Pens Blanked By Islanders

March 1, 2021 3:58 am

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) – Islanders rookie Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves for his second shutout, and Oliver Wahlstrom and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each scored power-play goals as New York finished a strong February with a 2-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Islanders went 8-2-2 during February with all four losses coming against the Penguins. The teams faced each other six times in the month. The Islanders remained the only team in the league without a regulation loss at home with a 7-0-2 mark at Nassau Coliseum. It was the first time the Penguins were shut out in 20 games this season.

Pitt Falls To N.C. State

March 1, 2021 3:59 am

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – DJ Funderburk dunked after a Cam Hayes steal to slow down a Pitt rally and swing some late momentum back to N.C. State in a 65-62 Wolfpack victory. Funderburk finished with 13 points in the balanced N.C. State offense. Jericole Hellems notched his second double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, Braxton Beverly added 14 points and Manny Bates added 10 points and six blocked shots. Justin Champagnie scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half for Pitt and pulled down 12 rebounds for his twelfth double-double. Femi Odukale scored 18 with five assists and Terrell Brown scored 11 with 11 rebounds.

Pens Beat Isles In OT On The Road

February 28, 2021 7:41 am

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — — Kris Letang got his second goal of the game 4:34 into overtime, giving the Pittsburgh Penguins a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday night. Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh, which won for the sixth time in eight games. Jared McCann also scored and Tristan Jarry made 24 saves as the Penguins beat the Islanders for the fourth time in five meetings this season. Late in the extra period, Letang brought the puck up the ice and fired a shot that went off Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s stick, through the New York forward’s legs and into the top left corner. It was Letang’s fourth of the season, all coming against the Islanders. Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist, and Mathew Barzal and Josh Bailey also scored for the Islanders. Semyon Varlamov stopped 27 shots. New York fell to 6-0-2 at Nassau Coliseum, remaining the NHL’s only team without a regulation loss at home. The Islanders went 7-2-2 in February — with all the losses coming against the Penguins.

WVU Tops Kansas State

February 28, 2021 7:38 am

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Once recruited by Kansas State, Sean McNeil showcased why the Wildcats wanted him by coming up strong again for West Virginia. McNeil scored 16 points and No. 10 West Virginia used two big runs in the second half to beat Kansas State 65-43 on Saturday. McNeil is shooting 29 of 54 (54%) from the floor over his last five games, including 18 of 35 (51%) from 3-point range. McNeil has improved his scoring average from 5.5 last year to 11.7 this season. The Mountaineers (17-6, 10-4 Big 12) have won six of their last seven, including wins over No. 18 Texas Tech, No. 14 Texas and No. 17 Kansas.

Duquesne Takes Care Of Rhode Island

February 28, 2021 7:39 am

PITTSBURGH — Marcus Weathers scored 28 points plus 14 rebounds as Duquesne defeated Rhode Island 86-75 to end the regular season on Saturday night. Chad Baker added 21 points for the Dukes. Baker also had three blocks and three steals. Tavian Dunn-Martin had 14 points and six assists for Duquesne (8-8, 7-7 Atlantic 10 Conference). Michael Hughes added 10 points, four assists and three blocks. The Dukes posted a season-high 10 blocks. Fatts Russell scored a season-high 27 points for the Rams (10-14, 7-10). Malik Martin added 10 points and six rebounds. Duquesne defeated Rhode Island 71-69 on Jan. 20.

Wrestling Hits Halfway Point

February 27, 2021 4:40 am

The 2021 PIAA Wrestling Series hits the halfway point Saturday with the PIAA Southwest AA Regionals and the WPIAL AAA Championships. We’ll have live coverage of both tournaments Saturday.

Burgettstown leads the way for Washington County teams at the AA Regionals at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The Blue Devils have five qualifiers. Beth-Center is sending four, Bentworth and McGuffey one each. The top five place-winners in each weight class return to IUP for next week’s AA Super Regional. Action begins Saturday morning at 8 am on WJPA-AM (1450) and online HERE.

Waynesburg won 12 individual section titles last Saturday. Now, the Raiders lead the way at the AAA Championships at Canon-McMillan. The host Big Macs have five qualifiers, Trinity four. The top three placewinners in each weight class advance to next week’s AAA Super Regional at Altoona. Action begins Saturday at 10 am on WJPA-FM (95.3) and online HERE.

Restrictions to Ease In Time For Tournaments

February 27, 2021 4:43 am

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Indianapolis will relax coronavirus restrictions on the city’s bars and restaurants starting next week ahead of the upcoming Big Ten and NCAA men’s basketball tournaments. The changes announced Thursday will allow bars to operate at 50% capacity instead of 25% starting Monday, while restaurants will see their indoor restaurant capacity increase from 50% to 75%. Mayor Joe Hogsett says bars, restaurants and music venues will also be able to close two hours later, at 2 a.m. He says the relaxed restrictions were prompted by drops in the city’s COVID-19 cases and its coronavirus positivity rate, and not due to the upcoming Big Ten and NCAA men’s basketball tournaments.

Wilson Scores On Power Play, Caps Beat Penguins

February 26, 2021 3:51 am

WASHINGTON (AP) – Tom Wilson scored the go-ahead goal to lift the Washington Capitals to a 5-2 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s just their second victory in six games this season between the longtime rivals. Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie also scored for Washington. Vitek Vanecek allowed two goals three minutes apart and finished with 26 saves. The Penguins power play went 0 for 4 with four shots on goal.

Lundqvist Still Mulling Return

February 26, 2021 3:54 am

UNDATED (AP) – NHL goaltender Henrik Lundqvist says he’s still months away from making a decision about his hockey future.  The 38-year-old Lundqvist returned to the ice this week, less than two months since undergoing open-heart surgery. He posted videos to social media of himself in goaltending gear taking shots in net.  However, he said it will be months before he can make any decisions regarding his future after more tests and conversations with doctors.  Lundqvist played his entire NHL career with the New York Rangers before signing with Washington last fall.

Fort Cherry Boys to Sweet 16

February 25, 2021 2:57 am

Games don’t start until Saturday, but two teams have already advanced in the brackets following a pair of withdrawals Thursday.  Fort Cherry and Burrell now move on to the Sweet 16 following decisions by Propel Braddock Hills and Ambridge to withdraw from the open tournament. The #11 Rangers (2A Boys) will visit #6 Frazier Wednesday. The #16 Bucs (4A Girls) travel to #1 Beaver Area Tuesday night.  Click for Girls Brackets, Boys Brackets. Here’s the revised schedule for Washington/Greene County teams.

Preliminaries
Saturday, Feb. 27,
12 noon
Girls 3A #18 South Allegheny at #15 Washington
Girls 2A #19 Frazier at #14 Chartiers-Houston
Boys 6A #17 Canon-McMillan at #16 Greensburg Salem
Boys 5A #20 Kiski Area at #13 Trinity WJPA-AM Listen Here
Boys 5A #19 Ringgold at #14 Shaler
Boys 2A #20 Jeff-Morgan vs. #13 Winchester-Thurston at Peters Township
Boys 2A #21 Riverview at #12 Burgettstown
Boys 2A #15 Carmichaels at #18 Serra Catholic
2:00 pm
Boys 2A #17 California at #16 Chartiers-Houston
Boys 2A #11 Fort Cherry by forfeit over #22 Propel Braddock Hills

Monday, Mar. 1, 6:00 pm
Boys 3A #18 Mohawk at #15 McGuffey WJPA-AM Listen Here
Boys 3A #19 Beth-Center vs. #14 Apollo-Ridge at Charleroi WJPA-FM Listen Here
Boys 3A #13 New Brighton at #20 Waynesburg
8:00 pm
Girls 5A #25 Ringgold at #8 Fox Chapel
Boys 3A #23 Steel Valley at #10 Charleroi WJPA-AM Listen Here

First Round
Tuesday, Mar. 2, 6:00 pm

Girls 2A #9 Fort Cherry at #8 California
Girls 2A #12 Greensburg Central Catholic at #5 Burgettstown
Boys 6A #11 Peters Township at #6 Pine-Richland
Boys 1A #9 Avella at #8 St. Joseph’s
Boys 1A #15 West Greene at #2 Rochester
Boys 1A #11 Mapletown at #6 Leechburg
8:00 pm
Girls 6A #10 Pine-Richland at #7 Peters Township

Wednesday, Mar. 3, 6:00 pm
Girls 3A #10 Charleroi at #7 Keystone Oaks
Girls 3A #13 McGuffey at #4 Laurel
Girls 3A #15 Washington at #2 Mohawk
Girls 3A #11 East Allegheny at #6 Waynesburg
Boys 2A #11 Fort Cherry at #6 Frazier
Boys 2A #12 Burgettstown at #5 Jeannette
Boys 2A #17 California at #1 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
Boys 5A #13 Trinity at #4 Highlands WJPA-AM Listen Here

Thursday, Mar. 4, 6:00 pm
Girls 5A Mars/Gateway winner at #1 Trinity WJPA-FM Listen Here
Girls 1A #9 St. Joseph’s at #8 Avella
Girls 1A #13 Jeff-Morgan at #4 Aquinas Academy
Girls 1A #12 Mapletown at #5 Clairton
Boys 3A Laurel/East Allegheny winner at #5 Washington WJPA-AM Listen Here
Girls 1A #2 West Greene bye to quarterfinals, Monday, Mar. 8