askarov’s 23 saves in the second period were the most saves in one period by a Sharks goaltender since the 2015-16 season.

After the game, Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky said, of the goaltender: “He was outstanding. He’s the reason we got a point. He was seeing the puck really well, quick. He made some really big saves.”

The Sharks took the lead twice in the first period, then held it until the last minute of overtime. Warsofsky talked about how the game got away from the Sharks: “We got slow, we got put on our heels, we didn’t defend quick enough. We didn’t skate to make them move the puck a little quicker.”

Luke Kunin opened the scoring 3:23 into the game. Alexander Wennberg chased the puck all the way down the ice into the Oilers’ corner, then passed it back to the trailing Kunin for the shot. Assists went to Wennberg and Timothy Liljegren.

Zach Hyman tied the game at 7:07. Connor McDavid carriws the puck around behind the net and then sent a pass across the slot to Hyman. Assists went to McDavid and Evan Bouchard.

Jan Rutta gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead at 8:21. Jake Walman carried the puck through the neutral zone and down as far as the faceoff circle before making a pass back to Rutta at the top of the slot. Rutta scored with a snap shot down up the middle. Assists went to Walman and Macklin Celebrini.

The Sharks were outshot 9-7 in the first period, and then 23-7 in the scoreless second period. In the first period there was a single penalty called, and that was against Edmonton. In the second period, the Sharks took the only penalty.

At 19:42 of the third period, with their goaltender pulled, the Oilers tied the game. Skating down from the point, Mattias Ekholm caught a pass from Corey Perry and shot through traffic. Assists went to Perry and McDavid.

Leon Draisaitl scored gane overtime winner 18 seconds into overtime. Daraisaitl carried the puck into the zone and then passed it across the ice to Bouchard. Bouchard gave it to McDavid, who passed it back to Draisaitl for the shot.

The Sharks next play on Monday in Vancouver against the Canucks at 6:00 PM PT.

Stanford Women Looking To Diversify Their Ways After Rough Night in 84-59 Loss To No. 11 Ohio State

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Kate Paye hasn’t spent two decades with the Stanford women’s basketball team without developing resilience. And that’s her makeup, not necessarily a characteristic she assumed from her mentor, legendary coach Tara VanDerveer. At this point, her Stanford experience is uniquely hers, for better or worse. And worse was Friday’s sobering loss to Ohio State at the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic at Chase Center.

Paye’s response to a third, aggravating loss this month?

“I love coaching this team. There are three other teams that are here, I wouldn’t want to be in any other locker room. I love the women on our team. We have an incredible staff who work extremely hard. We have to learn from it. This is as our mindfulness coach would tell us, this is information, this is feedback. It doesn’t affect the players or the coaches that we are, the human beings that we are. We have to learn from it, and we have to work to improve,” she said.

Starting with the Cardinal’s fourth quarter defensive hiccup at LSU, Paye’s team has regressed defensively. The host Tigers shot 10 for 17 in that final period, which forced overtime and resulted in a 94-88 loss for Stanford. Rival California found the hot hand early and maintained it in an 83-63 decision that dropped Stanford to 0-1 in the ACC. The Bears set a school record with 18 made threes.

And Friday, Ohio State shot it so well that Stanford resorted to playing zone briefly to break the Buckeyes’ spell. That didn’t make a difference, nor did Stanford’s tardy and lethargic offensive attack.

“I just didn’t come out with the level of aggression I usually do,” said leading scorer Nunu Agara, who looked good in the box score with 17 points, 10 rebounds, but didn’t impress herself. “Just being mentally locked in, staying with things. I think I didn’t do that great of a job in the first half–honestly the first three quarters. I turned it up a little too late. As for our team, we were a little shell-shocked about their press.”

Paye acknowledged that her team’s success shooting the three in the season’s first five games told future opponents to emphasize shutting down Stanford’s perimeter attack. From her perspective, the response has to be to drive and attack the basket. As of yet, that counter hasn’t kicked in. The quality of the opponents hasn’t helped either. Ohio State’s hands-on press proved pesky, forcing 19 turnovers and scoring 17 points off those mistakes.

Stanford’s issues started offensively with just 19 points scored before halftime, then defensively, by allowing Ohio State 51 points after the break.

The Cardinal catch a break after Friday to be home for Christmas. After that, a winnable road trip to SMU and Clemson kicks off conference play. Paye’s mission and her team’s will be to recapture the magic and remember what makes them a formidable team.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks could have their hands full with Oilers tonight at Rogers Place

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Colorado Avalanche left winger Joel Kiviranta (94) congratulates goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (39) after defeating the San Jose Sharks at Ball Arena in Denver on Fri Dec 19, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Mary Lisa, knowing the San Jose Sharks playbook a little bit how much of advantage was it for former Colorado Avalanche goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood to defend against the Sharks on Thursday night for a 4-2 win.

#2 The Aves Joel Kiviranta scored twice in the third period as Colorado picked up three goals to erase the Sharks 2-1 lead.

#3 In your view Mary Lisa Sharks goaltender Alexander Georgiev just couldn’t stop the Aves attack but also was it the Sharks defense up front that let Georgiev down in that third period.

#4 The Sharks have given up multiple third period goals in their last five games and Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said during Thursday’s morning skate that he’s disappointed the Sharks can’t close out their opponents.

#5 The Sharks battle the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place in Edmonton tonight. The Oilers could be a handful their in third place in the Pacific Division and are on a roll having won eight of their last ten games. They’re a loaded team.

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

U Know Who It Is. UCLA!: No. 1 Bruins Win Convincingly Over Creighton At Chase Center

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Coach Cori Close is greatly loved by her players, the young women she recruited to assume the quest of returning the Bruins to national prominence. Those players are likely well aware that Close hasn’t taken UCLA to the Final Four in her 13 years as head coach.

When you love your coach, and you want her to have the very best storylines, trailing an inferior opponent at halftime of a second round NCAA Tournament game is a nerve wracking situation. Compounding the scene for Kiki Rice, Angela Dugalic and the rest of the Bruins was a downcast Pauley Pavilion crowd that had experienced disappointment before.

The team’s play appeared tense, and their defense slipped. Creighton kept pushing, trying to put as many made baskets in their cookie jar as possible before the hosts snapped to. The Bluejays led 38-28 in the second quarter, and we’re still leading 44-34 in the third when Rice settled in.

“I just knew that I needed to do whatever I had to do to help my team win, whether that was feeding the ball to Lauren (Betts), scoring, doing whatever, and I think I was just focused on that,” Rice said.

Close’s tough love speech was all focus, and very little to do with her Final Four aspirations.

“At halftime, I really laid into them about the choices,” she said. “We don’t give up that many points in a half to anybody. So, we needed to just get back to doing things with our defense. I knew if we could get enough stops, we would score enough points.”

Sure enough, UCLA’s defensive intensity prevailed as Creighton scored just 21 points after the break while experiencing three lengthy droughts. The Bruins’ crowd exhaled, and the team advanced to the Sweet 16.

But they went no further, suffering a late game defeat to LSU in Albany the following week, and Close’s streak continued for another year.

“We didn’t get the shots that we wanted,” she said. “We did not execute the way that we needed to, and that’s one that’s going to sting for a really long time for me.”

A really long time wasn’t long at all for the hyper-motivated Close. Along with associate head coach Shannon LeBeauf and assistant Tony Newnan, who have been with Close since her beginning in Westwood, they hit the transfer portal with a mandate to add more of everything to put around Rice and Betts. Adding Janiah Barker from Alabama, Timea Gardiner from Oregon State, and Charlisse Leger-Walker from Washington State along with a group of highly-regarded freshman accomplished that. UCLA’s reload was simply loaded.

The Bruins opened the season running and took down reigning National Champion South Carolina in the process. A more diversified offense and relentless defense fueled an 11-0 start to the season and the Bruins ascent to No. 1 in the polls. Creighton was next on Friday at Chase Center, and the Bluejays immediately saw their opponent’s relentless ways.

“Seventy or 80 percent of it was them, but I thought we were tight and sped up offensively,” Creighton coach Jim Flanery said of UCLA’s flawless first quarter that ended with the Bruins leading 28-4.

Flanery acknowledged that the Bruins probably weren’t in the mindset of having another close call in the rematch, even if they had to play without Betts, who was out with a leg injury.

“The first quarter, I thought they played really fast and had us on our heels.”

The Bruins went on to win easily, 70-41. Their 12-0 start to the season includes just one win by fewer than 11 points. And now their first season in the Big Ten has arrived, along with two huge dates with crosstown irritant USC. A team this deep that wins with ease frequently needs an edge. Close has that covered as well.

“Nobody’s going to play perfect every single night. And bottom line is we have to have a selflessness that if it’s not my night, I’m going to celebrate it being someone else’s night,” she said.

What of the pressure of being the best team in the polls now but needing to break through in March?

“We have not arrived. And I think our ability to be relentlessly focused on being present and having a growth mindset. It is urgent that we improve today. It is urgent that I make a teammate better today.”

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Guenther scores twice to give Utah 2-1 win; Caps Lindgren stops 24 shots for 3-1 win over Wild; plus more NHL news

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The Utah Hockey Club’s Dylan Guenther is congratulated from the Utah bench after scoring a goal in the first period against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center in Minneapolis on Fri Dec 20, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 The Utah Hockey Club’s Dylan Guenther scored twice and got a go ahead goal at 10:01 in the third period. Guenther extended his point streak to seven games in a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild at the Excel Energy Center in Minneapolis.

#2 The Washington Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren stopped 24 shots and the Caps got a 3-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes at the Capital One Center on Friday. The Capitals Connor McMichael, Aliaksei Protas, and Jakob Vranda all scored a goal and an assist.

#3 The Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Matt Murray stopped 25 shots in his first NHL game back since Apr 2, 2023 getting the win over the Buffalo Sabres at Key Bank Center in Buffalo on Friday 6-3. it was also Murray’s first NHL win since March 23, 2023. Sabres have lost 12 straight games and have 0-9-3 during the losing streak and are 11-18-4 overall.

#4 The Montreal Canadiens Patrik Laine scored the go ahead goal at 7:58 to lead the Habs to a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Pizza Arena in Detroit on Friday. Emil Heineman and Jake Evans each scored and got an assist for Montreal. Habs goaltender Cam Talbot save 24 shots.

#5 Aleksander Barkov scored with 17 seconds remaining in overtime that gave the Florida Panthers a 2-1 win over the the St Louis Blues at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise on Friday. Barkov got a wrist shot from the right circle during a power play right after he was sent to the penalty box for tripping the Blues Brayden Schenn at 4:17.

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

Barracuda get shutout by Condors 2-0 in a 31 save effort by Romanov

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Bakersfield Condors player ahead of their game on Friday December 20th at Mechanics Bank Arena (Condors/X)

By Madison Montez

BAKERSFIELD- In the first matchup between Bakersfield and San Jose this season, the Barracuda fall to the Condors 2-0 after two scoreless periods.

At 14:29 of the first, the Barracuda went on their first powerplay opportunity of the game when Matthew Savoie took a 2 minute tripping penalty against Justin Bailey. San Jose’s powerplay is ranked 1st in the league at 24.0% and Bakersfield’s penalty kill is ranked 7th at 81.7%. The top powerplay couldn’t satisfy. After 20 minutes of play, the Barracuda were outshot 13-6 due to multiple turnovers in their zone.

San Jose got their second powerplay opportunity of the night when Drake Caggiula took a 2 minute holding penalty against Lucas Vanroboys. The Barracuda were unsuccessful and went 0 for 2 on the powerplay while the Condors were now 2 for 2 on the penalty kill. Being outshot 13-6 in the first, the Barracuda turned it around outshooting the Condors 17-11.

Bakersfield opened up the scoring at 2:11 of the third after a scramble in front of the net. Matvey Petrov netting his 7th goal of the season assisted by Jayden Grubbe and Cameron Wright. After Thompson attempted to pass the puck to Guschin, the Condors turned it over which led to an Alex Kannok Leipert goal, unassisted at 16:00 of the third.

THREE STARS OF THE GAME:

  • 1. Olivier Rodrigue
  • 2. Matvey Petrov
  • 3. Alex Kannok Leipert

The Barracuda will be back in action tomorrow hosting this Bakersfield Condors back at Tech CU Arena in San Jose. They will be looking to split the series.

Madison Montez covered the San Jose Barracuda and Bakersfield Condors at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield on Fri Dec 20, 2024 in AHL action

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Reaves leads Lakers with 25 points defeat Kings 113-100

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LeBron James forward (23) for the Los Angeles Lakers set NBA record with 34 minutes against the Sacramento Kings that broke Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s 57,446 minutes. LeBron setting the new record at 57,471 minutes for most time in a career at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Thu Dec 19, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson:

#1 Point guard Austin Reaves led the Los Angeles Lakers (15-12) with 25 points to help defeat the Sacramento Kings (13-15) at Golden 1 in Sacramento.

#2 Anthony Davis who scored 40 points in the previous game against the Memphis Grizzlies followed up Reaves with 21 points of his own he’s been a big contributor for the Lakers in these last two games.

#3 The Kings took a 62-58 half time lead over the Lakers getting some offense from De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, and Malik Monk it was looking good up to that point.

#4 The Kings didn’t fare much better in the second half as the Lakers edged the Kings in the third quarter 24-22 and 27-20 in the fourth quarter winning it 113-100.

#5 Lakers and Kings have a go at it again this Saturday night at Golden 1. Thursday’s game was a 13 point difference. The Kings have the home floor and got a look at the Lakers in the first game can Kings turn things around?

Join Jeremiah for the Kings podcasts each Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings drop first game of two game set to Lakers 113-100

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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) and Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) battle under the hoop while LeBron attempts to score in first half action at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Thu Dec 19, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Kings were coming off a loss to the Denver Nuggets at home, 130-129. The Kings lost to the Lakers on Thursday, 113-100.

In the first quarter, the Kings were outplayed by the Lakers. The Kings couldn’t get anything to fall on offense as the Lakers began to build an early lead. The Kings shot 44% from the field in the first quarter as they scored 28 points.

On the other hand, the Lakers shot 46.4% from the field and scored 37 points. The Lakers seemed to be bringing more physicality to the game, which was lacking on the Kings’ side. Reaves was leading all scorers after one quarter with eight points.

In the second quarter, the Kings played much better. However, it wasn’t enough to stop the Lakers from retaining the lead. The Kings outscored the Lakers 30-25 in the second quarter as the Lakers held onto a 62-58 lead going into halftime.

The Kings did a much better job in the second quarter matching the Lakers’ physicality. The Kings were within striking distance heading into halftime as they looked to restart a winning streak at home. The leading scorers for the Kings at halftime were Domas, Malik, and De’Aaron, who all had 12 points. Austin Reaves was leading the Lakers with 12 points in the half.

In the third quarter, the Kings’ offense went dormant again. The Kings only scored 22 points in the third quarter as the Lakers were able to extend the lead over the Kings going into the fourth quarter. The Lakers scored 24 points in the third to lead the game 86-80, as Austin Reaves was leading the Lakers with 17 points. Domas Sabonis had 18 points through three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, the Lakers sealed the deal over the Kings. The Kings couldn’t get the offense going late and lost to the Lakers, 113-100.

The Kings lacked effort in the defeat as the Lakers turned the Kings over 17 times for 24 points. The Kings were outscored in the fourth quarter, 27-20. Austin Reaves led the Lakers in victory with 25 points. De’Aaron Fox led the Kings in defeat with 26 points.

The Kings are now 13-15 on the season, and the Lakers improved to 15-12.

Up Next: The Kings will stay home to take on the LA Lakers again on Saturday at 3 PM PST.

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Michael Roberson: Cardinal host surging Ducks Saturday at Maples Pavilion Saturday

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Stanford Cardinal Anthony Batson Jr picked up one assist against the Merrimack Warriors on Tue Dec 17, 2024 at Maple Pavilion in Palo Alto (photo by fieldlevelmedia.com)

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Michael Roberson:

#1 The Stanford Cardinal (9-2)  Oziyah Sellers went on an offensive rampage scoring 19 points and was 8 for 11 shooting from the floor at Maple Pavilion on Tuesday night leading the Cardinal to a 74-68 win over the Merrimack Warriors (5-7).

#2 The Warriors almost came back on the Cardinal whittling their 19 point lead down to just six points before time ran out and Merrimack dropped their record to 5-7.

#3 Stanford’s always reliable Maxime Raynaud came through leading with 16 points and 16 rebounds.

#4 Jaylen Blakes contributed with 16 points to help improve the Cardinal record to 9-2. Blakes was 5-7 from the floor and was perfect in 3 point shooting going 4-4. Blakes had a pretty good night adding seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.

#5 The Cardinal take on the Oregon Ducks (10-1) on Sat Dec 21st at SAP San Jose for a 5:00pm PST tip. The Ducks are fourth in the Big 10 Conference. The can be a tough customer and the Cardinal have been some great ball of late as well. How do you see this one on Saturday night.

Michael Roberson does the Cardinal podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks fall 4-2 in Blackwood’s return to San Jose

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Valeri Nichushkin (13) celebrating after giving Colorado the lead early in the first period at SAP Center on Thursday December 19th (via Avalanche/X)

By Madison Montez

SAN JOSE- In Mackenzie Blackwood’s first start at home since being traded on the ninth, he recorded a 4-2 win, his second win in a Colorado uniform. “Feels great, I enjoyed my time here, made a lot of great friends that I’ll always be thankful for. ” said Blackwood when asked about the crowd and environment in today’s game.

Colorado jumped out to an early lead after Carl Grundstrom took a high sticking penalty at 3:07. Valeri Nichushkin netted his 9th goal of the season, Makar and MacKinnon registering the assists. Colorado’s powerplay is ranked 10th in the league with a 23.0%.

After a quiet start to the second period, Carl Grundstrom tied the game netting his first career NHL goal at 4:26. Jan Rutta registering his fourth assist and Luke Kunin registering his fifth assist of the season. At 9:29, William Eklund gave the Sharks their first lead of the game netting his sixth goal of the season. Cody Ceci registering his eighth assist and Luke Kunin registering his sixth assist of the season, second of the night. This is also Kunin’s second multi-point night of the season, the first was on December 10th against Carolina.

At 8:26 of the third, Barclay Goodrow took a hooking penalty giving Colorado their fifth powerplay opportunity of the night. The Avalanche scored their second powerplay goal of the night with Mikko Rantanen netting his 19th goal of the season to tie the game at 2-2. Assists went to Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.

After being tied for majority of the third, Colorado took a 3-2 lead on a Joel Kirviranta, his sixth of the seaon. Logan O’Connor registering the lone assist. Joel Kirviranta went on hat-trick watch at 15:28 of the third scoring his second of the night assisted by Artturi Lehkonen and Casey Mittelstadt to give the Avalanche the 4-2 lead.

THREE STARS OF THE GAME:

  • 1. Joel Kiviranta
  • 2. Luke Kunin
  • 3. William Eklund

The Sharks will be back in action on Saturday traveling to Edmonton to take on the Oilers for the first time this season.