Ryan Ellis scored in the third period and added the shootout winner as the Nashville Predators snapped Edmonton’s four-game winning streak by beating the Oilers 3-2 on Friday night.
Viktor Arvidsson also scored in regulation for the Predators, who have won five of six.
Matt Hendricks and Milan Lucic had the goals for the Oilers, who got 42 saves from Cam Talbot.
Pekka Rinne stopped 30 shots for the win.
Nashville went up 2-1 seven minutes into the third when Ellis’ long knuckler beat Talbot up high after appearing to deflect off the glove of defender Brandon Davidson.
Edmonton tied it again on a power play with 4:29 left in the third. Leon Draisaitl sent the puck in front and Lucic tipped it past Rinne to end a 12-game scoring drought.
Kylie Phillips(right) of CCMS on defense against Harris
The Coffee County Middle School basketball teams ended the regular season in Shelbyville taking on Harris Middle School on the Eagle’s homecoming on Thursday. In a pair of games that that saw each team rally from 1st quarter deficits, the Raiders and Lady Raiders split the conference contests. The Lady Raiders fell 20 to 19 while Red Raiders won 32 to 27.
A game winning shot at the buzzer rimmed out for the Lady Raiders in a defensive struggle in the girls’ game. Harris took the lead with 8 seconds remaining and after a Coffee County time out, Bella Vinson got an open look for a 25 footer at the buzzer that rimmed out as the final horn sounded. Coffee County held Harris to 10 points in the final 3 quarters after falling behind 10 to 2 in a turnover filled first period.
The Lady Raiders were led in scoring by Kylie Phillips who finished with 5 points. Vinson and Kiya Ferrell each finished with 4 points. The Lady Raiders will end the regular season with a record of 14 and 4 overall and 10 and 4 in conference play.
Trevor Horne(#52) of CCMS goes up for a shot over a Harris defender
The Red Raiders rallied from a 4 point deficit in the 1st quarter as they held Harris to 2 points in the 2nd quarter. Coffee County tied the game with a minute remaining in the 3rd quarter on a Jaxon Vaughn 3 pointer before dominating the 4th quarter. Trevor Horne contested every Eagle shot in the paint and finished with 9 blocked shots.
The Red Raiders were led in scoring by Vaughn who had 11 points, Horne and Trenton Scrivnor each finished with 6 points for Coffee County who improved to 11 and 7 on the season and 7 and 7 in conference play.
Coffee County is back in action next week as they enter play in the Central Tennessee Conference postseason tournament. The CTC tournament will begin on Monday as the Lady Raiders will take on Warren County at 6:30 PM at Tullahoma High School. The Red Raiders open play on Tuesday at 8 PM against North Franklin also at Tullahoma High School. The conference tournament will conclude on Saturday.
The waning minutes of regulation got a little dicey, but Nashville Predators found a way.
Ryan Ellis scored twice and the visitors defeated the Calgary Flames, 4-3, on Thursday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The victory gives the Preds 21 wins and 49 points on the season, pushing them into the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference and two points behind St. Louis for the third spot in the Central Division.
Calgary added all three of their goals in the final 3:43 of regulation, but Nashville hung on to record two big points.
“No matter how you look at it, it’s a win,” Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. The guys played hard and we did a great job for 55 minutes and did a great job in the last 45 seconds just battling to get it done.”
“The bottom line is we needed those two points,” forward Harry Zolnierczyk said. “That puts us in a playoff spot right now with a few games in hand. We want to get back on a roll here and put a few wins together.”
Peter Laviolette has often spoken on green lighting his defensemen to jump into the play when they see an offensive opportunity. Ryan Ellis scoring – on what was essentially a breakaway – in the second period was Exhibit A.
After breaking out of their own end, Zolnierczyk carried the puck up the right side and found a streaking Ellis over the blue line, who then beat Calgary goaltender Chad Johnson glove side for his sixth of the season and a 2-0 Preds lead.
“The D was down the wall, so I knew it was either no one back or a forward back,” Ellis said of the play. “I jumped in the rush, Harry made a great play right between two guys, and I just shot the puck.”
A single goal wasn’t enough, however, because before the middle frame was out, Ellis converted again, this time via a slap shot on the power play, for a 3-0 advantage and his first career multi-goal performance.
“It feels good, the way the last game against Vancouver went, we thought we deserved a little better in that one,” Ellis said. “Tonight we worked for about 57 minutes and still got rewarded for it, so it’s a good sign for our team.”
In addition to the goal-scoring prowess of Ellis, Nashville got contributions from two of its big guns on Thursday. James Neal scored his team-leading 15th of the season – his first in eight games – and Filip Forsberg notched his 12th of the campaign as well as the ninth in his last 15 contests.
“It felt good to get going,” Neal said. “It’s been a couple games here, so I felt my timing was better tonight, and it was nice to get one and a big two points for our team.”
Forsberg’s goal pushed Nashville ahead 4-0, but after the Flames’ late rally, stood as the game-winning goal. The third consecutive game-winner for the 22-year-old winger.
“You love when your goal-scorers are scoring goals,” Zolnierczyk said. “That gives them confidence. It gives everybody else confidence. We just want to keep rolling here.”
Another start, another stellar performance from Predators goaltender Juuse Saros.
With the exception of a few bad bounces down the final stretch, the rookie netminder turned aside 32 Calgary shots, including 14 in the first period, to give his team an advantage all night.
For Saros, the confidence continues to grow each time he gets the call between the pipes, and it simply washes over the entire Nashville roster from there.
“He was great tonight,” Zolnierczyk said. “We felt bad when we gave up that first one, a little unlucky off our stick… but he was lights out all game. At the end of the day, he did his job and we got the two points.”
Laviolette summed up his goaltender’s performance simply: “He was outstanding.”
Notes:
Mike Fisher recorded his 300th NHL assist on James Neal’s goal in the first period.
Craig Smith was back in the Nashville lineup in Calgary after he was scratched on Tuesday. Forward Colton Sissons and defenseman Brad Hunt were scratched for the Predators on Thursday.
The Predators made a minor trade during Thursday night’s game, acquiring defenseman Andrew O’Brien from Anaheim in exchange for forward Max Gortz.
Nashville plays game four of their five-game trip Friday night in Edmonton as they face the Oilers for the first time in the brand-new Rogers Place. Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast of that game as part of the Fifth Third Bank/Nashville Predators Radio Network immediately following Coffee County basketball.
Motlow State Community College baseball Head Coach Dan McShea will begin his 11th season at the helm of the program when his team travels to Hanceville, Ala., on Feb. 3 to play a doubleheader with Wallace State. The first home game is Feb. 10, when Marshalltown (IA) visits the Driver Baseball Complex for a noon doubleheader. Photo by Jeff Reed Photography.
The Motlow State Community College baseball program will open its 44th season of competition on Friday, Feb. 3, when it travels to Hanceville, Ala., for a doubleheader against Wallace State Community College. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Dan McShea
Motlow State Community College baseball Head Coach Dan McShea will begin his 11th season at the helm of the program when his team travels to Hanceville, Ala., on Feb. 3 to play a doubleheader with Wallace State. The first home game is Feb. 10, when Marshalltown (IA) visits the Driver Baseball Complex for a noon doubleheader. Photo by Jeff Reed Photography.
Head Coach Dan McShea enters his 11th year at the helm of the program, having compiled an overall record of 229-280-1 in his 10 seasons, including a 20-37 mark in 2016. McShea will be assisted full time once again this season by Cody Gaskill and by volunteer assistant Hayden Pewitt.
After visiting Wallace State, the Bucks will continue to Birmingham where they will play a doubleheader with Lawson State on Feb. 4. The home opener is Friday, Feb. 10, with a doubleheader scheduled against Marshalltown (IA) Community College at noon at the Driver Baseball Complex. The two teams will play another twin bill the following day.
Tennessee Community College Athletic Association play begins Mar. 3, at home, when a three-game series with Chattanooga State begins with a 1 p.m. single nine-inning contest. A pair of seven-inning games will be played the following day. All TCCAA series are scheduled for three games using the single nine inning game on the first day and a pair of seven inning contests the second day format.
The longest road trip for the Bucks will be Feb. 17-18 when they travel to Niceville, Fla., to play four games in two days. The opposition will be Northwest Florida State College, the host school, and Andrew College.
There are two long home stands scheduled. The first and longest is Feb. 24-Mar. 7, with nine games on the docket including the first conference series with Chattanooga State. The Bucks will also be at home for seven games in seven days from Apr. 7-14, including TCCAA series with both Jackson State and Volunteer State.
The season ends with Motlow’s two longest conference road trips; Walters State in Morristown and Southwest Tennessee in Memphis, on back-to-back weekends beginning Apr. 21. The TCCAA/Region VII Tournament is scheduled for May 7-10 at Volunteer State in Gallatin, and the national tournament begins May 27 in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Although Motlow began its baseball program during the first spring the school was open in 1970, there was no baseball played between the years 1983-1986. The program restarted in 1987 and has been vibrant since.
Motlow has 55 games scheduled for the 2017 season, three less than the maximum of 58. There are 27 home games scheduled, including 11 doubleheaders and five single games. Admission is free to all Motlow athletic events and the concession stand is always open.
In addition to being you local sports leader, Thunder Radio has been the broadcast home of Tennessee Titans football since 1999 as a proud member of the Titans Radio Network. Our partnership with our advertising sponsors has also allowed us to bring you selected NFL games during weeks that the Titans are not in action. This is why we at Thunder Radio have teamed up with Al White Ford/Lincoln and are pleased to once again bring you the final 3 games of the NFL season this year.
Thunder Radio and Al White Ford/Lincoln will bring you Westwood One’s coverage of the NFC and AFC Championship games this Sunday, followed by Super Bowl 51 coming up on Sunday, February 5th. Sunday’s lineup begins at 1 PM as Green Bay visits Atlanta for the NFC Championship game. Following at 5:30 PM, Westwood One Radio Sports will take you to Foxboro for the AFC Championship game between the Steelers and the Patriots. So keep you dial tuned right here to Thunder Radio for more than complete sports coverage and visit AL White Ford/Lincoln and discover why for nearly 62 years, people have been trading right with Al White.
Motlow State freshman point guard Tamiah Stanford pulls us for a baseline jumper against Walters State Friday night. Stanford, from Radcliff, Kentucky, has been one of the Lady Bucks’ most consistent players this season. During the weekend’s wins over Walters State and Roane State, Stanford combined for 19 points, 13 assists, 11 rebounds and seven steals. Motlow’s next home game is Feb. 3 against Chattanooga State. [Photo by Jeff Reed Photography]
The Motlow State Lady Bucks ended one of the nation’s longest sports winning streaks and took over sole possession of first place in the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association with a 65-55 win over Walters State in front of a large, loud crowd Friday night at Copperweld Arena.
The Lady Bucks (15-2, 7-0) completed their successful weekend at home on Saturday with a 70-56 win over Roane State. Motlow entered the weekend as the No. 15 ranked JUCO team in the nation and has now won nine consecutive games. The Lady Bucks will travel to Memphis on Friday to face Southwest Tennessee.
LADY BUCKS 65 WALTERS STATE 55
The Lady Senators came into Friday’s contest having won a remarkable 110 straight games in the TCCAA, a streak that stretched back over eight years. However, the Lady Bucks took control from the outset, leading 16-8 after one quarter and 35-20 at the half. Motlow had its largest lead, 33-12, with three minutes remaining in the first half.
The Lady Senators (11-6, 6-1) never quit though and fought their way back to close the gap within single digits, 51-43, after three quarters. The Lady Bucks, behind a powerful inside-out combination of Kienya Jones, Sara Vujacic and Sydney Floyd, held off the surge and took their place as the top women’s JUCO team in Tennessee.
Motlow’s defense was outstanding, holding the visitors to 33 percent shooting from the field, including 2-16 from three-point range. The Lady Bucks lost the rebounding battle to the taller Lady Senators 46-31, but Motlow shot 45 percent from the field and hit 4-9 three-point shots.
Jones was the high scorer with 18 points, while Vujacic scored 15 and Floyd had 11. Tamiah Stanford scored nine points, pulled down a team-high six rebounds and dished out three assists. Floyd added five assists and three rebounds, while Jones had four boards. Shalyn Washington added five points, Ty Jones scored four and Aja Robertson had three.
LADY BUCKS 74 ROANE STATE 60
After expending so much physical and emotional energy the night before, the Lady Bucks were somewhat flat on Saturday, although they led after one quarter 22-15. The first nine minutes of the second quarter belonged to the visiting Lady Raiders though, as they outscored Motlow 24-6 to lead 39-28 with one minute to play in the first half.
The Lady Bucks responded by scoring the final eight points of the half and trailed by only three, 39-36, at the break. Floyd was especially dynamic, connecting on 6-9 three-point shots and leading the team in scoring with 20 points.
Motlow slowly expanded its lead in the third quarter and led 57-47 after 30 minutes of play before closing the door in the final stanza.
Vujacic scored 16 points with six assists, five steals and four rebounds, Kienya Jones scored 11 with eight rebounds and three assists; Stanford had a double-double with 10 points, 10 assists, six steals and five rebounds. Washington added six points, Miranda Boutwell scored three, while Ty Jones and Ebony Shaw each had two.
Visit the official website of Motlow Athletics at MotlowSports.com for rosters, schedules, stats and more. Interact with Motlow Athletics on social media at MotlowSports.
Motlow State freshman Rashawn Fredericks led the Bucks to a pair of wins over the weekend, including a 36-point victory over previously undefeated Walters State. During the two wins, Fredericks combined for 49 points, 31 rebounds and three blocked shots. The 6-6 freshman from Tampa is averaging a double-double on the season with 13.2 points per game and 10.4 rebounds per contest. [Photo by Jeff Reed Photography]
The Motlow State Bucks rode a red-hot shooting night and a shutdown defensive effort to an 85-49 win over previously undefeated and nationally ranked Walters State at Copperweld Arena Friday night in front of a large, loud crowd estimated at over 750.
The Bucks (15-3, 5-2) followed that win on Saturday by capturing their ninth victory in a row, beating visiting Roane State 74-60. The weekend wins came on the heels of Tuesday’s 88-82 win over Itawamba in Fulton, Miss. Motlow will travel to Memphis to face Southwest Tennessee on Friday, then play at Dyersburg State Saturday.
BUCKS 85 WALTERS STATE 49
Motlow gained the upper hand early against the visiting Senators, who entered the contest ranked No. 8 in the nation and sporting a 15-0 record. Behind a hot start by Rashawn Fredericks and Isaiah Hart, Motlow led 18-14 halfway through the first half and 37-29 at intermission.
The Bucks started the second half on a 13-2 run in the first six minutes and were never threatened from there. Motlow blistered the nets, shooting 62.5 percent from the field, including 14-27 from behind the three-point line. The Bucks won the rebounding battle 39-30 and dished out 24 assists while forcing the Senators into 18 turnovers.
Rashawn Fredericks led the way for the home team with another double-double, scoring 21 points and pulling down 15 rebounds while adding three blocked shots, two steals and two assists. Javion Hamlet also had a double-double, scoring 11 points with 10 assists and two steals.
Hart scored 19 points, hitting 5-8 three-pointers, and added five assists and two steals. Damarcus Williams was strong off the bench with eight points and six rebounds, and Aleksandar Zecevic also scored eight. Javel Gillespie added six points, Chad Emmons had five, Kevonte Corley scored three with seven rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists, and Jalen Bell and Ross Plunkett each scored two.
BUCKS 74 ROANE STATE 60
Motlow was visibly fatigued on Saturday on the heels of their dominating win over Walters, but when the Bucks needed their bench to step up it did, scoring 25 points with 15 rebounds, six assists and six steals.
The Bucks jumped out to an early 10 point lead against the Raiders and maintained that advantage through most of the first half, which ended with Motlow leading 42-32. The Raiders cut the lead to three, 51-48 with 10 minutes remaining, but Fredericks and Bell led the Motlow offense in the final minutes to secure the win.
Fredericks finished off a tremendous weekend with 28 points and 16 rebounds. Zecevic scored 11 of Motlow’s first 18 points and finished with 13 points and four rebounds. Bell was exceptional off the bench, scoring 10 with eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. Hart had nine points, four assists and three steals, Hamlet scored eight with eight assists and four steals, and Williams added six points and seven rebounds.
The Bucks are currently tied with Chattanooga State for second place in the TCCAA standings, just one game behind Walters State. Motlow will host Chattanooga State on Feb. 3.
Visit the official website of Motlow Athletics at MotlowSports.com for rosters, schedules, stats and more. Interact with Motlow Athletics on social media at MotlowSports.
Aerial Williams of CHS basketball [Photo by Demarco Moore-Manchester Times]
The Coffee County CHS basketball teams rolled into Tullahoma on Tuesday night looking to continue a streak over dominance over their rivals from the west. Each team had strong performances in the 1st half but closed both games out with authority in a pair of dominating wins. The Lady Raiders crushed the Lady Cats 70 to 39 while the Red Raiders tamed the Wildcats by a final score of 53 to 32.
The Lady Raiders opened the game with a strong 1st quarter as they raced out to an early 17 to 5 lead. Tullahoma cut the lead to 6 at the half before Coffee County outscored the Lady Cats 22 to 6 in the 3rd quarter to put the game out of reach. The win improves the Lady Raiders record to 14 and 4 overall and 4 and 2 in district play.
Senior Aerial Williams led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 17 points and was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game. Holli Smithson and Abby Morgan each added 11 points. Jacey Vaughn notched 10 points as 11 different Lady Raiders scored on the night.
Grant Sadler of CHS Basketball [Photo by Demarco Moore – Manchester Times]
After trailing by 4 at the end of the first quarter, the Red Raiders outscored Tullahoma 14 to 2 in the 2nd period to take an 8 point lead into the half. Garrett Booth hit another buzzer beating 3 pointer, this time at the end of half, to spark a 2nd half that saw the Raiders hold Tullahoma to 19 points in the final 16 minutes. With the win, Coffee County’s record improves to 17 and 4 overall and 4 and 2 in district play.
Senior Stephen Sullivan led the Red Raiders in scoring with 14 points while fellow senior Grant Sadler added 13 on the night. The senior duo was named the Crazy Daisies co-players of the game. Darius Rozier came off the bench to finish with 8 points while Booth added 6.
Coffee County is back in action on Friday night when they travel to Shelbyville. The girls’ game is set to tip off at 6 PM and Thunder Radio will be there to bring you all the action. Our live coverage begins at 5:50 with the Powers Storage Pregame Show.
The Coffee County Middle School basketball teams began their final week of the regular season in Decherd on Tuesday night as they visited North Franklin. Coffee County got the week off on the right foot with a pair of wins on the Gators home floor. The Lady Raiders won by a final of 31 to 21 while the Red Raiders drained the swamp 39 to 36.
The Lady Raiders again leaned on their defense as Coffee County did not allow more than 6 points in any quarter for North. Coffee County was able to get balanced scoring and hit their free throws down the stretch to improve to 14 and 3 on the season and 1 and 3 in conference play. Marley Perry led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 12 points. Bella Vinson added 11 points and Kylie Phillips finished with 5.
Trevor Horne of CCMS basketball
The Red Raiders used a 22 point 2nd half to rally in the final 12 minutes to get the season split with the Gators. Coffee County was 7 of 10 at the free throw line in the 4th quarter to win the exciting boys contest. The win improves the Red Raiders to 10 and 7 overall and 6 and 7 in conference play. Trevor Horne led the Red Raiders in scoring with 14 points. Jaxon Vaughn added 13 while Conner Shemwell chipped in 4 points for Coffee County.
Coffee County is back in action on Thursday night when they travel to Shelbyville to take on Harris Middle School. The girls’ game is set to tip off at 6 PM. The CTC conference tournament will begin on Monday, Coffee County’s opponent and game times will be announced later in the week. The conference tournament will be held at Tullahoma High School.
Henrik Sedin broke a scoreless tie in the third period and the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Nashville Predators by a 1-0 final at Rogers Arena on Tuesday night. The loss snaps Nashville’s three-game win streak, holding them at 47 points in the standings.
“I liked a lot of what we did,” Nashville Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “It was pretty tight defensively, [we] worked to generate offense, but they’re a stingy team. It’s not easy generating offense. I thought we competed hard and gave ourselves a chance to win.”
In the opening period, Derek Grant thought he had scored his first NHL goal to give the Preds a 1-0 lead during a scrum in front of the Vancouver net, but after a lengthy discussion, the officials determined there was intent to blow the whistle on the play.
Nearly 50 minutes of play later, it was still top of mind following the one-goal loss for Nashville.
“I don’t understand it at all myself, I don’t understand any explanation I got tonight. None,” Laviolette said. “It’s frustrating. We’re in a playoff battle and we need every point. So we’re walking away with none tonight.”
“I thought we did a good job of getting in on the forecheck and causing the turnover and I just tried to get to the net,” Grant said of the play. “We were all in there jamming away, and I thought it was a good goal on the ice, and then I guess he changed his mind later on. That’s just the way this game works sometimes.”
The no-goal ruling ultimately preserved a 30-save shutout for Ryan Miller, and led to a scoreless contest entering the final period. Career point No. 999 for Henrik Sedin at 12:28 proved to be the difference-maker. From there, Vancouver held off Nashville’s final push to come away with the win.
Nashville’s trip continues through Western Canada on Thursday and Friday with dates in Calgary and Edmonton, offering up further opportunity to collect precious points away from home.
“This is the time of the year where you have to put points in the bank,” defenseman Matt Irwin said. “You just have to find a way to get one or two, especially on the road. We were right there tonight. Unfortunately, we don’t get it, but there’s parts of our games we really liked. We’ll have to carry that into a couple more tough buildings on the road here and get some more points.”
Notes:
Defenseman Alexandre Carrier made his NHL debut on Tuesday in Vancouver, skating 10:49 and blocking one shot.
Prior to Tuesday’s game, Nashville reassigned forward Kevin Fiala to Milwaukee and placed defenseman Petter Granberg on Injured Reserve. The Preds also claimed defenseman Brad Hunt on waivers from St. Louis. Hunt is expected to join the team in Calgary.
Nashville’s five-game trip continues on Thursday night in Calgary against the Flames (at 8 p.m. CT), followed by a Friday night outing in Edmonton.
Ryan Ellis scored in the third period and added the shootout winner as the Nashville Predators snapped Edmonton’s four-game winning streak by beating the Oilers 3-2 on Friday night.
