The People’s Bank and Trust Hometown Sports Series is scheduled to get underway on Thursday afternoon.  The Westwood Rocket soccer team will host North Franklin in a non-conference match scheduled for 4:15 PM at the Manchester Soccer Park.   The People’s Bank and Trust Hometown Sports Series will feature at least 15 games of the baseball and softball teams from the Coffee County Middle School and Westwood Middle School plus soccer games from the middle school and high school soccer teams. 

The People’s Bank and Trust Hometown Sports Series is just another example of Thunder Radio’s dedication to serving Manchester.  We take great joy in the responsibility of being Manchester’s only locally owned and operated media outlet. 

Korbinian Holzer was doing some shopping – at the Anaheim Ducks Team Store, of all places – on Monday afternoon when his phone rang.

“Obviously, I walked out right away,” Holzer laughed

Just a few moments later, the apparel the defenseman was about to purchase became that of the opposition. Instead, Holzer hung up the phone and headed home, packed up his suitcases and headed to Los Angeles International Airport to catch a flight bound for Nashville, Tennessee.

The 32-year-old Holzer wasn’t expecting to field the call he received as the NHL Trade Deadline approached, but as any professional hockey player knows, anything can happen in this business.

The Predators acquired the German blueliner from the Ducks on Monday afternoon in exchange for defenseman Matt Irwin and a sixth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, the only deal Preds General Manager David Poile elected to make leading up to the Trade Deadline.

About an hour after midnight central on Tuesday morning, Holzer touched down in Music City, a place he had been many times before as a member of a fierce rival. Just hours later, however, he emerged from the home locker room at Bridgestone Arena, sporting a Predators logo on his practice jersey, the start of a fresh journey with a new club.

“I’m very excited,” Holzer said moments after introducing himself as “Korbi” to all waiting to hear from him for the first time. “For me, it’s an opportunity to play some meaningful games with a great organization [that’s had] a lot of success over the last few years. I’ve seen firsthand what this team can do playing in Anaheim. [There were] some good series with this team and this organization, and I think the skill level of this team is super high. It’s just [about] getting to work and making a final push here for the playoffs. You never know what happens after that.”

Nashville is Holzer’s third stop in the NHL after he began his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 2010-11 season. It was off to Orange County in 2015, and after four-plus seasons with the Ducks, the Predators brought him on board.

Holzer has skated in a career-high 46 games this season with a goal and four points to go along with 35 penalty minutes. The 6-foot-3 defenseman was drafted by the Maple Leafs in the fourth round (111th overall) of the 2006 NHL Draft and also has 297 games of AHL experience with Toronto and San Diego

A native of Munich, Holzer has represented his country internationally on many occasions, including the 2010 Olympic Games, the 2007 World Junior Championship and five trips to the World Championship.

He’s also familiar with a pair of Preds after facing them on the opposite blue line as he was rising through the international ranks.

“I know the two Swiss guys, Yannick Weber and Roman Josi from [facing them on their] national team,” Holzer said. “Germans and Switzerland, [we went] at it pretty good when we were growing up.”

Holzer is about to get to know the rest of his teammates quite well, as he joins the Predators for the push to the postseason. He didn’t play on Tuesday against Ottawa, his first opportunity to do so with his new club, and although he may not appear in every game the rest of the way, he’ll be ready if called upon.

Preds defenseman Korbinian Holzer skates at Bridgestone Arena for the first time since being acquired by Nashville at Monday’s NHL Trade Deadline.
Preds defenseman Korbinian Holzer skates at Bridgestone Arena for the first time since being acquired by Nashville at Monday’s NHL Trade Deadline. Nashville Predators

“I’m a solid defenseman,” Holzer said. “I play defense first, [but I] try to get up in the rush when there’s an opportunity. But I’m a big guy, I play physical, I try to keep everybody honest out there, try to protect the goalie and I’m willing to block a lot of shots. [I want to] be good on the [penalty kill] and just play my role, try to do whatever it takes to help the team win.”

Holzer believes his new team has plenty of potential to win down the stretch, and as those in the game know well, no club makes it anywhere without their depth being tested. That’s where Holzer will likely come in at some point, and he couldn’t be happier to have the chance to contribute here in Nashville.

No doubt he’ll be making a run to the Predators Team Store sometime soon.

“We’re in a great spot [in the standings],” Holzer said. “[We just need to take it] game by game, and I think this is a great opportunity for this organization and this team to make up a lot of ground the rest of the season. Then, if you get in – and I know it sounds cliché – but if you get in, anything’s possible.”

The Coffee County CHS basketball teams found out on Monday & Tuesday who their 1^st round opponents will be for the opening round of the Region 4AAA basketball tournament.   The Lady Raiders found out on Monday night that they will face Blackman on Friday night in an opening round game.  The Red Raiders found out on Tuesday night that they will travel to Blackman on Saturday night for their opening round game. 

The Lady Raiders, who finished in 1^st place in the District 8AAA regular season and in 1^st place District 8AAA tournament, will host the Lady Blaze at 7 PM at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym.  The Lady Blaze finished the regular season as District 7AAA’s #1 seeded team as they finished with a 14 and 0 record in the district.  The Lady Blaze lost to Oakland and Stewarts Creek in the District 7AAA tournament to be the 4^th seeded team in the Region Tournament.  When contacted by Thunder Radio on Tuesday, Coach Joe Pat Cope had this to say about the home court advantage the Lady Raiders gain by playing at “The Patch”.

On Wednesday, we will talk to Red Raider head coach Micah Williams. 

The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone, and the Predators have begun the unofficial stretch run with two more points.

Ryan Ellis and Viktor Arvidsson scored power-play goals, as Nashville defeated the Ottawa Senators, 3-2, on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result gives the Preds their second-straight victory and points in six of their last seven outings.

Plus – at least for the evening – Nashville has climbed back into a playoff spot for the first time since November. Not bad for a Tuesday night.

“[Our effort was] good,” Ellis said. “[Ottawa is a] young team over there, and they’re working really hard. We talked about our compete level, and I thought it was pretty good tonight. We need to keep doing that.”

“Even if it wasn’t necessarily the best start for us – I think Ottawa came out hard and wound up getting a lead – but we were able to respond,” Preds Head Coach John Hynes said. “We’re really figuring out – as games continue to go on – that there’s certain things, we have to do better, and the guys are responsive to it. It seems as though when things go well, we stay with it. But also the responses when things don’t go well have been, I’d say, more consistent and more focused on what needs to get done the right way.”

The Senators tallied first on Tuesday night when Thomas Chabot beat Juuse Saros less than five minutes into the contest, but exactly 20 seconds later, Colin Blackwell tied the game when he deposited a rebound in the crease.

“When you play with a lot of emotion, you kind of just black out when things like that happen,” Blackwell said of goal and subsequent celebration. “It was a big goal after they had just scored type of thing. I thought maybe a couple weeks ago the building got flat, maybe the bench got flat, but it’s just how we respond.”

Ottawa regained the lead late in the opening frame, but in the second stanza, Nashville’s power play went to work. First, it was Ellis, who snapped a shot past Craig Anderson on the man advantage for his first goal since returning from a 20-game hiatus. Then, Arvidsson tapped home a loose puck for the home team’s second power-play goal of the period for a 3-2 advantage after 40 minutes.

That was all the offense the Preds needed, because Saros continued to stand tall, stopping 33 shots in total by the time it was all over.

“It was a strong second… and I think that showed a lot of character,” Arvidsson said. “In the third too, we kept them off the scoresheet. I think Juuse played great in net. We managed to pull it out, and we played a solid 60 minutes.”

As Monday’s Trade Deadline came and went with the Preds remaining relatively quiet, General Manager David Poile expressed confidence in his group and the upward trajectory they appear to be attaining.

Tuesday’s win was another example of Nashville raising their level of play once more, and although it wasn’t perfect, the points are paramount.

“We are taking good strides in the right direction,” Ellis said. “Overall, I think our record is getting better and better and we seem to be somewhat clicking at the right time. It’s not going to be every shift, but it’s about the overall process of the game and the night in, night out. But things are looking up in this dressing room right now and guys are starting to work harder. Like we say, ’embrace the grind.’ I think we are on the right path.”

Notes:

Prior to Tuesday’s game, the Preds recalled goaltender Connor Ingram on an emergency basis from Milwaukee. Ingram served as the backup to Juuse Saros. Pekka Rinne did not dress due to illness.

Newcomer Korbinian Holzer was among the scratches for the Predators against the Senators. Yannick Weber and Austin Watson were also out of the lineup.

Colin Blackwell is now on a three-game point streak for the first time in his NHL career.

On home ice, the Preds are on a six-game winning streak against the Senators, a run that dates back to Oct. 9, 2014.

Nashville has scored at least three goals in 10 consecutive games versus the Senators.

Nashville’s five-game homestand continues on Thursday night at 7 p.m. CT when the Calgary Flames come to town. Colorado will visit Bridgestone Arena on Saturday, and Edmonton stops by on Monday.

Nashville Soccer Club announced Tuesday the club signed four of its 2020 Major League Soccer SuperDraft selections in Nashville native Tanner Dieterich, midfielder Luke Haakenson, midfielder Alistair Johnston and goalkeeper Elliot Panicco. No. 2 overall pick Jack Maher is included on the roster as part of the Generation adidas program.

On Jan. 9, Nashville SC selected Jack Maher with the club’s first draft selection in franchise history. The club then picked midfielder Alistair Johnston with the No. 11 overall selection after a trade with Colorado Rapids that sent $75,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) to the Rapids.

The club then selected goalkeeper Elliot Panicco with the No. 13 overall pick after a trade with New England Revolution in exchange for $50,000 in GAM and an additional $50,000 in GAM, if Panicco meets certain performance-based metrics during the 2020 season. Nashville SC finished the day by selecting local product Tanner Dieterich with the 28th overall pick in the draft.

Nashville SC concluded its first MLS SuperDraft in club history by selecting midfielder Luke Haakenson from Creighton University in the Fourth Round.

Tickets to Nashville SC’s inaugural MLS match against Atlanta United FC, presented by Renasant Bank, are available through Season Ticket Memberships starting at just $425 ($25 per game) and through single game and group tickets. Be sure to secure your place in history with the best seats for Feb. 29 and throughout the inaugural season by visiting NashvilleSC.com/Tickets or calling 615-750-8800.

The Coffee County Youth Bass Club traveled to Jasper on Saturday to compete in a joint region/state trail tournament on Nickajack Lake.  The high school squad had 3 boats finish in the top 30 in a field of 163 boats.  The Raider anglers also captured 7^th place in the junior division.

The boat of Tristen Boyd and Reagan Hershman were the top finisher for Coffee County on the day as they came in 7^th place.  The duo caught 3 fish weighing a total of 11.61 pounds which included a 5.49 pound bass which was the 3^rd largest fish caught on the day.  The team of Jase Rice and Jacob Garms finished in 23^rd place with a 2 fish total of 6.73 pounds.  Kaden Freeze and Briley Sain came in 29^th place with a 3 fish stringer totaling 5.88 pounds.  Garrett Davis and Isaiah Owens landed a pair of fish weighing 4.72 pounds to finish in 39^th place and Branson and Dawson Wells came in 43^rd place with a pair of fish weighing 4.36 pounds.  Other Coffee County anglers were Sawyer Banks and Avery Brown who came in 50^th place; Colby Thurmond and Paul Zuzich who finished in 62^nd place plus a trio of boats were shut out on the day has they tied for 87^th place: Curtis Tudor/Ethan Bell, Jayden Yates/Adam Petty and Brent Boehman/Logan Floyd. 

The Junior division team of Kylan Mantooth and Jonathan Lewis finished in 7^th place.  The duo snagged 1 keeper weighing in at 2.39 pounds.  Mantooth and Lewis competed against 25 boats on the day.  The finish keeps the Mantooth/Lewis team in 2^nd place in the region standings.

After 6 region events, the Coffee County team of Garms and Rice are in 2^nd place in the high school region standings.  Freeze and Sain are currently in 12^th place.  The brother team of Dawson and Branson Wells are in 21^st place.  Reagan and Boyd moved up to 36^th place followed closely by Thurmond and Zuzich who are in 37^th place and Davis and Owens who are in 38^th place.   The teams of Yates/Petty are currently in 40^th place while Floyd/Boehman are in 47^th place in the region. 

In the high school state trail standings, Coffee County has 4 boats in the top 200.  Tristan Boyd/Reagan Hawkersmith sit in 75^th place.  Jacob Gamrs/Jase Rice are in 176^th.  Kaden Freeze/Briley Sain currently sit in 182^nd and Garrett Davis/Isaiah Owns are in 194^th place. 

The Coffee County Youth Bass Club returns to action on Saturday, March 28^th when members have the opportunity to compete at the state trail meet on Percy Priest Lake.  The event will begin at first light from the Fate Sanders Marina in Mt. Juliet. 

The Coffee County CHS baseball team will be hosting their annual Spring Baseball Clinic on Saturday, March 14th.  Players will utilize the facilities at Powers Field and the Crethan Hansert Hitting Facility on the campus of Coffee County Central High School.  Campers will work with Red Raiders head coach David Martin and his staff along with members of the CHS varsity baseball team.  Each camper will receive age appropriate, hands-on instruction in all aspects of the game.

The clinic is open to boys and girls ages 5 to 17 who wish to learn more about hitting, defense, base running and pitching.  Campers should bring with them a bat, glove, tennis shoes, cleats, hat and batting helmet to the camp which will run from 9 AM to Noon.   Concessions will also be made available at Powers Field on the day of the clinic.

Cost for the clinic is $20 per player if paid in advance.  Cost of the clinic, if not paid before March 7th, will be $25.  A sibling discount of half price will apply for any additional campers.  If you have questions or wish to pre-register, contact Jamie Spry at: jamie.o.spry@adjent.com or call him at 931-273-2265.