October 9, 2019 3:47 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Ville Heinola scored his first NHL goal to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night. The Jets got their first win in Pittsburgh since returning to the NHL as an expansion team in 2011. The Penguins previously won 18 consecutive home games against the Jets-Atlanta Thrashers franchise dating to March 24, 2007. Pittsburgh’s last loss against Winnipeg at home came on Dec. 27, 2006. Tucker Poolman scored his second NHL goal and Neal Pionk his second of the season as three defensemen scored for an inexperienced Jets blueline, which combined for 350 career NHL games. Nikolaj Ehlers scored his first of the season, while Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele both had three assists for the Jets, who closed a season-opening, four-game road trip. Connor Hellebuyck made 36 saves in his second start of the season. Sidney Crosby scored his first of the season and Matt Murray stopped 17 shots for Pittsburgh, which routed Columbus 7-2 on Saturday. Jets defenseman Dmitry Kulikov was granted a personal leave of absence, while Josh Morrissey missed his second straight game after sustaining an upper body injury during warmups before Sunday’s loss at the New York Islanders. The Jets played Tuesday without six defensemen from last season’s team, which lost to eventual Stanley Cup champion St. Louis in the first round of the playoffs. The list includes Kulikov and Morrissey, while Dustin Byfuglien remains away from the team on a personal leave. Winnipeg traded Jacob Trouba to the New York Rangers, while Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot left in free agency. Pittsburgh had injury troubles of its own as Evgeni Malkin and Nick Bjugstad were recently placed on injured reserve after leaving Saturday’s win against Columbus with lower body injuries. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said both will be out long term. Patric Hornqvist also left Tuesday’s game with an undisclosed injury. Crosby opened the scoring 32 seconds into the game. He was alone at the top of the crease when he redirected Jake Guentzel’s pass past Hellebuyck. Heinola, the 20th overall pick in this year’s draft, scored his first NHL goal at 5:48 of the period. Heinola’s shot from the top of the left circle snuck underneath Murray’s glove to tie the game. Ehlers gave Winnipeg a 2-1 lead less than five minutes later. He pounced on a turnover at Pittsburgh’s blue line and ripped a short-side wrist shot past a standing Murray. Poolman put Winnipeg ahead 3-1 just 54 seconds into the second period with a blocker-side wrist shot from the slot. Pionk made it 4-1 midway through the second when he poked a loose puck underneath Murray during a net-mouth scramble.
October 6, 2019 6:16 am
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – Sean Clifford threw for 264 yards with three touchdowns and ran for another score as No. 12 Penn State routed Purdue 35-7 on Saturday. The Nittany Lions (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) were dominant on defense, with 10 sacks, one shy of the school single-game record. The Boilermakers were held to 104 yards. Playing without starting quarterback Elijah Sindelar and star receiver Rondale Moore, the Boilermakers didn’t cross midfield until their sixth possession midway through the second. Penn State jumped out fast, scoring on its first four drives, none lasting longer than 3:41. KJ Hamler beat single coverage for a 23-yard touchdown catch to open the scoring and Clifford added a 3-yard touchdown run to cap Penn State’s second possession. The Nittany Lions turned a three-and-out by Purdue into an easy score immediately after when Jahan Dotson caught a pass over the middle and raced 72 yards, getting a good block from Hamler on the way to the end zone. Penn State finished another quick drive with a 7-yard pass from Clifford to tight end Pat Freiermuth early in the second quarter. Noah Cain finished with 105 yards on 12 carries and added a 2-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth. Yetur Gross-Matos and Shaka Toney combined for five sacks for Penn State. Clifford completed 20 of his 29 passes. Purdue finally broke Penn State’s seven-quarter shutout streak dating to Week 3 when Plummer connected with Amad Anderson Jr. on a 15-yard touchdown pass. Anderson’s catch made it 28-7 in the second quarter. Plummer finished with 119 yards on 13-for-27 passing. He was sacked on two of Purdue’s final three plays of the first half before slowly pulling himself up and wobbling into the locker room. He was replaced later with Aidan O’Connell.
October 6, 2019 6:13 am
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – Sam Ehlinger threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more scores while No. 11 Texas converted three turnovers into TDs in a 42-31 victory over West Virginia on Saturday. Ehlinger and Texas (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) beat the Mountaineers (3-2, 1-1) on the road for the second straight time. The Longhorns had plenty of motivation for this one. Ehlinger and several Texas players were upset last year after several Mountaineers flashed “horns down” signs during West Virginia’s 42-41 win in Austin, Texas. Ehlinger noted in a tweet that was later deleted: “Do not think it will be forgotten.” Ehlinger finished 18 of 33 for 211 yards. He threw just his second interception of the season that West Virginia turned into a third-quarter field goal. The Texas defense showed no signs of slowing down despite injuries that have decimated the secondary. The Longhorns intercepted Austin Kendall four times, twice by cornerback D’Shawn Jamison. Texas needed those turnovers to break open a close game, too. B.J. Foster’s pick early in the fourth quarter led to Devin Duvernay’s 13-yard scoring run. Kendall was intercepted on the next drive by Jamison at the West Virginia 18, and Ehlinger threw a lateral to offensive lineman Samuel Cosmi, who rumbled 12 yards into the end zone for a 35-17 lead. Kendall threw three TD passes, including pair of fourth-quarter scores, and had a 1-yard scoring run. He finished 31 of 46 for a career-high 367 yards.
October 6, 2019 6:12 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Jared McCann scored twice as the Pittsburgh Penguins had five goals in the second period to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-2 on Saturday night. Pittsburgh scored five goals on 14 second-period shots. The last time Pittsburgh scored five goals in a period came on Jan. 16, 2017 against Washington. The Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin left in the second period and did not return with an undisclosed injury. He ran into D Kris Letang near center ice and awkwardly fell into the boards. Malkin, the 2012 NHL MVP, scored a power-play goal in the season-opening loss Thursday against Buffalo. McCann tied a career high with three points. The other time came as a member of the Florida Panthers when he had a goal and two assists on March 20, 2018. McCann scored two goals once with Pittsburgh on March 23 last season against Dallas. Patric Hornqvist scored twice and Letang had a power-play goal, while Teddy Blueger and Marcus Pettersson also scored for Pittsburgh. Alex Galchenyuk, acquired from Arizona in a trade for Phil Kessel, recorded two assists for his first two points with Pittsburgh. Sidney Crosby also had two assists. Matt Murray made 28 saves and is now two wins from 100 in his NHL career. Pittsburgh opened the scoring at 1:45 of the second when Hornqvist tipped Jack Johnson’s point shot past Merzlikins. The Penguins took a 2-0 lead 2:29 later when Pettersson’s shot from the top of the left circle caromed off Merzlikins’ glove and behind the line. But the Penguins regained their two-goal cushion, 3-1, two minutes later when McCann sent a blocker-side wrist shot behind Merzlikins during a two-on-one. McCann scored his second of the game 14 seconds after a fighting major to Crosby. McCann took a backhand pass from Galchenyuk at the blueline and sent another blocker-side wrist shot past Merzlikins. Letang scored Pittsburgh’s fifth goal of the second period with 1.2 seconds to play. He beat Merzlikins with a slap shot from the right faceoff dot.
October 5, 2019 3:57 am
CINCINNATI (AP) – Unranked Cincinnati has avenged a pair of back-to-back losses to Central Florida. Ahmad Gardner returned an interception 16 yards for a go-ahead touchdown as the Bearcats got past the 18th-ranked Knights, 27-24. UCF’s Tre Nixon turned a short pass into a 45-yard touchdown that cut it to 27-24 with 3:11 to go, but the Bearcats ran out the clock by converting a fourth-and-1 at midfield in the closing seconds. Desmond Ridder’s threw for a pair of TDs as Cincinnati won its conference opener and moved to 4-1 overall. UCF freshman quarterback Dillon Gabriel also threw interceptions at the Cincinnati 2 and 6 as the Knights ended a 19-game winning streak in American Athletic Conference play. Gabirel came in leading the AAC in passing efficiency.
October 5, 2019 3:56 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) – Las Vegas resident Kevin Na had a pair of eagles on the back nine before completing a 9-under 62 that gives him a share of the second-round lead in the PGA’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Na eagled the par-5 13th and 16th holes and added birdies on the par-3 17th and par-4 18th to match Lucas Glover, Patrick Cantlay and Brian Stuard at 12-under 130. Na won the 2011 tournament for the first of his three tour titles. Glover shot 63, also making an eagle on the 15th. Cantlay eagled the par-4 15th in a 64, and Stuard shot 65. Matt Jones was a stroke back after a 63.
October 5, 2019 3:54 am
ST. LOUIS (AP) – The St. Louis Blues have locked up one of their top centers by signing Brayden Schenn to an eight-year contract extension worth $52 million. The 28-year-old Schenn was acquired in a trade with Philadelphia in 2017 and put up a career-high 28 goals and 70 points the following season, earning an All-Star nod in the process. Schenn helped the Blues win their first Stanley Cup last spring, scoring 54 points in the regular season and 12 more in the playoff run.
October 4, 2019 3:40 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens will have new faces at the forefront of one of the AFC’s most heated rivalries when they meet at Heinz Field. Lamar Jackson will start at quarterback for the Ravens, with Mason Rudolph getting the nod for the Steelers. It’s the first time the two teams have met without Joe Flacco or Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback since 2007. The Steelers have won four of the past five meetings.
October 4, 2019 3:16 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Pirates have fired pitching coach Ray Searage and bench coach Tom Prince. The moves came four days after the team fired manager Clint Hurdle. The Pirates slumped to a 69-93 finish in 2019 due in part to injuries that ravaged the starting rotation. Pittsburgh posted a team ERA of 5.18, second-worst in the National League behind Colorado.
October 3, 2019 12:46 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – Mickey Callaway has been fired by the New York Mets after missing the playoffs in both his seasons as manager. The move Thursday, which was widely expected, comes four days after New York wrapped up an 86-76 season that marked a nine-win improvement over his 2018 debut. But a strong second half wasn’t enough to save the embattled Callaway, who had one year remaining on his contract. New York went 46-26 following the All-Star break and made an unlikely charge into the National League wild-card race, only to be eliminated during the final week. The Mets become the seventh team seeking a new manager this offseason, joining the Angels, Cubs, Giants, Padres, Pirates and Royals.
