Category: Sports

Calle Jarnkrok of the Nashville Predators[Photo courtesy of NHL.com]

Calle Jarnkrok recorded his first-career hat trick, and the Nashville Predators came back to defeat the Los Angeles Kings by a 5-3 final on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result breaks a three-game winless streak for the Preds and gives them their 14th victory of the season, tied for the most wins in the NHL.

Although the Preds fell to Arizona in their last game, the effort was there, and the hope was to build off it after returning to Nashville from a five-game trip. With a pair of power-play goals and 43 shots on the net, that’s exactly what happened.

And Jarnkrok added the exclamation point.

“It was nice,” Jarnkrok said of his hat trick, “especially to get a win here following up a couple tough losses on the road.”

“We played relatively the same game as we did in Arizona – just relentless,” Preds defenseman Ryan Ellis said. “We just kept going and going offensively, putting pucks at the net. The shots attempts were there and they went in for us tonight.”

After a scoreless first period, the floodgates opened in the middle frame with the two teams combining for five goals in the 20 minutes. Kyle Turris gave Nashville a 1-0 lead when he struck on the power play, a welcome relief for a group that has struggled with the man advantage this season.

The Kings got two within 19 seconds to take their first lead of the evening less than six minutes to play into the second. Jarnkrok evened the score when he sniped home his fourth of the season, but Los Angeles countered once more on a goal from Alex Iafallo for a 3-2 advantage after 40 minutes.

Nashville’s power play came through once more in the third as Jarnkrok picked a corner to knot things up at 3-3, and then, on a shorthanded rush, the Swede found twine for the third time. The marker gave the Preds the last lead they’d need as the ice surface became littered with lids from a record sellout crowd of 17,627 at Bridgestone Arena.

“He’s an important player in here, whether it’s offensively or defensively,” Ellis said of Jarnkrok. “You put him out on the power play and he shows what he can do. He got us going when we needed it – big goals from him.”

Not just one, but two tallies with the man advantage helped to give the Preds some hope that their power-play prowess may be coming back to life. The group has been pleased with the looks and chances they’ve been getting as of late with the extra skater, and on Saturday, they finally started to fall.

“You’re starting to wonder if it’s just not going to work for you for a little bit here,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “I have to give our guys in the room a lot of credit because we fell behind a few times, but we just stayed persistent and consistent with our game and didn’t stop.”

With that, the Preds put on a show for the Loyal Legion, and just like their hockey club, they were at their best on Saturday night – and it didn’t go unnoticed.

“They were awesome,” Laviolette said. “I think they missed us. We sure missed them.”

Calle Me Maybe?

Even-strength. Power play. Shorthanded.

It was a full variety pack on Saturday night for Calle Jarnkrok. The second player in Predators history to record a hat trick with three different on-ice situations, Jarnkrok completed his first-career, three-goal game to get the Preds back into the win column and lead his club to a 5-3 victory over the Kings.

Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette often compliments Jarnkrok as one of the smartest players on his club. On Saturday, he showed he can be one of the more skilled participants as well.

“He played terrific,” Laviolette said. “Forget about the goals, it’s just the game in general. I thought he was really moving, he was competing, did an excellent job on his line, got a power play opportunity. He certainly did a good job at that as well. The shorthanded goal is a real big goal.”

Whether he’s noticed or not on a nightly basis, Jarnkrok can often be classified in an unsung hero category, doing whatever necessary to help his club be successful.

But every once in a while, No. 19 makes sure everyone knows his name. And that’s just as important.

“He had three gorgeous shots that were placed perfectly,” Nashville center Kyle Turris said of Jarnkrok. “He played very well, and he is so fun to play with.”

Notes:

Saturday’s attendance of 17,627 set a hockey record at Bridgestone Arena.

Calle Jarnkrok is the seventh NHL player since 2013-14 with a hat trick that included a goal at even strength, shorthanded and on the power play.

The Predators continue their homestand on Monday night when the Tampa Bay Lightning come to town. Nashville then hosts the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.

Pete Weber’s cal of Jarnkrok’s 3rd goal

Olivia Vinson of CCMS basketball

The Coffee County Middle School basketball teams welcomed South Franklin to the CCMS gym on Thursday night in a pair of games you heard here on Thunder Radio.  The Lady Raiders used their stifling press defense to race to a 49 to 11 win.  The Red Raiders mounted an incredible 2^nd half comeback before falling 41 to 37 to the Trojans.

In the girls’ game, the Lady Raiders scored the first 12 points of the game to build a lead they would not relinquish.  In the second half, the Lady Raiders outscored the Lady Trojans 31 to 6 to grab the conference win.   Olivia Vinson was the leading scorer for the Lady Raiders as she finished with 12 points earning the Crazy Daisies player of the game award.  Maggie Crouch and Alivia Reel also added 12 points each for Coffee Middle.  Abby Mahaffey chipped in 7 points for the Lady Raiders.

Dayne Crosslin of CCMS basketball

In the boys’ game, South used their speed and quickness to overwhelm the Red Raiders in the first quarter and build a 16 to 5 lead.  From that point on, the Red Raiders outscored the Trojans in every quarter, cutting the deficit to 2 points with 8 seconds remaining.  South was able to hit a pair of free throws to ice the game and stall the miraculous Coffee County comeback.  Dayne Crosslin led the Raiders in scoring with 10 points as he was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game award.  Hayden Garr added 8 points and Jacob Holder and Jackson Shemwell each finished with 6 points.

The Raiders and Lady Raiders will travel to Tullahoma on Monday night for a conference doubleheader with East.  The girls’ game will tip off at 6 PM.

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

Rachel Butler of Temple Baptist Christian School with her parents on Senior Night

In the first volleyball/basketball doubleheader for Senior Night, the Temple Baptist Christian School Lady Eagles and Eagles welcomed Landmark Christian School to the E.C. Bailey Gym on Thursday night.  The Lady Eagles scored a 3 set sweep over the visitors from Louisville, KY.  In the basketball game, the Eagles had no answers for the size advantage held by Landmark

Cody Swayze of Temple Baptist Christian School with his parents on Senior Night

as Temple fell 76 to 36.

In the volleyball game, the Lady Eagles got off to a rough start in the first set before scoring 20 of the last 22 points of the first set.  That momentum carried over into the 2^nd and 3^rd sets as the Lady Eagles won by set scores of 25 to 5, 25 to 9 and 25 to 13.  Temple’s lone senior Rachel Butler had a phenomenal final game for the Lady Eagles as she finished with 23 kills, 5 aces and 4 assists.  Lauren Davis finished the game with 6 kills and led the team in assists with 15.  Lexie Stewart had 13 assists and 3 aces and Grace Butler added 3 aces and 4 kills.

In the basketball game, the Eagles fell behind by 20 points in the first quarter.  After an evenly played 2^nd quarter, Landmark pulled away in the 2^nd half to get the win.  Temple’s lone senior Cody Swayze led the Eagles in scoring with 26 points.  Mich Gloden added 6 points and Alex Gloden finished with 3 points.

Between games, Rachel Butler and Cody Swayze were recognized in the Senior Night Ceremony with their parents.  Temple coach Jeff Stewart, along with Butler and Swayze, will be guests on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show to talk about their careers.  The Coffee Coaches Show is heard live each Saturday from 10 to 11 and is broadcast from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln.  The Eagle basketball team will be back at home on Monday night when they play host to Faith Christian out of Jamestown.  That game will tip off at 5 PM.

Anna Johnson of Westwood basketball

The Westwood basketball teams made the long trek to Eagleville on Thursday night for a pair of games at the Eagle’s Nest.  A strong second half by the Lady Eagles dropped the Lady Rockets 53 to 26.  The Eagles pulled away late in the game to roll to a 50 to 22 win in the boys’ game.

In the girls’ game, Westwood trailed by 5 points at the half before an ice cold shooting performance in the 2^nd half led to the Eagleville win.  The Lady Rockets were held to 1 point in the 4th quarter in the loss.  Anna Johnson was the leading scorer for Westwood as she poured in 16 points.  Maddie Sullivan added 7.

Brayden Dixon of Westwood basketball

In the boys’ game, Westwood was outscored 16 to 6 in the 3^rd quarter as the conference leading Eagles rolled to the win.  Westwood was led in scoring by Brayden Dixon who had 15 points.  Jayden Carter chipped in 4 points for the Rockets.

Westwood will now be off until Tuesday, November 27^th when they travel to Liberty.  The girls’ game will tip off at 6 PM.

A whopping 46 shots on net just aren’t supposed to equal only one goal.

Yet that’s where the Nashville Predators found themselves after managing to solve Coyotes’ netminder Darcy Kuemper just a single time during a 2-1 loss in Arizona on Thursday night at Gila River Arena. The defeat is Nashville’s third consecutive and their second straight in regulation to conclude their five-game trip at 2-2-1.

In the previous two games on the excursion – a shootout loss in Anaheim, followed by a 5-4 defeat in San Jose – the Predators said they didn’t deserve to win. Thursday was a different story, but sometimes, that’s just the way it goes in the NHL.

“It was a good effort,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “We played hard, we had a lot of shots, a lot of chances, but their goalie played really well and they’re a good team… I thought we played really hard, and it just didn’t go our way tonight.”

The game stands as a second consecutive example of what could have been for the Predators. After beginning their five-game road trip with 2-0-1 record and a 8-0-1 combined mark away from home, Nashville has now dropped two straight in regulation – and in Thursday’s game, they couldn’t get their myriad of chances to convert.

“It’s not a night where you can look and say we didn’t get to the goalie,” Preds center Nick Bonino said. “We had a good net-front power play, a lot of 5-on-5 chances, especially the last half of the game… Sometimes that happens. We liked the attempts we put forth, we just have to finish.”

Michael Grabner gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead through 20 minutes with a shorthanded tally, and then Jason Demers doubled the score when he beat Pekka Rinne early in the second stanza.

But in the third period, on their 39th shot of the game, the Preds broke through as Bonino potted his first of the season to give Nashville life with less than eight minutes to play in regulation.

If there’s an easy positive to select from Thursday’s loss, it’s Bonino’s first of the year. The 30-year-old forward has vocally expressed his frustration at 18 games without a goal, but after finding twine against the Yotes, hopefully, he can serve as one of the offensive fill-ins as the club is without top forward Viktor Arvidsson for the next several weeks.

“He was really strong tonight,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said of Bonino. “He’s got some good games on this road trip, and he’s working really hard… He’s played really well, doing the right things, so it was nice to see him get on the board. Maybe that gets him going.”

From here, the Preds will look to turn things around when the host the Kings on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena, a chance to build off of an effort that saw their power play create more than it has in recent memory.

Combine that with the effort through three periods, and the Predators feel it won’t be long before they’re back in the win column once more.

“Tonight, we played a lot better and had a lot more chances,” Josi said. “It was just one of those nights and it happens throughout the season. We just have to keep doing the same things the next game, and hopefully it’ll go in.”

Prior to Thursday’s game, the Predators announced forward Viktor Arvidsson would miss the next six to eight weeks with a broken thumb. In addition, the team also placed defenseman P.K. Subban on Injured Reserve and activated defenseman Dan Hamhuis from IR.

Forward Austin Watson returned to the Nashville lineup after serving an 18-game suspension to start the season. Watson recorded an assist and led the team with five hits in 11:41 of time on ice.

Forward Calle Jarnkrok also returned for the Preds after missing three games with a lower-body injury.

Nashville now returns home to host a three-game set, beginning on Saturday night when the Los Angeles Kings come to Bridgestone Arena.

The high school basketball season tips off on Friday for the Coffee County Red Raider and Lady Raider basketball teams.  The Raiders and Lady Raiders will be hosting 2 days of Hall of Champions games.   Teams from 11 different high schools will descend on Manchester on November 16th and 17th for 2 days of games.   Nine girls’ teams and 7 boys’ teams will play games at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym and at the Coffee County Middle School.  Thunder Radio will be on hand on Saturday afternoon as we broadcast Coffee County taking on Huntland in boys and girls action.  The girls’ game will tip off at 3 PM, we will begin live coverage with the pregame show at 2:50.

A U13 football team from Coffee County will head to Knoxville this weekend to compete in the annual Battle in Rocky Top.   The Battle in Rocky Top has turned into a “National Tournament” for youth football with  over 20 states expected to be represented and more than 300 teams.  Games will be held all of the Knoxville area

The Coffee County team is comprised of players from both Coffee County Middle and Westwood Middle schools.  The team is predominatly 8th graders who plan to be a part of next year’s Coffee County CHS freshman team.  Additionally, the team includes a couple of 7th graders who will be eighth graders for both middle school programs.

The tournament will consist of 2 games on Saturday with at least one on Sunday, 2 if playing for the Championship. The boys have been practicing for the last 3 weeks, preparing for the tournament. This was all put together by J.D. Felice (Head Coach) and help from Wesley Colwell.  Felice is assisted by Jon Helms, Danny Strickland and Tyler Luttrell.   JD, Wesley, Jon and Danny are all board members with the Manchester Youth Football League and Tyler is a senior at Coffee County who just finished his last season as a Red Raider. Each is excited to be helping coach these future Raiders and start preparing them for their upcoming freshman season while giving them some preparation for playing high school football together.

For more information, you can visit the tournament website at: www.battleinrockytop.com

The Nashville Predators and National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) today announced a partnership to present 2019 NWHL All-Star Weekend in Music City. Among the highlights of the weekend will be a unique NHL-NWHL doubleheader at Bridgestone Arena on Sunday, Feb. 10.

“We are proud to collaborate with the NWHL and showcase some of the best hockey players in the world on All-Star Weekend in Nashville,” said Nashville Predators President and CEO Sean Henry. “The advancement of girls’ and women’s hockey in Middle Tennessee is an important mission for our organization, and we are proud to host and celebrate the NWHL All-Stars – including players from the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic Team – and put a well-deserved spotlight on them before the passionate hockey fans of our community.”

The 2019 NWHL All-Star Game will be played on Feb. 10 at Bridgestone Arena. After the Predators host the St. Louis Blues at 11:30 a.m. (CT), the NWHL All-Star Game will begin at 2:45 p.m. Ticketholders for the Predators game are invited to stay for the NWHL event. In addition, beginning Nov. 28, general admission tickets will be available for just $20 through Ticketmaster for those looking to attend the NWHL All-Star Game only. Doors to Bridgestone Arena will open at approximately 2 p.m. for fans with NWHL-only tickets.

The All-Star Game will consist of two 25-minute halves, and each team will have 14 skaters and two goaltenders. The captains of the teams will be Buffalo Beauts goaltender Shannon Szabados, a three-time Olympian with Team Canada, and Minnesota Whitecaps defender Lee Stecklein, who won the gold medal with Team USA in the Olympics in February.

“I am so excited to represent the Beauts organization and my teammates at the NWHL All Star-Game,” Szabados said. “It’s such a great honor to be named one of the captains for the game and I am looking forward to playing with the league’s best in Nashville.”

The annual NWHL All-Star Skills Challenge will take place on Saturday, Feb. 9 at Ford Ice Center. This will be an exclusive event, with seating for just 500 fans, and it will include a post-event autograph session with NWHL All-Stars. Tickets, priced at $25, will be available beginning Nov. 28 via Ticketmaster. Prior to the Skills Challenge, NWHL All-Stars will conduct a hockey clinic for young girls enrolled in the Little Preds Learn to Play program.

This will mark the third straight year the NWHL is taking its All-Star events to a neutral site and NHL market, following highly successful weekends in Pittsburgh (2017) and Minnesota (2018) that resulted in significant increases in viewership, apparel sales and social media engagement. In the case of Saint Paul, it led to the NWHL expanding to Minnesota with the acquisition of the Whitecaps.

“To say that our players and league were excited to accept the gracious invitation of the Preds’ organization to bring All-Star Weekend to Nashville would be a massive understatement,” said NWHL Founder and Commissioner Dani Rylan. “The opportunity to showcase our great players in an electric hockey market like Nashville will be one of the most significant moments in our young league’s history. From our youth clinic to the always-entertaining Skills Challenge and then the All-Star Game at Bridgestone Arena, the weekend is going to be a blast for everyone involved – especially the fans. We cannot wait to see you in Nashville!”

Further information regarding Saturday event start times, All-Star uniforms, broadcast plans, roster selection and other details will be available in the coming weeks.

About the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL):

Established in 2015, the NWHL became the first professional women’s hockey league in North America to pay its players and share in revenue from select apparel sales. The mission of the league is to promote and develop women’s hockey, increase participation and interest in the sport at all levels, and shine a light on the role models that fill the rosters of all of its clubs. The league is made up of the Boston Pride (2016 Isobel Cup champions), Buffalo Beauts (2017 champions), Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters (2018 champions), and Minnesota Whitecaps. For more information, please visit NWHL.zone and follow the league on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @NWHL.

About the Nashville Predators:

The Nashville Predators became the National Hockey League’s 27th team on May 4, 1998, and have evolved from a young expansion franchise into a staple of the Middle Tennessee community in the 20 years since. The team strives each season to reach its One Goal: becoming a Stanley Cup Champion hockey team while making Bridgestone Arena the number one sports and entertainment venue in the United States. With One Goal in mind, the team saw its greatest successes in team history when they made it to Game 6 of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final and were named the 2018 Central Division, regular-season Western Conference & Presidents’ Trophy winners last season.

About Ford Ice Center:

Ford Ice Center is a component of a public-private partnership between the Nashville Predators and Metro that helps continue the growth of hockey and skating in Middle Tennessee. Home to Nashville Predators youth and adult hockey initiatives and the Scott Hamilton Skating Academy, Ford Ice Center is a springboard for creating new fans, ensuring more and more kids have the opportunity to get on the ice at an early age and contributes to economic development in Southeastern Davidson County. For more information, visit Fordicecenter.com.

The Temple Baptist Christian School basketball team made the short trip to Shelbyville on Tuesday night to take on their closest rival Victory Baptist Academy.  Breaking an 8 year losing streak to the Patriots, Temple got a 51 point performance from Cody Swayze in a 79 to 70 win.   The JV team lost by a score of 68 to 20.

In the varsity game, Victory stormed out to an early lead before Temple charged back to tie the game at the half at 36.  Trailing by 4 entering the 4^th quarter, the Eagle outscored the Patriots 26 to 13 in the final frame to capture the win.  Swayze poured in 20 of his game high 51 points in the 4^th to power the Eagle comeback.  Sam Floyd added 8 points while Mich Gloden and Trace Woodard each scored 7 for Temple.

In the JV game, Victory outscored Temple 21 to 2 in the 2^nd quarter to seize control of the game.  Alex Gloden was the leading scorer for Temple as he had 13 points.  Sam Floyd added 5 points and Nathan Baker chipped in 2 points.

Temple will return home on Thursday night for a special Senior Night event.  The Lady Eagle volleyball team and the Eagle basketball team will both be in action on Thursday night at the E.C. Bailey Gym.  Landmark Christian Academy of Louisville will be the opponent for each team.  The Lady Eagle volleyball team will take on Landmark at 4:30 PM followed by the Senior Night ceremony.  Following the Senior Night program, the Eagles will square off against Landmark in a varsity basketball contest.