The Westwood Middle School basketball teams welcomed Fayetteville to the Joel Vinson Gym on Monday night for 8^th Grade Night.  In a pair of games you heard here on Thunder Radio, the Lady Rockets closed out the game on a 15 to 0 run to win 31 to 20.  The Rockets  fell behind by double digits in the 1^st quarter as they lost 36 to 21.  The 8th grade basketball players and managers, along with the 8th grade cheerleaders were honor with introductions and flowers.

The Lady Rockets struggled with the Fayetteville pressure early on falling behind 12 to 4 in the first half before tying the game at 12 at the half.  In the second half, the visiting Lady Tigers built a 20 to 16 lead with 3:21 to go before Westwood turned up the defensive pressure to close out the game scoring the last 15 points.  Anna Johnson tied the game with 2:17 left on a basket at the rim.  Johnson finished with 11 points leading the Lady Rockets as she was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.  Leonora Moreno finished with 7 points, all of them coming in the final 3 minutes.  Bryleigh Gray added 5 points.

The Rockets were ice cold to begin the game falling behind 14 to 3 after 1 quarter.  In the 2^nd quarter, Cayden Trail came off the bench and drained a pair of 3 point baskets to spark a Rocket rally that cut the deficit to 5.  But the Tigers regained the momentum and held Westwood to 10 points the rest of the way in the win.  Jayden Carter led Westwood in scoring with 7 points.  Trail finished with 6 as he was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.  Konor Heaton finished with 4 points.

Westwood is back in action on Thursday when they travel to Huntland for the final regular season game of the year.  Tipoff is set for 6 PM.  The conference tournament pairings will be announced on Friday, Thunder Radio will keep you updated on the game times for both Rocket teams.

Download the broadcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/

Lyra Leftwich of Coffee County CHS wrestling

The Coffee County CHS wrestlers were in action on Saturday to compete in a pair of tournaments at Mt. Juliet.  The Red Raider wrestlers competed as a team in the Mt. Juliet Duals finishing in 3^rd place.  Additionally, a quartet of Lady Raider wrestlers was in action in the Bear Brawl Individual Tournament.

It was a 4 and 1 day for the Lady Raiders as each of the 4 Coffee County ladies captured a win.  Andrea Hickman and Lyra Leftwich each recorded a pinfall over their opponents from Antioch.   Anna Takeo captured a 6 to 2 decision win over her Antioch opponent.  Mary Anne Walker wrestled a pair of matches against Kaitlyn Lee of Mt. Juliet.  Walker and Lee split those matches with each winning by a pinfall.

Jesse Smith(top) of Coffee County CHS wrestling

The Red Raider team rolled to a 3 and 1 record as they were eliminated in the semifinals by the host Bears of Mt. Juliet.  Coffee County got team wins over Antioch(58 to 24), Siegel(48 to 34) and Lebanon(39 to 33) to advance to the semifinals.  Against Mt. Juliet, the Raiders came up short in a 43 to 27 loss to capture 3^rd place.

Against Antioch, Coffee County got pinfall wins from Gavin Prater(at 152 pounds), Reynaldo Reyes(182), Nicholas Martinez(195), Christopher Speagle(220) and Jesse Smith(145).  Jonathan Cable(138) captured a major decision win while Dakota Chalker(160), Cardin Stump(285), Brett Francis(120) and Hunter Massey(126) all got forfeit wins.

Against Lebanon, Jesse Smith(145) and Brett Francis(120) got pinfall wins.  Jonathan Cable earned a 10 to 5 decision win and 138 pounds and Zachary Galy(182), Gabriel Westbrook(106), Gavin Prater(152) and Dakota Chalker(160) all won by forfeit.

Against Siegel, Dakota Chalker(160), Cardin Stump(285), Jonathan Cable(138) and Jesse Smith(145) all got pinfall wins.  Hunter Massey(126), Brett Francis(120), Chris Speagle(220) and Gabriel Westbrook(106) all got via a forfeit.

In the semifinal with Mt. Juliet, the Raiders won pinfall decisions from Brett Francis(120), Jesse Smith(145)and Gavin Prater(152).  Christopher Speagle(220) won by a 9 to 5 decision and Cardin Stump(285) got a forfeit win.

The Coffee County grapplers will be back in action on Thursday night when they travel to Smyrna to take on Stewarts Creek and Blackman in a tri-match.  The first match will take place at 6 PM at Stewarts Creek High School.

Olivia Vinson of CCMS basketball

The Coffee County Middle School basketball teams headed to Cowan on Monday night for a conference doubleheader with South.  The Lady Raiders got off to a red hot start as they won 48 to 23.  The Red Raiders outscored South in the final half, but still fell 53 to 28

In the girls’ game, Coffee County roared out to a 17 to 8 lead in the first quarter and led 27 to 10 at the half as they rolled to the win.  Olivia Vinson led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 13 points.  Maggie Crouch added 7 points while Alivia Reel, Chloe Gannon and Nikki Graham each chipped in 6 points apiece.

Ethan Hargrove of CCMS basketball

In the boys’ contest, the Red Raiders managed just 2 field goals and 6 points in the first half as they fell behind 37 to 6 at intermission.  In the second half, Coffee Middle outscored the Gators 19 to 16 but could not seriously carve up their first half deficit.  Ethan Hargrove led the Raiders in scoring with 9 points.  Dayne Crosslin and Jackson Shemwell each added 6 points.

The boys and girls will return to action on Monday at home when they play host to White County.   Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast as part of the 1^st National Bank Hometown Sports Series.  Tipoff is set for 6 PM, Lucky Knott begin live coverage beginning with the pregame show at 5:50.

Ryan Ellis

No case of the Mondays here.

Ryan Ellis and Kevin Fiala scored as the Nashville Predators defeated the Buffalo Sabres, 2-1, Bridgestone Arena. It’s the final result of Nashville’s season-long, five-game homestand, giving them six out of a possible 10 points over the stretch and consecutive victories to finish things out.

In a meeting between two of the League’s top teams – with all the ingredients for a high-scoring affair – the Preds instead turned to their defensive prowess, holding the Sabres to just one goal on 22 shots, while converting two past former Nashville netminder Carter Hutton.

“We just had to get back to our game,” Ellis said. “I think they took it to us, and they were playing quicker and a little bit faster and winning some battles; it was more about what we did and obviously with some new players [in our lineup] they’re going to make some good plays. We picked it up near the end and walked away with the points.”

The Preds finished the opening 20 minutes up 1-0, courtesy of an Ellis blast on the power play for his second of the season.

After Sam Reinhart evened the score early in the middle frame, Fiala put the Predators back up by one when his shot from the left circle eluded Hutton. The strike was Fiala’s second in as many games and his third in his last four outings.

From there, Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne – appearing in his 10th consecutive game – continued to hold the Sabres off the scoresheet for the remainder of regulation, allowing one goal or less for the seventh occasion on the campaign.

“It was a great win for us,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “Especially the defense, we played really well. It was a huge win. They are a good team, and they’ve been playing really well this year. It was great for us to get a team win like that.”

Monday’s victory, coupled with Saturday’s triumph over Chicago, gives the Preds a much better feeling after starting the homestand 1-2-0. Nashville has continued to find ways to win more often than not, especially with a number of key players out of the lineup,

“The guys that are out, we obviously miss them with the two good hockey teams that have just come in here,” Ellis said. “We have been responding with our depth and a lot of guys are really stepping up and they have played well tonight and in the previous game as well. We are going to need more of that with the bodies that we are missing.”

Right in the Wheelhouse:

Just as he always is, Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis has been the first one on the ice prior to practices and morning skates all season long.

However, the right-handed blueliner has been putting a noticeable emphasis on practicing his shot – particularly one-timers from the top of the left circle – over the past few weeks. It seemed as though it would be a matter of time before the work paid off.

At 16:25 of the first period on Monday, Ellis unleashed a bomb into the twine.

Just his second goal of the season – and first with a goaltender in the net – gave Ellis a reason to celebrate, one-timing a Roman Josi feed that helped the Preds to their 19th win of the season.

“I haven’t been in that position much this year and it’s my favorite one to be in,” Ellis said. “Hopefully, I can get a couple more goals there. Overall, it was great work by the guys coming in; a couple of good heads-up plays, and we are just going to shoot the puck and see what happens.”

“It was just a matter of time,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said of Ellis. “We know he can shoot the puck. He’s a big part of our offense. It was nice to see him get one like that. I thought the power play did a really good job of just getting the puck moved around and getting it to where we want it. It’s nice to see him get rewarded with that.”

One of the pillars in the Nashville locker room, everyone knows how much Ellis means to the club on the defensive side of the puck. But there is also an offensive side to the associate captain, and if Monday’s results can provide a spark in that department, there’s no limit to what No. 4 can do.

“He’s like another goalie,” Rinne said of Ellis. “I don’t know how many saves he has over the years, but [it was] a huge goal – a bomb… It was a bomb and [he’s] a well-deserving guy to put the puck in the net. This team, we need to see him scoring and so it was nice to see that happening. He’s such a big part of this team and big part of our power play.”

“He has been playing so well,” Josi said of Ellis. “He is shooting so many pucks and getting a lot of great looks. That’s how it goes, sometimes you don’t get rewarded for it, but he has been playing great. He kept going and he kept shooting and after that, they’re going to come for him.”

Notes:

Prior to Monday’s game, the Predators reassigned forward Anthony Richard to Milwaukee (AHL) after the rookie forward made his NHL debut on Saturday night.

Nashville centerman Nick Bonino returned to the lineup on Monday after missing Saturday’s game due to illness.

The Predators have now earned at least a point in nine of their last 11 meetings with the Sabres (8-2-1).

With the homestand complete, the Predators will now head north of the border to Western Canada for dates in Vancouver on Thursday and Calgary on Saturday before returning home next week.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report