Latest news with #KellyCup
Chicago Tribune
3 days ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Chicago Blackhawks updates: Jared Nightingale hired in Rockford — and Mark Eaton returns to front office
The coaching shuffle continued for the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, with Jared Nightingale returning to the Rockford IceHogs. Nightingale takes over for interim coach Mark Eaton, who filled in as a first-time coach when the Hawks promoted Anders Sörensen to interim coach in Chicago on Dec. 5 after firing Luke Richardson. Nightingale, 42, was an assistant coach in Rockford from 2021-2024 (under Derek King, and then Sörensen) before serving as head coach of the ECHL South Carolina Stingrays last season, his first season as a bench boss. The Stingrays finished as regular-season champions at 52-15-5, but lost in the first round of the Kelly Cup playoffs. However, Nightingale was named ECHL coach of the year and also served as director of hockey operations for the Stingrays, who set franchise records in points (109) and wins (52). 'A natural leader, Jared's confidence and direction behind the bench has produced a coaching style that is perfectly suited to help develop and advance our young prospects in Rockford,' Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson said in a statement. 'His familiarity with the organization and our players is an incomparable asset and we're excited to see Jared succeed in this role moving forward.' Nightingale also served as an assistant coach for the U.S. U17 team in 2018-19 that featured IceHogs prospects Drew Commesso and Landon Slaggert, and on the Juniors roster that had Hawks goalie Spencer Knight and defenseman Alex Vlasic. He worked under then-head coach Seth Appert, a longtime colleague of new Hawks coach Jeff Blashill. Blashill was named the Hawks' 42nd head coach this month, and while he has kept on some staffers, he's shaken up the rest of the coaching tree: Despite his one-year absence from the organization, Nightingale will likely be reunited with some top prospects who may spend at least some of next season in Rockford, including defensemen Nolan Allan and Ethan Del Mastro and forward Colton Dach.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lions Dash Hopes Of A Florida Four-Peat, Eliminate Everblades From Eastern Conference Finals
For the second time in the last four post-seasons, the Florida Everblades faced elimination. The first time occurred in 2024, when they fought back from a 3-1 deficit in the South Division Semifinals to overcome the Jacksonville Icemen. This time, Florida trailed the Trois-Rivieres Lions 3-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals heading into Game 6 Tuesday evening. A comeback would not be in the cards on this night. Justin Ducharme and Tyler Hylland each scored a pair of goals, while goaltender Luke Cavallin kept Florida off the scoresheet in a 6-0 victory in Estero. Trois-Rivieres takes the Eastern Conference Finals in six games, ending the Everblades' bid for a Kelly Cup four-peat. Knowing they needed to get off to a good start, Florida came out aggressively early in the opening period, getting the first two shots on goal. While neither were high-quality chances, Lions goaltender Luke Cavallin was up to the task, turning away each one. Anthony Beauregard had a chance to put the Lions on the board first, but Everblades netminder Cam Johnson kept it out of the net. The Lions lit the lamp first at the 15:34 mark on a Ducharme net-front goal. It was the fifth time in the six games of this series and 14th in 16 post-season contests Trois-Rivieres scored first. The score remained that way through the first 20 minutes, with the Lions also leading in the shot category 7-6. Neither team drew a penalty in the first period. That changed less than two minutes into the middle frame, when Colton Hargrove was called for the game's first penalty, putting the Lions on the power play. However, Florida effectively killed off the penalty without allowing a shot. The Everblades had a flurry of shots during one series seven minutes in, but Cavallin was rock-solid, denying each one. Those failed opportunities seemed to inject some energy into Trois-Rivieres. At 10:42, Ducharme struck again, this time on a breakaway. He got behind the Florida defense and went five-hole on Johnson. Just 18 seconds later, Alex Beaucage tallied his ninth goal of the post-season for a 3-0 Lions lead, sending the Hertz Arena crowd into stunned silence. It was the largest lead by any team in the series and the biggest deficit the Everblades have faced this post-season. The Everblades' Isaac Nurse went to the sin bin for high sticking at 18:21 of the middle frame. The penalty carried into the third period with the 3-0 deficit and their season on the ropes. If anyone had firsthand knowledge that Florida was capable of a comeback, it would be Trois-rivieres. The Everblades trailed 2-0 after 40 minutes in Game 3 before scoring four unanswered goals to win. As the third period got underway in Game 6, the Lions had two chances to score on the power play, but Johnson helped his team kill off the penalty. The Everblades finally got their first chance on the man advantage at 2:18 of the third, but even that couldn't change their bad mojo. Tyler Hylland's initial shot was stopped by Johnson, but the rebound managed to trickle behind him into the net for a 4-0 Lions lead. That freak goal proved to be the back-breaker for the Everblades. They sent Cam Johnson to the bench for the sixth attacker at the 13:34 mark, but to no avail. Trois-Rivieres went into shutdown mode, with Cavallin keeping Florida off the scoreboard for the second time in the series. Hylland scored an empty-netter for his second goal of the night, and Tommy cormier added his first professional playoff goal to secure the 6-0 final score. The Lions took the Eastern Conference Finals 4-2, ending Florida's bid for a fourth straight Kelly Cup. Trois-Rivieres will face the Toledo Walleye in the Cup Final
Global News
6 days ago
- Sport
- Global News
Medicine Hat defeats the London Knights to advance to Memorial Cup final
The London Knights road to the Memorial Cup final will have to go through a semi-final game. The Medicine Hat Tigers defeated London 3-1 on May 27 to earn a spot in the championship game for the first time since 2007 when they were defeated by the host Vancouver Giants. The Tigers last won the tournament in 1988 when a Trevor Linden-led Medicine Hat team defeated the Ontario Hockey League champion Windsor Spitfires. The Knights started fast in the game with two odd-man rushes in the first two minutes. Even though neither one produced a shot on goal London kept coming and drew a penalty that led to the game's first goal. Sam Dickinson's shot from the left point was deflected into the Tigers net at 3:34 of the opening period by Kasper Halttunen to give London a 1-0 lead. Story continues below advertisement Halttunen now has six goals in the seven Memorial Cup games that the San Jose Sharks prospect has played. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy London had several good chances in the opening 20 minutes but pucks went off sticks and over nets and the first period came to an end with the Knights ahead by a goal. Ethan Neutens tied the game for the Tigers at 5:11 of the second period as a shot from the blue line hit a skate and went right to the big forward from Cochrane, Alta., who was standing to the left of the Knight net. Medicine Hat overage forward Mathew Ward put them ahead just 1:17 into the third period when he took a pass at the side of the London goal and swung it around Knights netminder Austin Elliott for his first goal of the tournament and a 2-1 lead. London's Easton Cowan wrung a shot off the crossbar as the game wore on and Harrison Meneghin made some key stops even through a late Knights man advantage and Ryder Ritchie scored into an empty net with less than 12 seconds to seal the victory for the Tigers. London outshot Medicine Hat 36-29. The Knights were 1-for-3 on the power play and 3-for 3 on the penalty kill. Story continues below advertisement Billy Moskal into Kelly Cup final with Toledo Former London Knights forward Billy Moskal set up Matt Anderson for an insurance goal in the third period as the ECHL's Toledo Walleye downed another ex-Knight in Nathan Dunkley and his Kansas City Mavericks to advance to the Kelly Cup championship. Moskal's career in London ended in 2019-20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Sudbury, Ont., native took his defensive skills to the University of Toronto after that where he spent four seasons before joining the Walleye for the final ten games of their regular season. Up next The host Rimouski Oceanic will meet the Moncton Wildcats on Wednesday, May 28 at 7 p.m., in the final round robin game at the 2025 Memorial Cup tournament. The London Knights will face the winner of that game on Friday, May 30 at 7.p.m. Coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m., on 980 CFPL, at and on the iHeart Radio and Radioplayer Canada apps.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Flyers Offseason: Who Are the Best (or Worst) Candidates to Replace Ian Laperriere?
According to multiple reports, the Philadelphia Flyers are moving on from Ian Laperriere as the head coach of their farm team, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. But how do they plan on replacing him? And with who? Laperriere, 51, had spent the last four years at the helm of the Phantoms, guiding them to three consecutive playoff appearances, but blowing a 2-1 series lead to the Hershey Bears in this year's Calder Cup playoffs. Notably, when starting goalie Parker Gahagen went down with an injury, Laperriere rolled with exiled journeyman Cal Petersen ahead of promising prospect Carson Bjarnason not once, but twice, losing the series 3-2 and failing to get one of his best youngsters a taste of playoff action. Not to mention that prospects like Massimo Rizzo and Alex Ciernik, two forwards the Flyers have varying degrees of investment in, didn't even play a playoff game for Laperriere. Everything the Flyers have said and done this offseason, especially as it relates to the hiring of Rick Tocchet, has pointed towards player development being of the utmost importance now and in the future. Laperriere couldn't get the job done, at least not consistently enough, and it is now apparently time for a change behind the bench in Allentown. If the Flyers have reason to believe looking internally is a good option, one candidate who could stand out is Phantoms assistant coach John Snowden, who just completed his second season in Lehigh Valley. Snowden, 44, coached his way up from the ECHL ranks, starting his coaching career as an assistant coach of the Orlando Solar Bears back in 2015-16. Snowden served as the head coach of the Newfoundland Growlers for parts of two seasons between 2018-19 and 2019-20, and later took over as their president of hockey operations for the 2020-21 season. For those curious, Flyers GM Danny Briere was the vice president of hockey operations for the ECHL's Maine Mariners at the same time. Report: Flyers Rejected Big Maple Leafs Trade for Rasmus Ristolainen According to a new report, the Philadelphia Flyers received a massive trade offer from the Toronto Maple Leafs for veteran defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. GM Danny Briere and Co. didn't budge. Snowden's Growlers won the Kelly Cup in 2019 and went 42-17-1 in 60 games under his watch before the 2019-20 season was cancelled, so there's a history of success there, and Briere has gone up against him in the ECHL before. Indeed, Snowden is not the sexiest name or the most well-traveled option, but there's reason to believe he could do the job if called upon. One name that Flyers fans might be more familiar with is Jay McKee, a former Buffalo Sabres first-round pick who was teammates with Briere for parts of three seasons. Oh, and McKee was linked to the Flyers' head coaching job on more than one occasion, though some chalked it up to Briere trying to juice his old pal's name in coaching circles. Even if that was true, I don't think Briere does something like that without truly, honestly believing McKee can coach, and coach well, at that. And, suddenly, Briere has a job opening that makes a lot more sense than a leap from the OHL to the NHL. McKee, 47, has been an OHL head coach since the 2016-17 season, sitting out the 2020-21 season after getting fired by the Kitchener Rangers the year prior. Since then, McKee has spent the last four years in charge of the Hamilton (now Brantford) Bulldogs, coaching talents like Mason McTavish, Arber Xhekaj, Jorian Donovan, Jan Mysak, Artem Grushnikov, Ryan Winterton, Marek Vanacker, Florian Xhekaj, Nick Lardis, Adam Jiricek, and potential Flyers 2025 first-round pick Jake O'Brien. Flyers GM Teases Potential Top Pick Ahead of 2025 NHL Draft Philadelphia Flyers general manager Danny Briere is not ignoring the possibility of selecting Caleb Desnoyers sixth overall at the 2025 NHL Draft in June. In fact, he's embracing it. And for those who might not be aware, Lardis, a 19-year-old Chicago Blackhawks prospect, just exploded for 71 goals, 46 assists, and 117 points in 65 games this year. Lardis' 71 goals rank 11th all-time in single-season OHL history, trailing some guys named Eric Lindros, John Tavares, and Dino Ciccarelli. Ever heard of them? Oh, and a 19-year-old Doug Gilmour 'only' managed 70 goals in an OHL season at the peak of his powers. So, needless to say, McKee is a perfectly capable leader of men who can get the best out of his players. We don't need to go further down the list to prove that. I'd be stunned if McKee is not the clubhouse favorite to replace Laperriere. Taking the next step and joining Briere's Flyers with the Phantoms makes too much sense. Another name to watch, be it at the NHL level or the AHL level, is Cory Stillman. Most Flyers fans probably know Stillman as Jett Luchanko's head coach with the Guelph Storm this past season, but Stillman also has four years of experience as an NHL assistant coach, including as part of Tocchet's Arizona Coyotes staff in 2020-21. The 51-year-old has never coached at the AHL level before, but if Tocchet and/or the Flyers want continuity between the AHL and NHL systems and what is being asked of the young players, hiring Stillman could make perfect sense. This season, Stillman also served as the head coach of Canada's U-18s, which boasted star prospects like Keaton Verhoeff (2026), Brady Martin, Jack Nesbitt, Cole Reschny, Braeden Cootes, and Jack Ivankovic, among many others. If you've paid any attention to national draft coverage lately, you'll know that Martin has been mocked to the Flyers at No. 6 by Craig Button, and Button successfully mocked Luchanko, also coached by Stillman, to the Flyers (with their top draft pick) last year. Those connections, especially with important draft picks, matter. So, while McKee may appear to be the leader for now, watch out for Stillman. The Flyers love their connections, and McKee is not the only one who has them.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lions Best Everblades In ECF Game 5
The Trois-Rivieres Lions are one win away from punching their ticket to the Kelly Cup Final for the first time in franchise history. Trois-Rivieres took a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals Saturday with a 3-1 win over the Florida Everblades at Colisee Videotron. The Lions, who were shut out in Game 4, were more aggressive in their approach during Game 5. They took control almost from the opening faceoff, generating several high-danger chances. Florida had some opportunities too, including two shots that hit the post during a power play. The Lions finally broke through against Everblades goaltender Cam Johnson when Tyler Hylland finally broke the deadlock with the Lions' first goal in two games at the 14:47 mark of the first period. Early in the middle frame, the Everblades tied the game on a power-play goal from Oliver Chau, scored just 12 seconds into a penalty to Jakov Novak. Trois-Rivières responded with consistent pressure, directing 14 shots at Johnson in the period. Meanwhile, the Everblades only managed two shots on goal in the frame, and the score remained even heading into the final period. The Lions struck early in the third, with Chris Jandric scoring a power-play goal at the 1:04 mark to restore the lead. From there, head coach Ron Choules' squad tightened up defensively and allowed very few quality chances. Florida attempted to mount an attack by outshooting the Lions 11-10 in the final frame, but couldn't get anything past netminder Luke Cavallin. Alex Beaucage sealed the win with an empty-net goal late in regulation, completing the 3-1 victory and putting the three-time Kelly Cup champions on the brink of playoff elimination. Cavallin stopped 20 shots to earn the victory, while Everblades goalie Cam Johnson saved 30 in the loss. The Toledo Walleye punched their ticket to the Kelly Cup Final with a win over Kansas City on Saturday, taking the Western Conference Finals series 4-1. They now await the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals. Game 6 will take place Tuesday night at Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida. Puck drop is set for 7:30 Pm ET. If a Game 7 is necessary, that will also be played in Estero on Wednesday at that same time.
