Utah Wins it 4-3 over Sharks in Final Minutes

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The Sharks were welcome back home after a series of games on the road but did not finish on a good note

Fabian Zetterlund cellies the Third Goal of the Night for the Sharks at SAP Center in San Jose on Sat Dec 14, 2024 (San Jose Sharks photo)

After winning in St. Louis with a phenomenal performance by Maklin Celebrini, Utah visited the Shark Tank for the first time under the team’s name. A game that was marked by refereeing controversy throughout the hockey game, something that severely harmed the Sharks.

The first period started with Utah scoring the first goal of the night with Dylan Guenther assisted by Cooley and Service, and the Sharks would not stay that way, Alexander Wennberg tied the game with a wrist shot assisted by Goodrow and Ceci. The first period was pretty even, with both teams trying to hurt each other, but the first intermission came with a score of 1-1.

During the second period, things remained uneventful until the Sharks made it 2-1 with a goal by Mikael Grandlund and a play orchestrated by Zetterlund and Eklund.

Utah took advantage of the penalty against the Sharks, and in a PowerPlay goal, Utah tied it with a goal by Nick Schmaltz. Once again, Logan Cooley added another point.

In the third period, Fabian Zetterlund momentarily put hopes of reaching 60 minutes of Hockey with a victory. Sharks face and score, but with the usual shortcomings, maintaining the lead in close games as Clayton Keller scored a power-play goal with 43.8 seconds left.

Michael Carcone tied the game midway through the third period, and then Utah won during a 4-on-3 game shortly after Cody Ceci was penalized for using the high stick.

Utah is coming off a hot streak, winning its last few games and in decisive instances.
Meanwhile, San Jose is losing another game always in minutes before the end of the game.

The Sharks will face a tough test this Tuesday at home against the Winnipeg Jets, the current best team in the league.

Gulls take down Baracuda with 5-2 win

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San Diego Gulls forward Pavol Regenda (#12) attempts a shot on the net while San Jose Barracuda defenseman Ethan Frisch (#79) defends against the shot at Pechanga Arena at San Diego on Saturday DEC 14, 2024. (San Diego Gulls)

by Marko Ukalovic

The San Diego Gulls dominated from start to finish as they cruised to a 5-2 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday evening at Pechanga Arena at San Diego.

San Jose had it three-game winning streak snapped and overall, seven-game point streak. San Diego has won four out of its last five games.

San Diego (8-12-1-2) drew first blood with its fifth shot of the game late in the first period. Jan Mysak threaded a back pass between two Barracuda defenders over to Yegor Sidorov along the right slot. Sidorov beat Cuda goalie Yaroslav Askarov top shelf to the short side for his eighth goal of the season at the 14:06 mark.

Sidorov has been hot recently with five goals in his past four games for San Diego.

San Jose (15-7-0-1) had two quality chances to open up the scoring in the opening frame. First Thomas Bordeleau missed on an open net after receiving a pass from Colin Graff. Then Ethan Cardwell was stoned on a breakaway attempt by Gulls goalie Calle Clang at the 12:29 mark.

The Gulls doubled their lead near the halfway mark of the second period with an even strength goal. Sidorov maneuvered inside the Cuda zone before a backhanded pass to the point over to Tristan Luneau. The rookie defenseman roofed a wrist shot over Askarov for his first career AHL goal at the 7:54 mark.

San Diego scored their third unanswered goal of the game while short-handed. Mysak knocked Filip Bystedt off of the puck and led a two-on-one odd man rush up the ice. Mysak elected to shoot the puck and beat Askarov with a wrist shot top shelf to the far corner for his third goal of the season at the 11:39 mark.

It was only the second short-handed goal given up by the Barracuda this season.

The Gulls made it 4-0 when just under three minutes later when the Cuda couldn’t clear the puck out of their own zone. Sam Colangelo’s shot from the point was tipped through the five-hole of Askarov by Nathan Gaucher for his first goal of the season at the 14:36 mark.

San Jose finally stopped the bleeding with 34 seconds left in the middle frame. Lucas Carlsson received a pass back up to the point from Donovan Houle. Carlsson found Lucas Vanroboys in the left slot and the fourth line winger blasted a wrist shot top shelf to the short side past Clang for his sixth goal of the season in just 23 games.

Vanroboys never scored more than five goal while playing five years at the collegiate level.

Cuda head coach John McCarthy juggled up his lines in the third period to spark the anemic offense. With Askarov pulled for an extra attacker, San Jose cut San Diego’s lead in half.

A shot from the point caromed out in front of the crease. Cardwell’s shot was initially saved by Clang but Bordeleau cleaned up the rebound for his second goal of the season at the 17:17 mark.

Colangelo concluded the game’s scoring with an empty net goal with six seconds left in the final frame, his 10th of the season.

Clang (6-8-1) finished the game stopping 28 of the 30 shots he faced to earn his sixth win of the season. Askarov (9-4-1-3) made 28 saves on 32 shots in the losing effort.

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

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Sidorov 2) Luneau 3) Clang.

UP NEXT: San Jose continues its five-game road trip against the Ontario Reign on Sunday 12/15 at 5:00pm at Toyota Arena.

San Jose Sharks podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Sharks coming off win in St Louis, Utah have won 3 of last 5, both battle tonight in San Jose

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San Jose Sharks Mikael Granlund (64) goes after a loose puck while the St Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binginton (50) protects the net at the Enterprise Center in St Louis on Sat Dec 14, 2024 (AP News photo)

San Jose Sharks podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson:

#1 Macklin Celebrini scored two goals and got an assist on Thursday night against the St Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center in St Louis there is little doubt in the Sharks wins this season that Celebrini has been the key to a large number of the Sharks victories.

#2 Tyler Toffoli and Jake Walman both scored for San Jose. So the Sharks also have been getting help from a different set of players on offense each night.

#3 The Sharks were on a three game losing streak before playing the Blues on Thursday. They did have some tough customers on this last road trip losing to Tampa Bay, Florida, and Carolina before snapping the skid against St Louis.

#4 The Sharks got great goaltending on Thursday from Alexandar Georgiev who stopped 17 Blues shots for the win.

#5 It’s back to San Jose tonight and the Utah Hockey Club. Utah is rolling they have won six of their last ten games and defeated the Colorado Avalanche in their last game on Thursday 4-1. Sharks are coming off a win against St Louis and have home ice how do you see this match up tonight at SAP Center?

Jeremiah Salmonson is a sports analyst at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stojakovic leads way with 31 points, and Bears snap Demons with 84-66 win

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Cal Bears guard Jovan Blacksher Jr drives on a Northwestern State Demons defender at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Sat Dec 14, 2024 (Cal Bears MBB X photo)

Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024

Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California

Northwestern State Demons 66 (4-6)

California Golden Bears 84 (7-4)

By Stephen Ruderman

BERKELEY–Andrej Stojakovic dominated with 31 points, as the Bears snapped their three-game losing streak with an 84-66 win over the Northwestern State Demons.

The Bears came into today’s game after losing their last three. They were not blowouts, and the Bears were competitive in all three games, but three-straight losses following a 6-1 start had to wear on them.

Fortunately for the Bears, they would draw the Northwestern State Demons, and yes, there is a Northwestern, and a Northwestern State The Demons are from the lesser-known Southland Conference, and they are based out of Natchitoches, Louisiana.

Despite an easier matchup, the Bears could not get complacent, but it seemed like they did in the early going. A three by Landyn Jumawan and a layup by Willie Williams staked the Demons out to an early 5-0 lead. The Demons wouldn’t pull away with it, but they remained ahead for much of the first half.

The Demons led 22-16 with 9:05 left in the first half, but that was when the Bears—and really, Andrej Stojakovic—finally came charging. Cal came back to tie it at 26-26 with 5:39 to go. Joshua Ola-Joseph then put the Bears ahead with a three with exactly five minutes remaining.

The Bears would stay ahead for the remainder of the first half, but not by much, as they went into the half up 36-33. Stojakovic carried the way for the Bears, as he scored 16 points in the first half.

Cal then finally pulled away in the second half, as they opened up their lead to 19 points at 61-42 with 10:37 to go. Stojakovic continued to help lead the way, but he also got some help from Jeremiah Wilkinson, who came in off the bench.

The Demons did not give up, as they chipped away at Cal’s lead with a 15-6 run to close it to a 10-point game at 67-57 with 7:57 left. However, the Bears kept their lead at double digits the rest of the way, and won fairly comfortably by a final of 84-66.

Despite his high point totals, Stojakovic has often struggled with field goals in the early going this season, but that was not the case today. Stojakovic was 10-for-14 in field goals, including 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, and 7-for-8 from the line.

Wilkinson has another strong performance with 18 points, 16 of them in the second half. Ola-Joseph scored 13 points, and Jovan Blacksher Jr. scored 12.

The Bears improve to 8-4, and following a week off, they will travel down to San Diego to take on the San Diego State Aztecs for a game next Saturday night. Tipoff will be at 7:30 p.m.

FYI, it will be almost four weeks until the Bears are home again. Cal’s next home game will be on Jan. 8 against the Virginia Cavaliers. Tipoff for that game will be at 8 p.m.

Cal Bears podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Cal hoping to end 3 game skid against Northwestern State today in Berkeley

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Cal Bears forward Spencer Mahoney (7) shows some encouragement for his teammates from the Cal bench during their last home game against the Cornell Big Red at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Tue Dec 10, 2024 (Cal Bears photo)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Stephen Ruderman:

#1 The Cal Bears (6-4) take on the Northwestern State Demons (4-8) for a 12 noon tip here at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley. Cal is hoping to snap their three game losing streak after playing but losing some competitive games.

#2 They last played Cornell and although they took the lead on Cornell twice in Tuesday’s game they battled them pretty hard but lost by eight points 88-80.

#3 The Bears got scoring help against Cornell with five players who finished in double figures.

#4 Stephen you got to like the performance the Bears are getting from forward Joshua Ola Joseph he lead Cal in scoring on Tuesday with 21 points and eight rebounds.

#5 The Bears take on Northwestern State have won three of their last five games. In their last game they defeated Houston Christian 64-57 in Houston last Saturday. Stephen what’s your feel on these two teams today?

Stephen Ruderman is a Cal Bears podcast contributor at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Scrappy Utah comes in to face Sharks tonight; SJ coming off win in St Louis

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San Jose Sharks Jake Walman (96) is congratulated by teammates Cody Ceci (4) and Nico Sturm (7) after scoring a third period goal against the St Louis Blues on Thu Dec 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 Macklin Celebrini scored two goals and got an assist on Thursday night against the St Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center in St Louis there is little doubt in the Sharks wins this season that Celebrini has been the key to a large number of the Sharks victories.

#2 Tyler Toffoli and Jake Walman both scored for San Jose. So the Sharks also have been getting help from a different set of players on offense each night.

#3 The Sharks were on a three game losing streak before playing the Blues on Thursday. They did have some tough customers on this last road trip losing to Tampa Bay, Florida, and Carolina before snapping the skid against St Louis.

#4 The Sharks got great goaltending on Thursday from Alexandar Georgiev who stopped 17 Blues shots for the win.

#5 It’s back to San Jose tonight and the Utah Hockey Club. Utah is rolling they have won six of their last ten games and defeated the Colorado Avalanche in their last game on Thursday 4-1. Sharks are coming off a win against St Louis and have home ice how do you see this match up tonight at SAP Center?

Join Mary Lisa for all the latest in Sharks hockey podcasts every Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Women Beating Stanford “Means A Lot” And Comes With A 20-Point Margin

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Telling the whole damn world, this is Bear Territory, isn’t easy. In fact, it’s hard work, and you better mean it when you say it.

Coach Charmin Smith said it Friday night, and it meant something.

After 12 consecutive losses to Stanford and 31 losses in the last 35 meetings spanning more than a decade, something needed to be said, and more importantly, something needed to be done. Again, Smith demanded, and her Bears delivered an 83-63 win, the first for Smith over the school she attended.

“I’d be lying if I tried to downplay it… I don’t care. I’m happy we beat Stanford, and I’m going to act like it,” Smith declared.

Smith, who has been an assistant coach and now head coach at Cal over a period spanning 18 years, hasn’t enjoyed any success competing against Stanford. She was 0-11 against legendary Tara VanDerveer with a number of those defeats by lopsided margins. Friday, coaching against former teammate Kate Paye, Smith, and her team broke through, winning by 20 for the first time since February 1982.

This time, it wasn’t close, and it wasn’t competitive after halftime.

The Bears survived a cold-shooting first half by both teams with a 33-24 lead. But they caught fire in the third, burying eight 3-pointers to expand their lead to 23. The school record for made threes came crashing down in the fourth quarter as Cal finished with 18.

Lulu Twidale and Ioanna Krimili both scored 20 points, and Marta Suarez was one better with 21. Suarez capped off the third quarter with a buzzer-beating three that extended Cal’s lead to 63-40.

“The rim got real big for them,” Paye said.

“I think they flat-out wanted it more. We were out-coached, I thought we were outplayed. You saw a Cal team that was highly motivated, and they played extremely hard. They rebounded the ball well. They were very aggressive on defense.”

Nunu Agara, Stanford’s leading scorer, missed eight of her 12 shots from the floor and finished with 13. Brooke Demetre led Stanford with 18. The Cardinal were 14 of 43 shooing through the first three quarters.

The first-ever ACC conference game for both teams portended a new reality between the two rivals, now in the absence of VanDerveer, who coached Stanford since 1986. The Bears have improved immensely while Stanford is starting over. Both teams came in just outside the national Top 25 among the highest vote getters. Now Cal, riding an impressive 10-1 start to the season, should enter the polls on Monday if they can continue winning against Austin Peay on Sunday.

G League action: Kings pick up six point win over Rip City 127-116 at Adventist Health Arena

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Stockton Kings guard Dennis Dexter (9) shakes hands with forward Skal Labissiere (8) as they took on Rip City Remix at Adventist Health Arena in Stockton on Fri Dec 13, 2024 (Stockton Kings X photo)

By William Espy

STOCKTON–The Stockton Kings (8-3) hosted the struggling Rip City Remix (3-9) on Friday night. Stockton outlasted Rip City with a 127-119 win at Adventist Health Arena in Stockton.

Stockton got out to a great start, going on a 10-0 run to start the game. After a timeout, Rip City started getting some momentum back on their side with three quick threes, to make it 10-9. James Bouknight had a highlight reel play to give the Remix their first lead of the night. He stole the ball and pulled out a windmill dunk on the breakaway.

Rip City was 7-for-7 from beyond the arc in the first half of the quarter, while Stockton was 5-for-5. Neither team missed a three in the opening minutes, Drew Timme broke the streak with about 5:30 remaining in the first.

At the end of the first, the Kings led 36-33. Bouknight had 11 points at that point, the most of either team. Dexter Dennis led the Kings with 9. Meanwhile the league’s top scorer, Bryce McGowens had 7.

The second quarter was less offensive than the first. Both teams were missing more shots, and were more responsible defensively. Turnovers were plaguing the Kings, as they were into the double digits less than halfway into the second quarter. By the end of the quarter though, Rip City would find themselves in a similar situation with nine turnovers of their own.

At the half, Henri Drell was the Remix’s top scorer with 16, and his efficiency beyond the arc was great as well. He was 4-6 from three. Stockton’s offense was running through Dennis, who had 16 points and four assists. On the scoreboard, it was 61-55 in favor of the home team.

The Kings would continue to extend their lead in the third quarter and after 36 minutes it was 92-83 for Stockton. Starting the final frame, Rip City came right out of the gate with a full-court press trying to force even more turnovers. The Kings had cleaned that aspect of their game up though, only turning over the ball once in the third quarter.

The Remix weren’t going to make the final quarter an easy one for Stockton. They kept it within single digits, and occasionally brought it within a single possession. Stockton obviously wasn’t going to relent either though, they kept fighting and maintained the lead through hard work both offensively and defensively.

They were forcing turnovers and hitting shots, but still couldn’t pull away. Once it got into the final couple of minutes though, Stockton got their lead to double digits for the first time in quite a while. As the clock continued to run down, Rip City was slowly cutting into that lead once again.

It would end up being too little too late though, as they’d have to start fouling allowing the Kings to extend their lead. The Kings walked away with a 127-119 win, extending their winning streak at home to five games.

Dennis scored 31, while Terry Taylor and Isaiah Crawford had 26 and 23 respectively. Brian Bowen had a double-double with 13 points and 14 assists in the win. Meanwhile Drell has 32 and McGowens scored 28 in Rip City’s losing effort.

Rip City and the Stockton Kings match up once more on Sun Dec 15th for a 2:00pm PST tip at Adventist Health Arena.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings just get past Pelicans 111-109 in the Big Easy

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Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) passed the ball past the New Orleans Pelicans center Yves Missi, left, and guard CJ McCullum (3) in second half action at Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans (AP News photo)

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The New Orleans Pelicans couldn’t keep the Sacramento Kings Domantas Sabonis down he led the Kings with 32 points and had 20 rebounds in the Kings win 111-109 against the Pelicans at Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans.

#2 DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points and the Kings De’Aaron Fox and Keegan Murray each scored 18 points that help contribute to the offense.

#3 Jeremiah the win give the Kings three in a row and they have now won five of their last six games and have improved over the last two weeks.

#4 The Pelicans CJ McCullom scored six 3 pointers and tallied 36 points. One the remarkable shots that McCullom took was a shot that hit off the glass while he was falling for three points as he got fouled by Fox with 1:20 remaining in the game.

#5 The Kings will return to Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Monday night against the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets are seventh in the Western Conference and have been playing .500 ball winning five of their last ten games. Tip off is 7:00pm PST on Mon Dec 16, 2024.

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

Rams Beat San Francisco Almost Extinguishing Playoff Hopes 12-6; Rams 4 field goals do in SF

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Los Angeles Rams linebacker Christian Rozeboom front right puts the tackle on San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel center in first half action at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara on Thu Dec 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The San Francisco 49ers (6-8) lost a critical game to their rival the Los Angeles Rams (8-6) 12-6 as rain soaked Levi’s Stadium. The inclement weather didn’t help the sloppy play that this game revealed. Over 71,-000 fans were present despite the weather hoping the team would keep their playoff hopes alive.

What they got was a stinker of a game. Quarterback Brock Purdy finished the game with 142 passing yards, three sacks, one interception and no touchdowns. San Francisco did hold a 6-3 lead going into the fourth quarter but came up short when the Rams scored three field goals in the final quarter.

Game recap: The first quarter of this game was wet and sloppy, in fact it would rain throughout the entire first half. After the first 15 minutes of play San Francisco came away with a single field goal and a 3-0 lead. Jake Moody connected for a 53 yard field goal. There were seven punts in the opening quarter.

The second quarter was equally sloppy for both teams. Los Angeles did tie up the game with a 48 yard field goal courtesy of kicker Joshua Karty 3-3. That would be the only points scored in the first half. Both quarterbacks struggled in the first half although both teams were able to get within field goal range. It was a bizarre first half, an offensive struggle with some solid defense.

The 49ers would kick their second field goal of the game to take a 6-3 lead in the third quarter. Jake Moody kicked a 47 yard field goal taking the 6-3 lead into the fourth quarter. Going into the half, the rain came to an end which could possibly make for some much improved football.

The Rams saved the best for last kicking three field goals in the final quarter of play. San Francisco could not keep them out of field goal range. Los Angeles’ kicker Joshua Karty kicked a 23 yarder at 13:38, a second kick for 27 yards at 9:28 and a third field goal with 18 second left in the game for 29 yards taking a 12-6 lead which would be the final. The Rams while unable to score any touchdowns but were able to drive deep into San Francisco territory three times to take the lead and win this game.

It was only four days ago that San Francisco won the highest scoring game of this year’s season. Thursday night they couldn’t get anything going. Of course the weather had a lot to do with the outcome but the Rams also had the same challenge.

Los Angeles did a better job on the ground with 142 yards rushing to San Francisco’s 63 yards. It was a tough night for S.F. quarterback Brock Purdy who finished with 142 yards passing yards, three sacks, one interception and no touchdowns.

San Francisco had driven into field goal range when Purdy was intercepted. This game turned into a punt-athon with neither team scoring a touchdown the entire game. This was the first time since 2019 that San Francisco had failed to score a touchdown.

The Rams were able to get a little more offense than San Francisco did. It was not either teams finest hour although the Rams had more fight than the 49ers did considering the importance that this game carried for both teams.

Los Angeles deserves a lot of credit for being able to find a way to win Thursday night. They are now a 1/2 game behind the division leading Seattle Seahawks after starting off the season 1-4.

Game notes: The 49ers took on the Rams in a prime time Thursday Night Football showdown. This was a crucial game for San Francisco if they were to have any chance for a wild card spot in the playoffs. It was a huge game for the Rams as well who are now two games ahead of San Francisco improve their record to 8-6 record.

San Francisco remains short-handed in the running back position but had the services of Isaac Guerendo. The weather could not have been worse for this all-important game with a drizzle to steady rain. This was just another obstacle for San Francisco to contend with.

San Francisco will not take the field until December 22 in a game with the Miami Dolphins. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:25 PM. With three games left in the season San Francisco’s hopes for a wild card berth are dwindling.