Category: Sports

The Nashville Predators were unable to find the equalizer in the third period, and they fell to the Detroit Red Wings by a 3-2 final on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena. It’s Nashville’s third consecutive loss overall, with the Red Wings sweeping the two-game season series.

Much like Sunday afternoon’s 5-4 overtime loss to St. Louis, the Predators had their opportunities, and they even scored on the power play, but it was Detroit who got the bounces and ended up on the right side of the ledger when it was all over.

“It was a tough loss,” Preds goaltender Pekka Rinne said. “We had the effort, and I thought we played well, but the result is disappointing. I thought that we had enough chances to win the game. It’s a home game, too, and we have to get it going.”

“It’s a loss in our building, so it’s not good,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “I don’t think it was from a lack of effort or the guys not coming out and playing hard. The first period I thought we did a lot of good things – chances were really heavy in our favor and we couldn’t get it to go and found ourselves down 1-0… I thought we kept pressing and pushing and got it to a tie – took it into the third period, and that’s usually where we’ve been able to have some success and weren’t able to get it done. In the end, it’s disappointing.”

Nashville had the better of the chances in the early going and held a 19-9 shot advantage through 20 minutes, but it was the Red Wings who led 1-0 after one, courtesy of a tip from Luke Glendening. A Detroit power play in the second saw Dylan Larkin put his club up by two, but before the middle stanza was out, the Preds had evened it up.

First, Viktor Arvidsson scored his 17th goal since New Year’s Eve – and 25th overall – with a clapper from the right-wing side, and then the Preds converted on the power play. Ryan Johansen found P.K. Subban, and with Brian Boyle parked in front of Jimmy Howard, Subban blasted home his fifth of the season for a 2-2 draw through 40 minutes.

Less than five minutes into the third, it was Andreas Athanasiou, who backhanded a shot past Rinne, and the Preds were only able to put five shots on goal in the final frame.

“It’s a tough one to lose because I thought we played a really good game tonight,” Subban said. “We had some scoring chances that we didn’t bury, and at the end I thought we had a chance.”

Nashville’s three-game homestand concludes on Thursday night when the Montreal Canadiens come to town with one last chance for the group to collect two points before heading back out on the road this weekend.

“This League is too good, and these teams are too good and everybody is playing for something,” Subban said. “We have a great opportunity with Montreal coming into our own building, so we will have to find a way to come out with a good performance.”

Notes:

Rocco Grimaldi rejoined the Preds lineup on Tuesday night, while Matt Irwin, Cody McLeod and Frederick Gaudreau scratched on the evening.

Viktor Arvidsson has now tallied 11 goals in his last 11 games and his 17 goals since Dec. 31 lead the NHL. Arvidsson has 20 points (17g-3a) in his last 22 games after returning from a broken thumb on Dec. 27.

Ryan Johansen has now extended his point streak to five games, his longest of the 2018-19 season. Johansen has two goals and six assists during his point streak.

Nashville is 1-4-1 when tied after two periods this season.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report

 

Monday marked the official date that the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association (TSSAA) allows high school teams to open up preseason practices.  With the start of the spring season set for March 11^th, varsity teams begin 4 weeks of practice prior to their first contests of the year.

The Coffee County CHS Lady Raider softball team got the jump on the season with their annual Midnight Madness practice session.  Coach Brandon McWhorter moved the practice indoors due to wet field positions as he ran his team through throwing and fielding drills along with some conditioning.  The Lady Raiders returned to the practice field on Monday afternoon at Terry Floyd Field.   The Lady Raiders will have their first scrimmage of the year on February 23^rd at Shelbyville.

The Red Raider baseball team got underway on Monday morning at Powers Field.  Coach David Martin and the players had to work extra hard to get on the field due to wet conditions, but did manage to get some good outside work in.  “The kids were ready to get to work and they have all hustled today.  We did not do as well with pitch selection (in batting practice) as I would have liked, but it was good to hit the field” said Martin.  Martin will be a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show.

The Coffee County tennis teams hit the court on Monday afternoon at the Raider Academy courts.  First year head coach Josh Inzer was pleased with the turnout and the “A+ effort” demonstrated by his team.  The tennis players got in some circuit training and the practice session “went well” according to Inzer.  Coach Inzer wants to get some more individual time with his players as he bemoaned his own “time management” in his first practice.  Inzer will also be a guest on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show.

The Coffee County Red Raider soccer team hit the pitch on Monday afternoon for their first team workouts.   Coach Robert Harper was pleased with the effort of some of his young players through winter workouts, and the first day of practice.  “We have some young players that are ready to step up and help us” said Harper.  The Raider soccer team will host a scrimmage play day on February 23^rd.

The Coffee County track teams hit the track on Monday as Coach Nathan Wanuch got the preseason underway.  The Raiders worked on some conditioning and Coach Wanuch captured some baseline times.  A collection of more than 40 athletes were on hand for the practice exhibiting the continued growth in the program.  The Raider harriers will host a preseason meet at Carden-Jarrell Field on Thursday, March 7^th.

The Temple Baptist Christian School basketball team will host their annual 2019 Eagles Invitational Classic basketball tournament this Friday and Saturday.  The Eagles will welcome 4 additional teams to the E.C. Bailey Gym at Temple Baptist Christian School for the 2 day tournament.

Round robin pool play will begin at 1:45 on Friday afternoon and continue through an 8 PM game on Friday night.  Pool play will resume on Saturday morning beginning at 8:30 AM.  The consolation game is set for 2:15 PM with the championship set for 3:45 PM on Saturday afternoon.   Temple will play its pool games at 1:45, 4:15 and 8:00 PM on Friday and 11 AM on Saturday.  Admission for the tournament is $4 for students and $8 for adults.  Persons can also purchase a family pass for $20 which is good for both days.  A full concession stand will be available with food and drinks.

 

The Coffee County Middle School track has had a small change to their tryouts for the 2019 season.  Those boys wishing to try out for the Red Raider track team will try out on Tuesday.  Girls wishing to try out for the Lady Raider track team will try out on Wednesday.  Try outs will be held at 3:30 PM at Coffee County Middle School.  Prospective student/athletes will need to meet in the auxiliary gym after school.  Those students trying out will need to bring with them a CURRENT TSSAA Physical form.  That form can be found and printed out from the CCMS Athletic website at: http://ccms.coffeecountyschools.com/?PageName=bc&n=244217

If you need more information, contact Coach Travis O’Kelly at: okelleyt@k12coffee.net

The Coffee County Red Raider wrestling team continued to enjoy their best season ever after a superb region tournament performance on Saturday.  Four Red Raiders punched their ticket to this week’s state tournament as they join Lady Raider Mary Anne Walker to compose the largest ever Coffee County contingent.  Chris Speagle, Jesse Hay-Smith, Rey Reyes and Brett Francis all tallied Top 4 finishes on Saturday in the Region 5 Tournament at Warren County.

At 120 pounds, junior Brett Francis had to fight through the consolation bracket to capture 3^rd place in the weight class.  After a getting a pin on Friday night in the first round, Francis suffered a 2^nd round loss on Saturday to Samuel Hadlock of Cookeville.  Francis came back on Saturday to get a pair of decision wins heading into the consolation finals and a rematch with Hadlock.  Francis, a junior, fought his way to a 5 to 4 decision to upset the higher seeded senior and capture the 3^rd place medal.

At 145 pounds, senior Jesse Hay-Smith used 3 decision wins to grab a 3^rd place finish in the tough weight class.  After a first round bye, Hay-Smith got a 7 to 2 decision win over Blackman wrestler Aaron Fisher in the 2^nd round.  On Saturday morning, Hay-Smith was pinned by 2^nd seeded Michael Williams of Shelbyville to fall into the consolation bracket.  Hay-Smith fought his way to 2 straight 4 to 3 decision wins to capture the 3^rd place medal.

At 182 pounds, senior Reynaldo Reyes entered the tournament as the 6^th seeded wrestler and fought his way to a 4^th place finish.  Reyes opened tournament action on Friday with a pinfall win before falling in and pinfall loss in the 2^nd round to Nolan Cook of Oakland.  Coming back on Saturday, Reyes got a pair of pinfall wins, including an upset win over Brian Nelms, to advance to the consolation finals.  In the finals, Reyes fell once again to Cook to end the tournament with a 4^th place finish.

At 220 pounds, junior Chris Speagle entered the tournament as the 9^th seeded wrestler before rolling to a 4^th place finish.  Speagle got a quick pinfall win in the opening round before falling to top seeded Bowdy Boyce in a 3^rd round pin in his second match.  On Saturday, Speagle got a bye, a decision win and a pin to advance to the consolation finals.  In the 3^rd place match, Speagle fought to a decision loss to Jimmy Pearson of Tullahoma.

At 138 pounds, freshman Gavin Prater finished the day with a record of 2 and 2 with a pair of pinfall wins.  At 132 pounds, freshman Hunter Waring finished the tournament with a 1 and 2 record.  At 160 pounds, freshman Zack Bush finished the tournament with a 1 and 2 record.  At 170 pounds, sophomore Jacob Phillips finished the tournament with a 1 and 2 record.  At 195 pounds, sophomore Zach Galy finished the tournament with a 1 and 2 record.  At 285 pounds, sophomore Cardin Stump finished with a record of 2 and 2.

The state tournament will begin on Thursday at the Williamson County Agricultural Exposition Park in Franklin.  The boys weigh-in will take place at 1 PM on Thursday with wrestling getting underway at 3 PM in the first 2 rounds. Wrestling continues on Friday at 10 AM with the championships on Saturday.  Lady Raider wrestler Mary Anne Walker will weigh-in at 8:30 on Friday and her first round match will be at 10 AM on Friday morning.  The girls’ championship will also be held on Saturday beginning at 10 AM.  Tickets for the event are $10 daily with a parking charge of $5 per car.

Four members of the Coffee County CHS swim team competed on Friday and Saturday in the Tennessee Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association state meet.  The Raider swimmers got a pair of Top 20 finishes and 2 new personal bests in the 2 day event in Nashville.

Jack Beachboard had the highest Raider finish as he captured a 13^th place finish in the 100 yard breaststroke with a new personal best time of 59.44.  Beachboard also grabbed a 26^th place finish in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 1:50.11.

Kaylee Williams swam a personal best time of 1:08.75 in a swim-off for the 100 yard breaststroke.  Williams finished the event with a 13^th place finish.  Williams also finished in 44^th place in the 200 yard individual medley with a time of 2:20.95.

Jase Rice had a 42^nd place finish in the 200 yard individual medley with a time of 2:13.02.  Anna O’Connor swam a time of 1:08.48 in the 100 yard butterfly to finish in 72^nd place.

Viktor Arvidsson scored twice, and the Nashville Predators came back to salvage a point before they ultimately fell in overtime to the St. Louis Blues by a 5-4 final on Sunday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena. It’s Nashville’s second loss to St. Louis in as many days with the Blues collecting all four of their possible points on the weekend set.

Vladimir Tarasenko recorded a hat trick, including the winner just 16 seconds into OT, after the Preds potted three in the third entering the final 20 minutes with a two-goal deficit.

As Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette stated after the content, the final score is disappointing, but it wasn’t all doom and gloom following the loss.

“It was a different game completely for us today in a positive way,” Laviolette said. “I hate the result because we didn’t walk away with another point, but for me, the speed and the competitiveness, the shots, the attempts, the looks that we had – I thought they were good… They’re finding ways to win hockey games, and they found a way today, but I thought the things we did today were much better than the things we did last night.”

“They are a good team, and they’re playing really well right now,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “We had a good first, we had a couple mistakes that cost us three goals there in the second. The third period was great, and we showed a lot of character, but against a team like that, you have to do it for 60 minutes.”

After a scoreless first period, the floodgates opened in the second, with the two clubs combining for four goals in less than three minutes.

First, it was Alex Pietrangelo who gave the Blues the lead on the power play, and Tarasenko got his second of the weekend to make it 2-0. Less than 30 seconds after that, however, Arvidsson swept home a loose puck in the crease to give the Preds some life, but the Blues came right back less than a minute later as Tyler Bozak gave them a two-goal lead once more.

“We had a good first period, but a couple of mistakes cost us in the second,” Arvidsson said. “We really got going in the third. We played our game in the third and really pushed forward.”

Nashville came to life in the third as Roman Josi scored less than three minutes into the period, before Arvidsson added his second of the day at 6:10 to tie the game for the first time. After Tarasenko got a lucky bounce past Juuse Saros to put the Blues up once more, the Preds came back again, this time with Filip Forsberg batting a puck out of midair for his 20th of the season and a 4-4 draw.

Forsberg hit the 20-goal mark on the play for the fifth consecutive season to become the only player in franchise history to score at least 20 in five separate seasons.

That wild final stanza gave way to the extra session that saw Tarasenko complete the hat trick just seconds after it began.

“We have things that we need to do better… but we never give up,” Preds center Ryan Johansen said. “We just keep pushing and keep moving forward. It’s just trying to find ways to win hockey games and play for each other. That’s a big positive for sure.”

From here, Nashville’s schedule continues with Detroit and Montreal slated to make visits to Tennessee this week, and although the Preds still sit second in the Central with 71 points, the group says there is still work to do as the home stretch continues.

“We have a tremendous hockey team that’s got room for improvement,” Johansen said. “It’s a fun part we’re at right now. Games are ramping up and we’re seeing that. We need this group to take a step.”

“You can’t just paint it with a broad brush and say every game was good or every game was bad,” Laviolette said. “Tonight, I thought that we did enough good things to win a hockey game. I hate the result, but on a back-to-back situation and chasing the game the whole night, we gave our guys credit for competing until the end… Every game is different, and every game will be different moving forward. There will be hopefully a lot that we like and not so many like we don’t like. We’re always trying to get better.”

Notes:

Viktor Arvidsson has now scored 15 goals since Jan. 1, more than any other player in the League.

Ryan Ellis collected his 200th career point with an assist on the Arvidsson goal.

Rocco Grimaldi, Frederick Gaudreau and Matt Irwin were scratched for the Preds on Sunday.

Nashville three-game homestand continues on Tuesday when they welcome the Detroit Red Wings to town, followed by a meeting with the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

The week of training camp at IMG Academy ended on a high note for Nashville Soccer Club as it beat two-time defending USL Cup champions Louisville City FC 2-1. The win was hard earned as forward Alan Winn scored the game-winner in the 70’ minute and the defense stopped a late Louisville surge that included numerous late set pieces.

90’ in a Nutshell

Nashville SC was on the back foot early as Louisville City forward Luke Spencer had two early chances to put the champs in front. Starting Nashville keeper Matt Pickens made saves on both including a point blank, one-on-one save against Spencer to keep the game scoreless.

Forward Tucker Hume got Nashville on the board first as he slotted away a rebound in the 24’ minute. New NSC forward Kharlton Belmar sent a rocket that was parried away, but it landed at the feet of Alan Winn who knocked it to Hume. The lead almost lasted until halftime before Louisville equalized. A Louisville free kick from Oscar Jiminez just outside the box found the back of the net after bouncing off multiple players right in front of goal. Louisville credited Paco Craig with the tally.

In the second half, both teams made wholesale changes, however Winn stayed out to play a portion of the final 45 minutes. The move paid off in the 70’ minute for head coach Gary Smith as Winn scored what would be the winning goal. Midfielder Lebo Moloto sent a long pass down the left side to an in stride Ramone Howell. Howell sent it across the box to a wide open Winn who converted the tap in.

Nashville saw out the final 20 minutes despite several Louisville corners and free kicks around the box. Keeper Connor Sparrow made three second half saves to preserve the victory.

Goals

24’ NSH – Tucker Hume (Alan Winn)

45’ LOU – Paco Craig

70’ NSH – Alan Winn (Ramone Howell)

Postgame Quote

Forward Alan Winn

“It was a tremendous week. I love Florida. I was here when I was 17 [with the U.S. U-18 National Team] and it was beautiful than and its beautiful now. The fields are pristine. It was good learning what we are all about. It was good getting to know my teammates outside of Nashville, and there were really good bonding moments. Leaving here with a win especially is incredible, a good high feeling, and hopefully it’ll translate to the season.”

Key Stat

Cameron Lancaster – 30 minutes

Lancaster, a Nashville MLS signee on loan to the USL club, made his unofficial debut for Nashville in the win against his former team. He came on in the 60’ minute and played the final 30 minutes. While Lancaster didn’t get on the scoresheet, he was a presence at the top of the Nashville attack and drew multiple Louisville defenders, who know first-hand his goal scoring ability.

Up Next

Nashville will return to the field next Saturday against Birmingham Legion FC in the Legion’s first home preseason friendly. Birmingham is one of four USL Eastern Conference expansion teams and will play its home games on campus at Alabama-Birmingham.

Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Johansen found the back of the net for Nashville, but it wasn’t enough as the Predators fell to the St. Louis Blues by a 3-2 final on Saturday afternoon at the Enterprise Center.

The first half of the home-and-home set saw the Blues put forth a better effort than the Preds to start, and although Nashville made a push in the third, it couldn’t erase the game’s first 40 minutes.

“Not good,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said of the game. “They were faster. We didn’t play the game fast enough, didn’t have enough attitude in the game, and not enough guys on the rope either. It just wasn’t good; wasn’t a good day.”

“The effort in the first two periods was not good enough,” Ekholm said. “They were dicating the play, they were all over us… Tomorrow, we need more like we played in the third. I thought we stepped it up a little bit and we were more on the attack. We were skating harder, we were more physical, and that’s something that we need to do more tomorrow.”

The Blues were up 2-0 after 20 minutes courtesy of goals from Vince Dunn and Vladimir Tarasenko, and it was a chippy first period that saw Cody McLeod drop the gloves with Pat Maroon in the early going.

In the second, Ekholm got one past the red-hot Jordan Binnington on the power play to get the Preds on the board, but just a few minutes later, Mackenzie MacEachern gave the Blues their two-goal lead back.

Nashville pushed in the third, and Johansen scored with an extra attacker with 75 seconds to play, but that was as close as the visitors got to salvaging a point on the day.

“We gave ourselves a chance,” Johansen said of the third period. “[Pekka Rinne] kept us in that game for the first 40 minutes, but we just weren’t good enough, and especially the way the Blues have been playing lately… The good thing is we are right back at it tomorrow with the same team, and the work we brought in the third is what we need tomorrow for the whole game.”

It’s been said before that one of the best aspects of the NHL is if you don’t like your effort in a particular game, you don’t have to wait too long for a chance at redemption. In this case, the Predators have another go in less than 24 hours with an 11:30 a.m. (CT) puck drop on Sunday in Nashville.

“It’s really awesome, to be honest,” Ekholm said. “This one stings, it’s a Central Division loss so to be able to get the chance to get them back tomorrow is obviously something that we’re looking forward to.”

Notes:

Yannick Weber, Rocco Grimaldi and Frederick Gaudreau were scratched for the Preds on Saturday.

The Preds and Blues will be right back at it on Sunday for an 11:30 a.m. start from Bridgestone Arena. That begins another three-game homestand for the Predators with visits from Detroit and Montreal coming later in the week.

The Coffee County basketball teams traveled to Shelbyville on Thursday night in the final regular season games of the year.   The Lady Raiders completed their first unbeaten district season in 26 years with a 78 to 52 win over the Eaglettes.  The Red Raiders reached the 10 district win plateau with a 49 to 38 victory.

The Lady Raiders started off red hot for the 3^rd game in a row as they rolled out to a 20 to 11 lead after 1 quarter of play.  After leading by 20 at the half, Coffee County outscored Shelbyville 18 to 7 in the 3^rd quarter to ice their first perfect district season since 1993.  Bella Vinson led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 21 points.  Jacey Vaughn added 16 and Abby Morgan chipped in 13 as Coffee County won their 11^th game in a row.  Coffee County’s 3 seniors Abby Morgan, Chloe Spry and Jacey Vaughn were named the Crazy Daisies co-players of the game.

The Red Raiders struggled with Shelbyville for 3 full quarters as they were hampered by turnovers and missed free throws.  Tied at 30 entering the 4^th quarter, Coffee County scored 12 of the first 15 points in the final frame to get their first real cushion in the game.  Darius Rozier led the Raiders in scoring with 14 points, including 8 in the 4^th quarter.  Connor Shemwell came off the bench to net 11 points and Kyle Farless added 10 points for the Raiders.  Seniors Chase Simpkins, Darius Rozier, Harley Hinshaw and Andrew Mahaffey were named the Crazy Daisies co-players of the game.

The Lady Raiders close out the season with a record of 26 and 3 overall and 12 and 0 in district play.  The Red Raiders finish with a mark of 18 and 5, 10 and 2 in district play.  The Lady Raiders will open the district tournament play on Thursday, February 14^th at 6 PM at Lawrence County after a first round bye.  The Red Raiders also get a first round bye as they open tournament play on Friday, February 15^th at 6 PM at Lawrence County as well.   The district finals and consolation will be held on Saturday, February 16^th.   As always, Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you all the action.