For the 2nd consecutive night, the Lady Raiders of Coffee County opened the first period with a strong performance against a solid district opponent at Lawrence County on Tuesday night. And for the 2nd consecutive night, Coffee County saw a 1st quarter lead turn into a formidable halftime deficit. On Tuesday, early foul trouble saw a 13 to 13 tie at the halfway point of the 1st quarter fade into an 87 to 53 loss to the district leading Lady Cats. Abby Morgan had 12 points in the 2nd half on her way to a team high 19 points as she was named the Gateway Tire and Service Center Player of the Game. Aerial Williams finished with 12 points and Alliyah Williams added 8 points for Coffee County which falls to 2 and 6 in district play.
CHS basketball player Grant Sadler
Coming off a disappointing loss on Monday night, the Red Raiders struggled from the opening tip as they fell into a 27 to 5 hole in the 1st quarter to Lawrence County. From that point, Coffee County was able to nearly match the Wildcats in scoring deep into the 4th quarter. Lawrence County outscored the Raiders 17 to 8 in the final period to drop the Raiders 75 to 43 in the boys contest. Grant Sadler led the Raiders in scoring with 15 points to be named the Gateway Tire and Service Center Player of the Game. Garrett Eldridge and Caleb McKenzie both came off the bench to net 6 points apiece for Coffee County who is 7 and 12 on the year but still looking for their 1st district win.
Coffee County returns home on Friday night to take on Lincoln County at the Patch. Friday night will also be the annual Winterfest celebration which was rescheduled from last Friday night. Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you all the action as we begin our broadcast with the Powers Storage Pregame Show at 5:50.
Nashville Predators forward James Neal didn’t hesitate before shooting the winning goal over Vancouver Canucks goalie Ryan Miller’s glove on Tuesday.
Neal didn’t hesitate before making a bold assessment about how important the win was either.
Neal scored with 4:44 left in the third period to lift Nashville to a 2-1 victory against Vancouver at Rogers Arena. The Predators have won three straight games, something they hadn’t accomplished in more than three months.
“Stanley Cup-important, I think you can say,” Neal said. “Playoffs-important.”
Craig Smith scored 59 seconds into the game, and Pekka Rinne made 28 saves for the Predators (23-18-8), who hadn’t won three in a row since Oct. 17-22.
Nashville is one point behind the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
But with two-and-a-half months before the playoffs start, Rinne said the victory in Vancouver means more between the ears than in the standings.
“It was very crucial not only looking at the standings,” Rinne said, “but crucial mentally and as a team for our confidence and the way you feel about yourself and your game.”
Despite jumping out to a fast start and an early lead, the Predators were being outshot 24-11 heading into the third period. But Nashville controlled the play in the third and were up 8-2 in shots when Neal put them ahead by taking advantage of a bad line change for Vancouver.
With the Canucks defensemen going off at the same time, Predators defenseman Barret Jackman threw the puck across the ice and off the boards to a streaking Neal, who beat Miller over the glove with a wrist shot from just above the right faceoff dot.
“[Jackman] made a great play to lay one off the wall, and they were going for a change, so I was able to jump into a spot and get the puck on my stick and get it off as quick as I can,” said Neal, whose 18 goals lead Nashville. “He made a great save on me earlier with the blocker, so if I had another chance, I was going to go high glove on him.”
It was a tough way to lose for the Canucks, who concluded a six-game road trip by blowing a two-goal third-period lead in a 5-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
“Those are tough points to lose, on something you could have avoided,” coach Willie Desjardins said.
The Canucks have talked about making better changes, Desjardins said.
Vancouver center Brandon Sutter scored in his first game back after missing 33 with a sports hernia that required surgery, but it was hard to find a lot of positives.
“We can’t give up an easy goal like that,” he said. “We kind of just gave them that one.”
The Canucks had five shots in the third period, but most came during a late power play with Miller pulled. They spent most of the period in their own end.
“It looked like they had a purpose in the third period,” Miller said. “For the most part, we were matching it. It just came down to a mistake.”
The game started with a mistake too.
The Predators, who have won the first three of a four-game road trip that wraps up against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, jumped out to an early lead when Smith drove the net unchecked to deflect a Mike Fisher pass over Miller’s glove.
The Canucks didn’t have a shot on goal until 6:10 of the first period, but they tied it 1-1 on a give-and-go between Sutter and Daniel Sedin with 8:21 left in the period.
Sutter, who was injured Nov. 10 and had surgery Dec. 1, dropped a pass for Sedin as they came over the blue line, then cut over to the right slot for the return pass, one-touching it over the pad and past the outstretched glove of a sliding Rinne.
“Danny made a good play; you don’t want to miss those ones,” Sutter said. “It was a good way to get started. After that, I felt like I got my legs going a bit.”
Sutter, who returned to the No.1 center spot of injured captain Henrik Sedin, had a great chance to score again on a shorthanded breakaway less than two minutes later, making a great deke that had Rinne down and out before missing wide with a backhand.
Rinne, who has made saves on 77 of 80 shots on the road trip, made a point-blank save against Vancouver’s Sven Baertschi late in the second period and got his right pad on a Bo Horvat tip with the Canucks on the power play in the final seconds.
Rinne gave up 15 goals in five starts before the road trip but has allowed fewer than two goals in three straight games for the first time since the first three games of the season.
The Predators return to the ice Wednesday night as they travel to Calgary to take the Flames. That game will start at 8:30 PM and Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast on the Fifth Third Bank/Nashville Predators Radio Network.
Garrett Eldridge of CHS Basketball(Photo by Jay Bailey – Manchester Times)
A questionable basket by Shelbyville to close out the 3rd period proved to be the deciding margin of victory for the visiting Eagles as Shelbyville downed Coffee County 52 to 51 in high school basketball action on Monday night at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym. Roger Pryor floated a shot through the net after the horn sounded to end the 3rd quarter that the officials counted as a good basket to give Shelbyville a 10 point lead entering the final 8 minutes. The Red Raiders stormed back to take a 46 to 45 lead with 2:45 left before a late turnover and a pair of missed shots saw their rally come up just short at the buzzer. Garrett Eldridge came off the bench to score 14 points to lead the Raiders in scoring as he captured the Gateway Tire and Service Center Player of the Game award. Kohl Young added 13 points and Wyatt Day netted 12 points for the Raiders.
Aerial Williams(Photo by Jay Bailey – Manchester Times)
The Lady Raiders saw Shelbyville force 16 turnovers in the first half as they exploded out to a 42 to 10 halftime lead on their way to a 74 to 34 defeat of Coffee County. The Lady Raiders cleaned up the execution in the 2nd half, but had no answer for the inside/outside offensive attack of the Eaglettes. Holli Smithson and Aerial Williams each tallied 8 points to lead Coffee County in scoring and Jacey Vaughn added 6 points. For her tenacious play in the paint, Aerial Williams was named the Gateway Tire and Service Center Player of the Game.
Coffee County returns to district action on Tuesday when they travel to Lawrenceburg to take on Lawrence County. Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you all the action as we begin our broadcast with the Powers Storage Pregame Show at 5:50.
The Coffee County Middle School Lady Raiders opened up a 24 point halftime lead on their way to a 71 to 14 opening round win over East Tullahoma on Monday night at the CTC Post Season Tournament being held at CCMS. The Lady Raiders held the Lady Panthers to one field goal in the 2nd half as nine different Lady Raiders had points for Coffee County. Julia Duncan led all scorers as she had 25 points on the night. Ellie Graham added 9 points while Bella Vinson and Marissa Douglas each poured in 8 points for the Lady Raiders. The win improves Coffee County’s record to 17 and 0 on the season as they advance to Thursday’s semifinal round where they will take on North Franklin at 8 PM at CCMS.
CTC Boys Tournament Bracket – Click to Expand
Also in girls action on Monday, West Tullahoma spanked Warren County 56 to 30 and North Franklin stunned South Franklin 35 to 26. The Red Raiders will open CTC tournament play on Thursday as they take on West Tullahoma. That game will tip off at 6:30 PM. All games in the CTC tournament will be held at the Coffee County Middle School.
Mattias Ekholm #42 of the Nashville Predators (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)
Defenseman Mattias Ekholm made contributions at both ends of the ice to help the Nashville Predators win their second consecutive game.
Ekholm scored two goals for the first time in his NHL career and goaltender Pekka Rinne made 23 saves for the Predators in a 4-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place on Saturday.
The Predators (22-18-8) have won the first two games of a four-game road trip that continues Tuesday at the Vancouver Canucks.
“Goals are always nice to score,” Ekholm said. “It’s not my No. 1 priority maybe; the two points that’s what counts. On the road trip, to start 2-0 is huge for us in the position we’re in. But it’s always nice to contribute both offensively and defensively. It wasn’t pretty, both my goals weren’t really how we drew it up, but we’ll take it.”
Mike Fisher and Filip Forsberg also scored for the Predators.
“It was a really good road win for us,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. “We got a big goal to answer their goal in the first period and Mattias had a heck of a game. I thought our guys played hard. They played hard, they played smart and we were able to chip in some timely goals. It wasn’t going to be an easy game; they are playing hard but I thought we were a bit more consistent tonight than we have been recently.”
Leon Draisaitl scored and goaltender Cam Talbot made 21 saves for the Oilers (19-26-5), who have lost three straight.
Draisaitl scored 11:54 into the first period to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead. Draisaitl took the puck wide against Predators defenseman Shea Weber down the left wing, cut to the front of the net and lifted a backhand over Rinne’s shoulder for his 12th goal of the season.
Ekholm tied the game at 13:36 on a scramble in front of the Oilers’ net. He was able to squeeze a shot through traffic past Talbot after collecting the puck in the slot.
“I thought when we got behind, we responded with that first goal and I thought we played smart and got some good offensive zone time,” Fisher said. “Offensively, it was a solid game for us and our PK was timely and we got some big kills. We knew it was going to be tight and it was nice to get that extra one in the third period. But I didn’t think we sat back too much after that, we still got some chances and played a good, solid third.”
Ekholm gave the Predators a 2-1 lead at 1:47 of the second period with a strange power-play goal. His shot hit Oilers defenseman Andrej Sekera in the head, then fell into Talbot’s equipment. Not knowing where the puck was, Talbot dropped to his knees and the puck rolled out of his left pad and bounced into the net.
Sekera came close to tying the game late in the second period when he controlled the puck in the slot on a scramble in front of the Predators’ net. He got his shot over a sprawling Rinne but hit the crossbar.
“It was a tough game for us, but I thought we battled hard,” Oilers left wing Taylor Hall said. “They’re a good team that comes hard and they have a healthy lineup and quite frankly we don’t. Not only do we not have a healthy lineup, but our schedule has been terrible. So all things considered, I think it was a pretty good effort.”
Fisher extended the Predators’ lead to 3-1 at 52 seconds of the third period, converting a centering pass out of the corner from Weber. Forsberg scored into an empty net with 36 seconds remaining.
The Predators visit Vancouver on Tuesday to take on the Canucks. That game will get underway at 9 PM and Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast on the Fifth Third Bank/Nashville Predators Radio Network
The Burch & Stanley attorneys at law “Student of the Week” for 22 January 2016 is Sarah Huffman. Sarah is in the fifth grade at Bel-Aire Elementary School in Tullahoma. She is the daughter of proud parents Susan and Fred. She was nominated and selected to receive this award because she is positive and energetic, always ready to put her best effort forth regardless of the assignment. She sets a positive example for all her classmates. Sarah is also a great citizen and is helpful to both fellow students and teachers. Sarah is on swim team and her event is the 100 meter freestyle. She is also involved in many after-school activities: 4H, Art Club, Yearbook Staff and PBS (Positive Behavior) Committee. She plans on being a either a Veterinarian Youtube personality. She was presented with a plaque (courtesy of K&S Trophies of Tullahoma) and a set of tickets to an up-coming Nashville Predators game. Congratulations to Sarah Huffman, the Burch & Stanley attorneys at law “Student of the Week”.
The Burch and Stanley Attorneys at Law Student of the Week Sarah Huffman with Trinina Stanley
The Coffee County Middle School Lady Raiders completed a perfect regular season on Thursday night with a 51 to 39 win over Harris in Shelbyville. The Lady Raiders withstood a 20 point 4th quarter rally from Harris to finish the regular season with a record of 16 and 0. Coffee County held the Eaglettes to 5 points in the 3rd quarter to take a 23 point lead into the final frame. Julia Duncan led Coffee County in scoring with 21 points. Keelie Hillis added 10 points while Bella Vinson netted 9 points for the Lady Raiders.
Blanton Brown of CCMS basketball
The Red Raiders held the upper hand on the Eagles for much of the game before falling by a final score of 53 to 48. Coffee County used some good outside shooting to take a 9 point lead into the halftime break. Harris made the necessary halftime adjustments to take the lead in the 3rd quarter and hold on for the win. The Raiders were led in scoring by Blanton Brown and Jaxon Vaughn who each scored 11 points. Brandon Jernigan netted 10 points while Larson Meltzer finished with 9 points.
Next up for Coffee County will be the Central Tennessee Conference post season tournament which will get underway on Monday night at Coffee County Middle School. Seedings and matchups will be determined on Friday and Thunder Radio will keep you updated on times and matchups when they are finalized.
The Coffee County Central High School wrestlers benefited from several match wins via the forfeit to claim a pair of team win on Thursday night at “The Meat Grinder.” Coffee County got wins of 42 to 14 over Smyrna and 45 to 18 over Warren County. Josh Tobitt(182) continued his strong January campaign with a 2nd round pin against Smyrna and a forfeit win against Warren County. Rein Bozich(145) moved up in weight to capture a decision win over Warren County and a forfeit win over Smyrna. Josh Young(152) and Dustin Seals(285) each claimed a pair of forfeit wins. Austin Silvers(120), Owen Teague(138), Brody Litz(160), Michael Pressley(170), Harry Hosea(195) and Cade Baker(220) each earned a forfeit win for Coffee County.
CHS Wrestling coaches (left to right) Kyle Kriz, Roger Barlow and Randall Jennings look on during Thursday night’s matches
Friday’s home match with Riverdale has been cancelled due to the Winter Weather Advisory in effect for the area. This match was scheduled to be Senior Night for Coffee County. Coach Roger Barlow will attempt to reschedule the match for early next week, and Thunder Radio will keep you informed if a makeup date can be finalized.
Coach Paul Maurice doesn’t think his Winnipeg Jets are desperate.
With a 4-1 loss at home Thursday night to the Nashville Predators, the Jets are 21-23-3 and their playoff hopes are dimming as they remain at the bottom of the NHL Central Division and six points out of a postseason spot.
”I don’t think desperate hockey has any sense to it,” Maurice said. ”Urgency? Listen, I’m not sure that they didn’t play as hard as they could, but we could play a little smarter and we could pass the puck better. I know that. But clearly we’re in a tough spot here now with the losses that are mounting here at home.”
Ryan Johansen kept up his hot play since being traded with a goal and an assist. Johansen has four goals and nine points in seven games since his trade from Columbus on Jan. 6.
Craig Smith, James Neal and Calle Jarnkrok, with an empty-netter, also scored for the Predators.
Rookie Nikolaj Ehlers scored his ninth goal of the season for Winnipeg, which has dropped two straight to start a six-game homestand.
Ehlers scored at 4:16 of the first period after getting behind Nashville’s defense, picking up a long, breakaway pass from Joel Armia and flipping the puck past Pekka Rinne, who made 26 saves.
”It definitely hurts,” said Ehlers. ”We played a pretty good game, a full 60 minutes. We had some good chances and weren’t able to execute.”
The Predators continue their four-game road trip Saturday in Edmonton.
”It was a great team win, a good way to start off what is going to be a tough road trip and a tough few games coming up,” Neal said. ”A team that’s right behind us in the standings, so it was a huge win.”
Connor Hellebuyck stopped 24 for the Jets.
Nashville capitalized on a kneeing penalty to Jets winger Anthony Peluso to tie it 1-1 at 16:39 of the first.
Johansen scored his ninth goal of the season on the power play when he jammed the puck in on the short side from behind the goal line.
Nashville took the 2-1 lead in the second period when Smith’s shot from inside the faceoff circle went high past a partly screened Hellebuyck for his 10th goal at 5:04.
Winnipeg had an 18-17 edge in shots on goal heading into the third.
Neal scored his 17th goal at 18:08 when Johansen won the faceoff and sent the puck to him out in front. Jarnkrok added the empty-netter 25 seconds later.
”If we’re a good enough team to outshoot them 11-2 even strength in the second period, then you’ve got to be a good enough team to win the game,” Maurice said.
The Predators return to the ice on Saturday as they travel to Edmonton. That game begins at 9 PM and you can hear all the action here on Thunder Radio
The Coffee County High School and Middle School swim teams have completed their regular season and six high school and 4 middle school swimmers have qualified to compete in the region championships coming up at the end of the month. The 4 middle school swimmers will compete in 2 events each while 6 high school swimmers have qualified for 11 different events at the Middle Tennessee High School Swimming Association region championship meet on Friday, January 29th in Nashville.
Kennedy Norman-Young(photo provided)
The middle school swimmers that have qualified are:
CCMS 8th grader Kaylee Williams – 100M breaststroke & 200M freestyle
CCMS 6th grader, Amber Ingleburger – 50M freestyle & 100M freestyle
WMS 6th grader, Kennedy Norman-Young – 200M freestyle & 50M freestyle
and WMS 6th grader William Tobitt – 50M freestyle & 100M freestyle
The high school swimmers that have qualified for the region are:
Junior Emma Allen – 50M freestyle & 100M freestyle.
Junior Ryan Farless – 200M freestyle, 50M freestyle, 100M freestyle & 100M butterfly.
Emma Allen of CHS Swim
Junior Emily Warner – 50M freestyle & 100M freestyle.
Sophomore Donald Ridner – 50M freestyle
Freshman Jack Beachboard – 200M freestyle, 200M IM, 50M freestyle, 100M butterfly, 100M freestyle, 500M freestyle, 100M backstroke and 100M breaststroke
and Freshman Anna O’Conner – 200M freestyle, 100M butterfly, 100M freestyle & 500M freestyle
Each swimmer can compete in a maximum of 2 events in the region meet.
Additionally, Jack Beachbord has qualified for the state meet in the 500M freestyle. The Tennessee Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association state meet will be held on February 12th and 13th also at Centennial SportsPlex in Nashville.
Swimming coach Lana Ray and assistant coach Mike Ray will be guests on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show to talk about the upcoming championships. The Coffee Coaches Show airs at 10 AM on Saturday and is broadcast for the showroom at Al White Ford/Lincoln in Manchester.
