Category: Sports

Viktor Arvidsson of the Nashville Predators

Viktor Arvidsson tied a club record, but the Nashville Predators ultimately fell to the Columbus Blue Jackets by a 5-2 final on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result ends Nashville’s two-game win streak and keeps them tied for first in the Central Division with 94 points.

The Predators kept pace with one of the League’s hottest teams to open the contest, but Columbus began to pull away as time went on, a fact that left a disappointing feeling in the Nashville locker room when it was all over.

“In the first I don’t like the way the score went,” Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “We’re chasing the game, and it seems like we get in those situations, we haven’t responded very well. We did fight back to cut it to one in the second period, but I think just the start, I don’t think it was that we weren’t ready to play or we were out-played necessarily in the first period, but the scoreboard goes in a different direction.”

The first period saw four goals in total, and three of those belonged to the visitors, including the first from Cam Atkinson that came just 50 seconds into the contest.

Arvidsson evened the score midway through the period when he struck on a shorthanded breakaway for his 33rd of the season in just his 55th game, a tally that tied the Predators franchise record for goals in a single season.

“It’s awesome, especially if you look at how many games he has done it in,” Preds winger Filip Forsberg said of Arvidsson. “We have a couple more games to give him that on his own, and we will do everything we can for that.”

The Blue Jackets got two more goals before the first was finished, and after Filip Forsberg brought the Preds back to within one when he tallied his 27th at 12:14 of the second stanza, Columbus got their fourth and fifth of the night with another coming from Atkinson, as well as one by Boone Jenner.

Predators goaltender Juuse Saros stopped Atkinson on a penalty shot late in the third period to keep him from recording a hat trick, but Nashville couldn’t get any closer as the Blue Jackets won their fourth straight.

Predators defenseman Dante Fabbro made his NHL debut on Saturday night and finished with three shots on goal, three blocked shots and one hit in 16:12 of ice time.

Other than an unfortunate play at the blue line that led to Columbus’s fourth goal, the rookie was solid in his first taste of NHL action, and credited his defensive partner Dan Hamhuis for helping him adjust to the pace of play.

“It was a lot of fun,” Fabbro said of his debut. “Going into the game, I was a little bit nervous, but the guys really helped me out out there. I got an unfortunate play in the second, but I was able wash that away and try to get back at my game.”

“He was really good,” Laviolette said of Fabbro. “It’s unfortunate [on Columbus’s fourth goal] he got caught there, and it looked like he toe picked or his edge kind of wobbled on him and a guy got behind him. Short of that, I thought his game was strong. He delivered some pucks to the net, did a good job defensively, and moved things quickly. He’s a good skater, and he seemed to see everything fine, so I thought his game was good for coming into that situation.”

Coming off of an impressive victory on Friday night in Pittsburgh, the Predators were unable to duplicate their effort the next night, and as the final week of the regular season arrives, Nashville will have three more opportunities to shore up their game before the postseason arrives.

“Last night we had that desperation, and today it wasn’t good enough,” Forsberg said. “Columbus is a good team, and they played well tonight, but our game has to be better on Tuesday.”

Notes:

Arvidsson is the third player in Preds franchise history to score at least 10 shorthanded goals, joining Greg Johnson (11) and David Legwand (10).

Prior to Saturday’s game, the Predators reassigned goaltender Troy Grosenick to Milwaukee of the AHL and activated defenseman Dan Hamhuis from Injured Reserve. Hamhuis dressed for the Preds in Saturday’s game after missing the last 12 with a lower-body injury.

Yannick Weber, Matt Irwin and Rem Pitlick were among the scratches for Nashville against Columbus.

The final week of the regular season has now arrived, and the Predators will play their last road game of the campaign on Tuesday evening in Buffalo against the Sabres (at 6 p.m. CT). Nashville will then host the Canucks and Blackhawks to close out the season before the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on April 10.

Hayden Skipper of CHS baseball

The Coffee County CHS baseball team traveled to Smyrna on Saturday for the final day of the Warrior Spring Classic.  In the day’s first game, the Red Raiders never got untracked against Knight’s Academy in a 12 to 1 loss.  In the 2^nd game, Coffee County had a huge comeback before falling to Smyrna in the bottom of the 7^th by a score of 12 to 11.

Taking on the independent Knight’s program out of Nashville, Coffee County fell behind 12 to 0 before getting on the scoreboard in the bottom of the 4^th inning.   The Raiders were held to 5 hits on the day.  Hayden Skipper had a double while Dylan Koon had an RBI single.

In the day’s second game, Coffee County got 2 runs in the 1^st inning before Smyrna plated 8 runs in the 2^nd inning.  The Raiders clawed their way back into the game with a 7 run rally in the 6^th inning to take an 11 to 10 lead.  Smyrna tied the game in the bottom of the 6^th and scored an unearned run in the 7^th to get the win.  Skipper had a pair of triples and a single with 3 runs scored and an RBI.  Harley Hinshaw had a double and a single and 2 RBI and Kyle Farless had a double and 3 RBI.

The Red Raiders return to district play on Tuesday as they begin a 2 game series with their old rival Tullahoma.  Coffee County will play at home on Tuesday and at Tullahoma on Wednesday.  Both games will begin at 6 PM and Thunder Radio will have the broadcast of each.  Lucky Knott will bring you all the action beginning with the pregame show at 5:50.

Lane Spry of CHS baseball

The Coffee County Central High School baseball team traveled to Stewarts Creek for a doubleheader as part of the Riverdale Warrior Spring Classic on Friday.  The Red Raiders split the 2 games on the day as they opened the doubleheader with a 12 to 5 loss to Spring Hill.  They closed out the day with a 6 to 4 win over Bradley High School out of Hilliard, Ohio.

In the opener, Coffee County entered the 6^th inning leading 5 to 3 but saw Spring Hill plate 7 runs to build a lead they would not surrender.  The Red Raiders finished the game with 5 hits including 3 doubles.  Hayden Skipper, Harley Hinshaw and Braden Brown all had doubles.  Brown finished with 2 RBI and a walk.

In the day’s second game, Coffee County surrendered 4 runs in the bottom of the first inning before rebounding with 3 runs in the 2^nd inning.  The Raiders tied the game in the 6^th inning and got a pair of runs in the 7^th to take the win.  Lane Spry had the game winning RBI in the 7^th as he singled home Kael McCall who had a 2 out double.  Bryson Hullett finished with a single, a double a walk and an RBI.  Griffin Meeker went the distance on the mound to get the win as he gave up 2 earned runs and struck out 3.

Coffee County will travel to Smyrna on Saturday for a doubleheader at Smyrna High School on the last day of the Riverdale Warrior Spring Classic.  The Red Raiders will take on Knights’ Academy beginning at 12:30 PM followed by a 3:00 PM game against Smyrna.

P.K. Subban of the Nashville Predators [Photo by nhl.com]

The Predators (44-28-6) are tied in points with the Winnipeg Jets and are four points ahead of the St. Louis Blues, who lost 4-2 at the New York Rangers on Friday. Nashville has played one more game than Winnipeg.

Craig Smith and P.K. Subban each had a goal and an assist, Viktor Arvidsson scored his 100th NHL goal, and Pekka Rinne made 42 saves for the Predators, who are 5-1-1 in their past seven games after losing four of their previous six (2-4-0).

The Penguins (42-25-11) are third in the Metropolitan Division, five points behind the Washington Capitals and two points behind the New York Islanders. They are four points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes and five points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who hold the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

Matt Murray made 23 saves for Pittsburgh, which had its three-game winning streak end. It has lost its past three home games (0-2-1).

Smith gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 1:35 of the first period. With his back to the play, Smith deflected a shot from Matt Irwin blocker side for his 20th goal of the season.

Arvidsson made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 17:36 of the second period. He took a snap shot through Penguins defenseman Erik Gudbranson’s legs glove side from the left face-off circle for his 32nd goal of the season, which set a NHL career-high.

The Predators scored on one of two power plays after going 0-for-10 in their previous six games.

Subban scored on a slap shot, making it 3-0 with 2:32 remaining in the third period before Nick Bjugstad cut it to 3-1 with 1:03 left.

Skylar Bratcher of Coffee County CHS baseball

The Coffee County Central High School baseball team opened play in the Riverdale Warrior Spring Classic on Thursday evening.  The Red Raiders hosted Mars Hill Bible School out of Alabama at Powers Field.   A 7^th inning rally by the visitors from Florence saw Coffee County fall 9 to 4.

Tied at 1 entering the 5^th inning, the top of the Mars Hill batting order pushed across 3 runs to forge ahead.  The Red Raiders rallied with single runs in the 5^th and 6^th innings to set up the decisive 7^th inning.  In the 7^th, the visitors from Alabama opened the frame with 3 straight hits and a walk as they pushed the lead to 6.  Coffee County pushed a run across in the bottom of the 7^th and loaded the bases, but could not overcome the deficit.

The Red Raiders collected 5 hits on the night led by Skylar Bratcher who had an RBI triple and Hayden Skipper who finished with a double and a run scored.  Kyle Farless finished with a pair of runs.  Braden Brown pitched 5 innings as he was saddled with the loss.

Coffee County will travel to Smyrna on Friday for a doubleheader at Stewarts Creek High School as part of the Riverdale Warrior Spring Classic.  The Red Raiders will take on Spring Hill beginning at 11 AM followed by a 1:30 PM game against Hilliard Bradley out of Ohio.

Tullahoma Elite is announcing the creation of a new youth football program for the youngsters of Tullahoma.  The Tullahoma Elite program will feature 3 teams of players in age groups for kids between the ages of 6 and 12.  The program is also looking cheerleaders in the same age divisions.

The Tullahoma Elite program is designed to field 3 teams of 33 players in the following age groups: ages 6 and 7, ages 8 and 9 and ages 10 thru 12(not to have entered the 7^th grade).  Cost to register is $90 per player and parents are required to bring a copy of the child’s birth certificate and proof of residency to sign-ups.  Signups will take place at the C.D. Stamps Community Center on Saturday, March 30^th, Saturday, April 6^th and Saturday, April 13^th from noon to 3 PM.

Wednesday Prep Results

CHS Softball drilled Franklin County – 22 to 1 – See the results HERE

CHS Baseball fell at Lawrence Co – 11 to 1 – See the results HERE

Thursday Prep Schedule

7:30 PM – CHS Baseball HOSTS Mars Hill, AL – Warrior Classic

Kiya Ferrell of CHS softball

The Lady Raider softball team of Coffee County CHS returned to Terry Floyd Field on Wednesday as they played host to Franklin County.  In a game you heard here on Thunder Radio, Coffee County had a near record hitting performance as they routed the visiting Rebelettes in a game shortened to 2 ½ innings due to the Mercy Rule.  The Lady Raiders won by a final score of 22 to 1.

After surrendering a home run in the top of the 1^st inning, Coffee County sent 17 batters to the plate in the bottom of the 1^st inning as they built a 13 to 1 lead.  In the second, the Lady Raiders added 9 more runs as 15 Coffee County batters made a plate appearance.  On the night, the Lady Raiders ripped 17 hits, including 3 doubles and a pair of triples.  Kiya Ferrell had a double, a triple, a walk and 5 RBI to lead the hit parade.  Justus Turner had a triple and a double and drove in 3 runs.  Sarah West had a double and 2 singles and also drove in 3 RBI.  Haley Richardson had 3 hits, 2 RBI and scored 3 runs. Keri Munn was 3 for 3 at the plate with 2 RBI while getting the victory in the circle as she struck out 8.  For their performances, Ferrell and Munn were named the Crazy Daisies co-players of the game.

Coffee County returns home on Sunday afternoon when they host Warren County at Terry Floyd Field.  Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast.  Thunder Radio’s live coverage begins with the pregame show at 2:20 and first pitch is set for 2:30 PM

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

Bryson Hullett of CHS baseball

The Coffee County Central High School baseball team traveled to Lawrenceburg on Wednesday to complete their 2 game district series with the Lawrence County Wildcats.  After winning by the Mercy Rule on Tuesday, the Red Raiders fell to Lawrence County on Wednesday by a Mercy Rule margin.  Coffee County dropped the district contest 11 to 1.

Trailing 2 to 0 going into the 4^th inning, Coffee County cut the deficit in half when Bryson Hullett doubled home Skylar Bratcher in the top of the 4^th inning.  But Lawrence County answered the challenge with 4 runs in the bottom of the 5^th and ended the game with a 5 run explosion.  Coffee County was held to 3 hits as Bratcher and Noah Bradshaw each added singles to go with Hullett’s RBI double.

Coffee County will return home on Thursday to host Mars Hill Bible out of Alabama as part of the Riverdale Warrior Spring Classic.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 PM at Powers Field.