Gaston Christian baseball's Meridian Leffew on playoff win, team's NCISAA title bid
Basha Scores In Return From Injury As The Medicine Hat Tigers Defeat The Spokane Chiefs 4-1 In Game 1 Of The 2025 WHL Championship Series
The Medicine Hat Tigers kicked off the 2025 WHL Championship Series with a 4-1 victory over the Spokane Chiefs. Bryce Pickford scored the game-winner, while Gavin McKenna recorded two assists, pushing his point streak to 54 games. As for the winning goaltender, that was Harrison Meneghin, who stopped 36 of the 37 shots he faced.
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New York Times
31 minutes ago
- New York Times
Blown save: Panthers' 3-year run as NHL's best closers comes to an end in Game 1
EDMONTON — There's no lonelier place to be than a penalty box in overtime, but especially when the power play you put on the ice includes Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Since 2016-17, Draisaitl has been the NHL's overtime king with 19 in the regular season. But in these playoffs, he's been virtually automatic. Advertisement So Wednesday night, when Tomas Nosek was pressured by Vasily Podkolzin and airmailed a puck into the stands for a delay-of-game penalty, the first-year Panther and one of five skaters in Florida's lineup that didn't win a Stanley Cup with the reigning champs last year had to be sick. 'It's a tough break,' Panthers coach Paul Maurice said after McDavid connected with Draisaitl for his third overtime goal of the playoffs and a 4-3 Oilers win in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. 'So we'll just make sure he doesn't eat alone tonight. He's got lots of people sitting at his table and reminding him how good he's been. It's going to be tough. He's going to eat that one for a day.' Bobrovsky denies Bouchard and then moments later the Oilers head to a power play late in OT 👀 — Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 5, 2025 Maurice said the Panthers will remind Nosek that they're not here in the Stanley Cup Final if not for his terrific play at even-strength on the fourth line and on the penalty kill in the second round against Toronto. 'We'll remind him of that a whole bunch of times before the puck drops (for Game 2 Friday night),' Maurice said. And the reality is, even though Nosek may have committed the penalty that resulted in Draisaitl's winner, the Panthers lost because they atypically didn't close out a game they at one point led by two goals. The Panthers have been the best closers in playoff hockey under Maurice. Since he took over in 2022-23, the Panthers were 31-0 in the playoffs when leading after the first or second period and 29-0 when leading after two. Yet less than two minutes after Sam Bennett scored his second goal of the game and league-leading and franchise-record 12th goal of the playoffs, one bad shift led to Edmonton's fourth line striking with a Viktor Arvidsson goal 77 seconds later. Advertisement Mattias Ekholm, in only his second playoff game after a lower-body injury, forced overtime in a third period where the Oilers had a 14-2 edge on shots. 'They just pushed,' said Brad Marchand, who gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead with his eighth career Stanley Cup Final goal. 'A couple pucks we didn't really get deep. Gotta be a little bit better making plays under pressure, getting our legs going a little bit more. We got caught just kind of flipping pucks, and they'd regroup and come back at us. So, a little cleaner there.' Maurice felt the Panthers played too safe with the puck. And as Maurice has been repeating since the Panthers dispatched Carolina in five games for their third straight Prince of Wales Trophy, both the Oilers and Panthers are better than a year ago when they met in the final round. The Oilers showed that Wednesday night. Yes, Draisaitl scored the first and last goals and McDavid assisted on the tying and winning goals. But it was the Oilers' depth that was truly impressive. Kasperi Kapanen had two assists and five hits. Arvidsson, during a great night from Edmonton's fourth line, had the big answer to trigger the multi-goal comeback. Podkolzin had an assist and was a menace in overtime, pressuring Nosek into the big gaffe but also pressuring Aaron Ekblad earlier in overtime into one of a number Panthers' icings that turned the tide from a strong start to the period by Florida. And defensemen like John Klingberg, Jake Walman and Brett Kulak continued their solid playoffs. 'It takes everyone,' McDavid said. 'How many times are we going to say that? It takes everybody, obviously. I thought that whole (Mattias) Janmark line was dangerous all night. I thought they were a big difference-maker, and in overtime, I thought they were the only line that was generating. 'We've got lots of players who are playing well at the right time. All good stuff.' Oilers are 5-0-0 at home this season when Viktor Arvidsson scores — Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) June 5, 2025 There's no doubt Wednesday's game could have gone either way. Both teams went toe-to-toe in the type of high-octane style that could make this series a long one and certainly a classic. 'There isn't any casualness and there's no BS in either team's game,' Maurice said. 'The pucks go deep that are supposed to go deep. I think we had one all night we didn't like, maybe two all night that we didn't like our decision of the line. They didn't fool around with it, either. It was honest, it was hard, it was fast and it was tight.' Advertisement But after dropping the first three games to Florida last year before rallying to force a Game 7, the Oilers showed how motivated they are to not watch the Panthers celebrate winning a championship against them a second time. 'It's always a little bit of an adjustment between the series with how the other team plays even though you go through the pre-scout,' said third-line winger Eetu Luostarinen. 'The game is a little bit different, so it takes a little bit of time and today we were one goal less.' And the Panthers usually find a way to adjust, get better and learn from their mistakes. Asked what the Panthers learned in Game 1, Bennett said simply, 'I think just not let up. Don't sit back. We've been really good all year at not sitting back with the lead. And for whatever reason, we sat back a little bit. 'It's gonna be a long series. I don't think we expected this to be easy. So you can learn some things from tonight, and then we're just gonna move on.' Added Marchand: 'It's one game. You can't get stuck in the past here. So we'll regroup, refocus and get ready for the next one.'
CNN
35 minutes ago
- CNN
Edmonton Oilers defeat Florida Panthers in overtime to take Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final
A Canadian team hasn't lifted the Stanley Cup in almost 32 years and now the Edmonton Oilers are one step closer to breaking that drought after defeating the Florida Panthers 4-3 in overtime to take Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday. Leon Draisaitl secured a feed from Connor McDavid and found the back of the net with just over 30 seconds left in the first extra period to send Oilers fans at Rogers Place and the Moss Pit outside the arena into an excited frenzy. Edmonton got off to a fast start with Draisaitl scoring 66 seconds into the game but the defending Cup champ Panthers did not let that keep them down. Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand each scored in a span of two minutes to give Florida the lead. The 28-year-old Bennett added his second goal of the game early in the second period as the Edmonton crowd, once bursting with excitement, was stunned into silence. Despite an Oilers goal just over a minute later, the Panthers found themselves in a familiar spot – holding a lead through the first two periods. Florida, appearing in its third consecutive Cup Final, was 31-0 when holding a lead at the end of the first or second period in the playoffs under head coach Paul Maurice. Edmonton had other plans of handing the 58-year-old Maurice something he hasn't experienced since trading the cold of Winnipeg for the sunny beaches of south Florida three years ago. Defenseman Mattias Ekholm, playing in only his second game back due to injury, tied it with 13:27 remaining in regulation off a perfect pass from McDavid which would eventually force overtime. Both teams traded scoring chances for most of the extra period, but Panthers winger Tomáš Nosek was called for delay of game after putting the puck over the glass with time winding down. With their two best players on the ice for the ensuing power play, McDavid and Draisaitl did what they do best to secure victory for the Oilers. After the game, Draisaitl – despite having a hard time describing the feeling of scoring the game-winner in a Stanley Cup final series – credited his teammates for setting up the scoring chance. 'You are obviously locked in. Especially on the power play, you're looking to finish it,' Draisaitl told reporters. 'Again, some incredible plays that made it pretty easy for me to put that home. It's a special feeling. It's great for right now but we got to look ahead and get read for Game 2.' McDavid, the three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner, called his teammate Draisaitl 'invaluable' to the team. 'Does so many good things,' McDavid said. 'Clutch, face-offs, you name it, he does it. Doesn't get enough respect or credit for his defensive abilities. When he's dug in, theres not many better – maybe nobody better.' Edmonton's Game 1 victory marks a stark contrast from last year's final. The Oilers fell into a dreaded 3-0 series deficit before clawing back to force a Game 7 where they suffered heartbreak. The Oilers are looking to become the first Canadian team to win the Cup since the Montreal Canadians in 1993 while the Panthers can be become the first team to win back-to-back Cups since their in-state rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning, did so in 2020 and 2021. Game 2 is on Friday before the series shifts to Sunrise, Florida for Games 3 and 4 starting on Sunday.
Washington Post
41 minutes ago
- Washington Post
'Spectacular' Stanley Cup Final Game 1 shows this Panthers-Oilers rematch could be a classic series
EDMONTON, Alberta — If the series opener of the Stanley Cup Final is a hint of things to come, the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers are about to give everyone a memorable show. The two best teams in the NHL over the past couple of years traded hits, goals and saves through an instant-classic Game 1 that ended with Leon Draisaitl scoring 19-plus minutes into overtime.
