Category: Sports

Viktor Arvidsson scored on the power play and Matt Duchene dished out two more assists, but it wasn’t enough, as the Nashville Predators fell to the Detroit Red Wings by a 5-3 final on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena.

It’s Nashville’s first loss on the young season, and it came against a Detroit team skating in their first game of the 2019-20 campaign.

The Preds and Red Wings traded chances throughout the night, but a slow start from the home team saw them having to play catch-up, and they were never able to find a go-ahead goal.

“We could have been better in the first, and I think we lost the game there,” Preds defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “It was their first game, so they had some excitement and some jump to it, and we couldn’t really match it in the first. That can’t happen in our barn on a Saturday night.”

“Not good enough,” Preds winger Filip Forsberg said of his club’s performance. “The first period was bad, obviously down 2-0, but the second period was really good. We came back. Like you said, it was back and forth. That’s not the hockey we want to play. It’s definitely not the hockey we talk about playing. We gave up too many chances and they score on two. There’s some positives, but overall not good.”

The Predators found themselves down by two after the game’s first 20 minutes, but they took care of the issue in the second period, and it started with their first power-play goal of the season.

Ryan Johansen found Duchene on the goal line, and Nashville’s newest centerman dished a brilliant backhand feed to Arvidsson who deposited a shot past Jimmy Howard to give the Preds life. It was a bright spot on the night, and a moment the Preds hope to replicate with regularity on the man advantage.

“It was a really nice play,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “It’s been really good having [Duchene] down there with some different thoughts coming in from ideas on what we’re looking for. Having [Duchene] down on that goal line and the left-hand shot is a perfect example of how it comes around, it goes down on that goal line and you have the stick there that you want. He’s got the ability to make plays like that, so it was a really nice goal.”

Later in the frame, Filip Forsberg walked in from the left circle and snapped a shot short side to even the score through 40 minutes. Duchene also collected a secondary assist on Forsberg’s tally for his second helper of the night.

Dylan Larkin gave Detroit their third goal of the night four minutes into the final frame, but less than a minute later, Ekholm took a Kyle Turris rebound and slid it home to tie the score again. That was as close as Nashville got, however, and midway through the period, Luke Glendenning put the Red Wings up for good when he beat Juuse Saros on an odd-man break at 9:24 of the third. Tyler Bertuzzi finished it off with an empty-netter, his second tally of the evening.

“You shouldn’t be trading chances against a team like Detroit,” Forsberg said. “They have a lot of offensive speed. In the second period, they didn’t really get anything get anything because we played the way we wanted to. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do that more.”

Nashville’s offensive lines continued to generate chances as they did in Thursday’s home opener, and all but three Predators skaters registered at least one shot on Saturday. However, the Preds gave up too much the other way, something that ultimately did them in in their second outing of the season.

“We fought back, the guys showed some courage with that, and we came back in the second and we played a lot better,” Ekholm said. “Going into the third we had a good feeling. I thought we played all right, but we can clean up a little bit defensively. We are getting the chances we want, but we can’t give up the point-blank chances that they’re getting. We could have played better tonight, but overall, I think they might have deserved this one.”

Notes:

Daniel Carr and Matt Irwin were scratched for the Preds on Saturday night.

Matt Duchene finished the night with two assists and has five in his first two games with the Preds.

Tonight’s attendance of 17,539 is the 155th consecutive sellout at Bridgestone Arena.

Nashville’s four-game homestand continues on Tuesday night when the San Jose Sharks come to town (at 7 p.m. CT). The Washington Capitals will visit Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.

Friday Prep Schedule

All Day – TBCS Volleyball at Madison(AL) Baptist Tournament
7:00 PM – CHS Football HOSTS Rockvale – Thunder Radio broadcast

The Coffee County CHS golf team closed out the season on Thursday in the region tournament at Bear Trace.  A trio of Raider golfers qualified for the regional tournament hoping to qualify for the state tournament at Willowbrook later this month.  At the end of the day, the course and the hot weather ended up being the victor over the Raider golfers breaking a string of 7 straight years that Coffee County has been represented at the TSSAA state golf tournament.

Chris Robinson was the lone male golfer from Coffee County in the region tournament as he fired a 97.  Maggie Crouch fired a 116 and Cadie Prater shot a 127 representing the Lady Raiders.  Oakland won the team region team title for boys and Tullahoma claimed the girls region claim.

The Westwood Cross Country team closed out their season in Unionville on Tuesday.  Running in the Community School Invitational, the Rockets were looking to cap off a phenomenal season.  With several runners unavailable due to Fall Break, the Westwood runners did not compete for team titles.  That did not stop the Rocket runners from capturing 2 medals as individuals.

Nico Sanfilippo was the top finisher in the boys’ division as he posted a time of 10:23.  Aiden Smith was the 5^th place finisher as he posted a time of 10:40.  Joining that pair of medalists were Jaime Barrera who came home in 16^th place and Hunter Crosslin finished in 44^th place.

The Lady Rockets had 3 runners, but no medalists.  Kimberly Garcia was the top finisher for Westwood as she came home in 21^st place.  Melisa Garcia finished right behind her as she came home in 22^nd place.  Jennifer Sanchez closed out the Rocket runners as she broke the tape in 28^th place.

The Temple Baptist Christian School hit the road on Thursday as they traveled to Shelbyville to take on the rival Lady Patriots of Victory Baptist Academy.  The JV team fell in straight sets 4-25 and 9-25.  The varsity team rallied from a 2 set deficit to win in 5 sets by set scores of 13-25, 21-25, 25-12, 25-21 and 15-9.

After dropping the first set, the Lady Eagles cut an early 7 point deficit to 2 in the 2^nd set before falling.  But that momentum propelled Temple in the final 3 sets.  The Lady Eagles finished with 11 service aces led by Lexie Stewart who had 5.

The Lady Eagles will travel to Madison, Alabama on Friday for a 2 day tournament at Madison Baptist Academy’s Tournament.  Temple will play pool play games on Friday and the tournament will conclude on Saturday with a tournament bracket.

The Coffee County Elementary Cross Country League held their 3rd race of the season on Thursday, September 26th at the Manchester Soccer Park. Representing 11 schools, 117 girl runners and 136 boy runners competed in the 1 mile race. In the girls’ division, Brindley Duncan of Robert E. Lee Elementary won the girls’ race with a time of 5:48.4 while the team from New Union claimed the girls’ team title. For the boys’, Westwood was the team champion while Gage Allen of E. Lee Elementary was the top finishing individual with a time of 5:45.0.

Final Girls’ Team Standings
1st – New Union
2nd – Robert E. Lee
3rd – College Street

Final Boys’ Team Standings
1st – Westwood
2nd – College Street
3rd – Farrar

Top 10 Individuals – Girls’
1 – Brindley Duncan(Robert E. Lee)
2 – Lizzy Shaprton(Farrar)
3 – Harper McShea(Robert E. Lee)
4 – Chloe Hensiek(New Union)
5 – Jaydee Nogodula(New Union)
6 – Allie Judge(New Union)
7 – Reagan Goff(College Street)
8 – Lily Duckworth(Robert E. Lee)
9 – Reece Finch(Westwood)
10 – Jenslee Nogodula(New Union)

Top 10 Individuals – Boys’
1 – Gage Allen(Robert E. Lee)
2 – Ricardo Solorio(Westwood)
3 – Alex Miller(Robert E. Lee)
4 – Aiden Walker(Westwood)
5 – Ty Deaton(College Street)
6 – Brady Christian(Westwood)
7 – Luke Lowe(Hillsboro)
8 – Ethan Reed(East Coffee)
9 – Brody McShea(Robert E. Lee)
10 – Easton Hinson(New Union)

What a way to start.

Nashville scored four in the third and Matt Duchene recorded three assists in his Predators debut to help his club to a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Opening Night at Bridgestone Arena.

The result gives the Preds six-consecutive wins over Minnesota, and better yet, a victory to begin the season.

“It was great,” Duchene said of the opener. “Even when we were down 2-1, I don’t think we ever thought we weren’t going to win the game. I thought from start to finish we were the better team. They had a good little push there in the second, a couple tough bounces off the ref’s skate, off my skate, but I thought we stuck with it. [Pekka Rinne] was outstanding, and we had everyone going.”

“Other than [a few minutes in the second period], I thought we played really well,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “Home opener, we want to start off on a good foot, and this was the perfect game. We were down, we had to battle back, and it’s a really big win for us.”

It looked as though the Predators had taken a 1-0 lead on a first-period power play, but Mikael Granlund was ruled to have batted the puck with a high stick before it struck Nick Bonino and entered the net, therefore negating the goal.

Nashville eventually scored the opening marker in the second stanza, however, as Filip Forsberg’s pass found Ryan Ellis and caromed into the net past Devan Dubnyk for a 1-0 lead. Preds forward Matt Duchene picked up the secondary assist on the play in his first game with his new club.

But before the period was out, Minnesota struck twice, first on the power play at the 16:04 mark, and then they got another less than a minute later to take a 2-1 lead into the second intermission.

It didn’t matter, however, because in the third, Nashville exploded for three goals in the first eight minutes of the period. It started with Granlund directing a point shot from Roman Josi past Dubnyk to even the score in the first minute of the frame.

Less than two minutes later, Austin Watson deflected in a pass from Ellis while on the seat of his pants, and Viktor Arvidsson smacked home a juicy rebound at the 7:32 mark to put the Preds up by two.

“[Head Coach Peter Laviolette] woke us up at the second intermission,” Rinne said. “He wasn’t happy with the second period, but we really stepped it up in the third, and the guys did a great job.”

Rinne made two of his best saves of the night when he stopped Jason Zucker twice to keep his team up by two, and then Filip Forsberg iced it with an empty-netter as Duchene collected his third helper.

Duchene certainly impressed in his first official contest with his team, and while his trio of apples undoubtedly helped his cause, he also made a positive difference just about every time he touched the ice.

“That’s pretty good,” Josi quipped of Duchene’s three assists. “He was great. He was making plays all over the ice. Doesn’t surprise me to be honest, he was unbelievable in preseason and you can tell how good he is. We’re really glad to have him here, and he’s an unbelievable player.”

“This is where he wanted to be, we wanted to have him, and it finally happened,” Laviolette said. “He’s stepped right in; I mean, this is, I think if you ask him, this is his home, like Nashville is his home. He wants to be here, he wants this to be a place where he thrives, and he’s bringing that to work right now and it really shows.”

And for Duchene, the introduction to his new home was everything he imagined it would be.

“I had high expectations, I came in kind of trying to stay even-keeled, but it’s blown my expectations out of the water,” Duchene said. “I haven’t even gotten to do a quarter of what I wanted to do around the city yet. But as a team, this is the exact team that I wanted to come and join. This decision to come here was hockey first all the way, and that was so much fun for me to go out and play with the team tonight.”

Yes, there are still 81 games to go, and the two points collected in the standings count just the same tonight as they will in March, but still, no one wants to drop their opener on home ice.

The Predators took care of business, and if tonight was any indication, this team is capable of rattling off a few more victories of this nature in the months to come.

“It’s huge,” Rinne said of the win. “There’s no denying that it’s always big, the first game of the season. Mentally, and just confidence-wise, it’s always a big game. You don’t want to go down 0-1 to start the season, and I thought that we handled it really well after being down 2-1 and finding our way back… We had a quick start in the third, and after that we took control.”

“The fans are – I mean, it’s just tough to compare any other fanbase in the League,” Duchene said. “It’s amazing. It was really fun to give them what they deserved tonight with a big W.”

Notes:

For the third consecutive season, the Predators hung another banner on Opening Night, this time to commemorate their second-straight Central Division title.

Craig Smith’s assist on Viktor Arvidsson’s goal was his 300th point in the NHL.

With three assists in his Preds debut, Matt Duchene was one point shy of the most by a player in their first game with the team, a mark set by Steve Sullivan on Feb. 18, 2004, against San Jose.

Nashville has now won 10 of its last 13 home openers.

Thursday’s attendance of 17,455 is the 154th consecutive sellout at Bridgestone Arena.

Nashville’s four-game homestand to open the season continues on Saturday night (at 7 p.m. CT) when the Detroit Red Wings come to town. The San Jose Sharks make their way to Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday, and the Washington Capitals follow on Thursday.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report

The Tennessee Titans (2-2) return home this week after playing three of the first four games of the season away from Nissan Stadium (capacity 69,134). Kickoff against the Buffalo Bills (3-1) is scheduled for noon CDT on Sunday, Oct. 6.

The Titans Radio Network, including Thunder Radio will carry the game across the Mid-South with the “Voice of the Titans” Mike Keith, analyst Dave McGinnis, sideline reporter Amie Wells and gameday hosts Rhett Bryan and Jonathan Hutton.

TITANS EARN ROAD WIN IN ATLANTA

The Titans ended a two-game skid with a 24-10 road win in Atlanta last week. Quarterback Marcus Mariota passed for 227 yards and three touchdowns, including a pair of scoring tosses to rookie wide receiver A.J. Brown.

Brown, a second-round draft pick, had 94 yards on three receptions. He combined with fellow receiver Corey Davis, who had five catches for 91 yards and a score, to give the Titans their first duo with 90 receiving yards each since Nov. 16, 2017 (Rishard Matthews and Delanie Walker at Pittsburgh).

Once the passing game helped to put the Titans well ahead in the first half, they leaned on running back Derrick Henry after halftime. Henry had 18 rushing attempts for 71 yards in the second half alone, ending the afternoon with a total of 27 carries for 100 yards. It was his fifth career 100-yard rushing game.

Meanwhile, the Titans defense tallied five sacks and limited the big plays from the Falcons offense. Outside linebackerHarold Landry III recorded a career-high two sacks, and defensive tackle Jurrell Casey notched the first play of his Pro Bowl career in which he had a strip-sack and fumble recovery.

The Titans defense currently ranks fourth in the NFL in points allowed per game (15.5), sixth in third-down defense (30.6 percent) and tied for fifth in sacks (13).

THE BILLS

The Bills began the season with three straight wins—road victories against the New York Jets and New York Giants and a home win versus the Cincinnati Bengals. Last week, they suffered their first defeat at the hands of the AFC East rival New England Patriots, falling 16-10.

Head coach Sean McDermott is in his third season with the Bills. In 2017, he led the club to its first playoff berth since 1999, and in 2018, the Bills had the NFL’s second-ranked defense despite a 6-10 record.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen was the seventh-overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and went on to start 11 games as a rookie. He has started all four games in 2019 and passed for 903 yards, three touchdowns and six interceptions. He also has three rushing touchdowns. However, he exited in the fourth quarter against New England to be evaluated for a head injury and was replaced by Matt Barkley.

Buffalo’s formidable defense is tied for fifth in the NFL and ranks just behind the Titans in points allowed, giving up 15.8 points per contest. The Bills are second in total defense, allowing opponents an average of 280.8 yards.

GAS GIFT CARD DRIVE FOR AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY

Fans attending the game are encouraged to participate in the Gas Gift Card Drive for the American Cancer Society Road to Recovery program. Gas cards of any amount and brand will be collected to help support Road to Recovery, which provides patients in need with free rides to treatment. The cards collected will be used in Middle Tennessee, specifically to help keep a shuttle system running between the ACS Hope Lodge and all local hospitals.

The Nashville Sounds have been selected as the Pacific Coast League’s nominee for Minor League Baseball’s coveted Larry MacPhail Award. The notable honor recognizes the club that demonstrates outstanding creative marketing and promotional efforts within its community, its ballpark, in media and other promotional materials. The winner will be announced at the Baseball Winter Meetings in San Diego, California from December 8-12.

When determining the winner, Minor League Baseball examines each nominee’s involvement in the community through charity events and civic organizations along with in-game promotions at the ballpark, giveaways, and sponsor events. The use of media and promotional materials along with non-game day events such as concerts and youth clinics are also considered.

A team from the PCL has not captured the award since Round Rock took home the honor in 2006.

The excitement surrounding the 2019 season at First Tennessee Park started long before the team took the field on April 4 for Opening Day. The organization revealed two major changes during the offseason – the Texas Rangers as the team’s new Major League affiliate and the Sounds Remastered rebranding and campaign event.

Following the 2018 season, the Sounds and Texas Rangers held a press conference at First Tennessee Park to announce a four-year player development contract. The Rangers ownership team of Ray C. Davis and Neil Leibman, accompanied by General Manager Jon Daniels, attended the press conference in late September.

Following weeks of teaser campaigns on social media, thousands of fans packed First Tennessee Park on November 15, 2018 to get the first look at the team’s complete overhaul of its uniforms, logos and marks. The Sounds Remastered event was a rousing success with Rangers ownership, Hall of Famer Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez and current Rangers players present at the highly anticipated reveal.

The two major changes were on the display for the first time on March 24, 2019. The Sounds and Rangers played the first Major League exhibition game in Nashville since 1999. The Sunday matinee game at First Tennessee Park drew a record-breaking crowd of 11,824.

The momentum from the exhibition game carried into the regular season at First Tennessee Park. 578,291 fans passed through the gates during the 2019 season. The Sounds saw 23 sellout crowds pack the park and finished with an average of 8,631 fans per game, the third-highest mark in Minor League Baseball.

The Nashville Sounds Foundation and community relations department were as active as ever in Middle Tennessee during the 2019 campaign. Once per month during the season, several Sounds players, along with Booster and front office members visited patients at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. On July 22, the Sounds hosted their fourth annual “Hope to Dream” event. The front office, along with several players, and representatives from Ashley HomeStore surprised 30 children from the Boys & Girls Club of Middle Tennessee with new bed sets.

Another rapidly growing program designed by the community relations department reached new heights in 2019. Throughout the season the community relations team visited five local elementary schools to play “Pop Up Baseball” games. Front office members, Sounds players and Booster “popped” up at schools with bases, balls and bats. City of Nashville Mayor David Briley joined the fun for one of the games. In addition to teaching Nashville’s youth about baseball fundamentals, all supplies were donated to the school to further their experience with the game.

The Sounds took their promotions and entertainment to a new level in 2019 and were nominated for two Golden Bobbleheads by Minor League Baseball. “An Evening in Bachville” was awarded August/September Promotion of the Month and is one of eight nominees in the high-profile Best Theme Night category. The Sounds welcomed former “Bachelor” and “Bachelorette” contestants for an exclusive pregame cocktail party and special Q&A session before hanging out with the former contestants at The Band Box prior to that night’s game.

Nashville’s Play Like A Girl Night on June 14 has been nominated for the Best Non-Game Day Event and is one of five nominees in the category. Prior to the game, the Sounds held a clinic and tour for girls at First Tennessee Park led by female staff members. All participants later returned for the game and a portion of ticket sales were donated to Play Like a Girl – a Nashville based charitable organization with the mission to develop girls’ potential to become impactful leaders in the STEM workforce by keeping girls active in sports through their middle school years and translating their athletic skills to leadership in the workforce. The winners will be announced at the Minor League Baseball Innovators Summit on Thursday, September 26.

In early May, the Sounds changed their name to Vihuelas de Nashville, complete with specialty jerseys at hats as part of Minor League Baseball’s Copa de la Diversión. The Sounds tapped into Nashville’s Latinx community and gave away a Sugar Skull Bobblehead to the first 2,000 fans on Sunday, May 5.

Other notable promotions during the 2019 season included Stand Up To Cancer, Pride Night, Star Wars Weekend, 615 Night, Paradise at the Park, A Tribute to Woodstock, Christmas in July, Scout Night, Peanut Free Night and three Faith and Family Nights, among many others.

Weekly promotions were led by the popular addition of Tito’s Tail Waggin’ Tuesdays. The Sounds opened First Tennessee Park to all furry four-legged friends on eight occasions in 2019. All $5 dog tickets benefited local nonprofits such as Agape Animal Rescue, New Leash on Life and Nashville Humane Association, among others.

The Sounds continue to utilize First Tennessee Park in creative ways with the addition of GLOW Nashville – Nashville’s newest must-see holiday attraction and brightest Christmas experience. GLOW will operate for 36 nights from November 22 through December 31 and features one of the country’s tallest Christmas trees, millions of lights, ice skating and tubing experiences, and a life-size Santa’s Workshop among many more activities for all ages.

Other non-game day events at First Tennessee Park include hosting two 2019 College Baseball World Series Champion Vanderbilt Commodore games, 16 Nashville SC games and Major League Baseball’s Umpire Development Clinic on May 25, the lone stop at a Minor League Baseball park in 2019.

The fun continues next spring as the 2020 season begins on Thursday, April 9 when the Sounds host the Iowa Cubs. 2020 season ticket memberships are on sale through the Nashville Sounds ticket office. For more information on membership packages, call 615-690-4487, or e-mail tickets@nashvillesounds.com.