Saturday Hockey News: Timo Meier, Chuck Fletcher Fired, Florida Panthers

Timo Meier is a game-changer and has been on a mission since the New Jersey Devils acquired him. Meier has 13 shots and 11 hits in his first three games with the Devils. His goals and assists will increase once he builds team chemistry. 

Chuck Fletcher was fired as general manager and president of the Philadelphia Flyers hockey operations on Friday. His replacement is Daniel Briere. The 45-year-old new interim general manager played six of his 17 NHL seasons with the Flyers from 2007-13. Under Fletcher, the Flyers have made the Stanley Cup Playoffs just once. 

Florida Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour wins overtime to give the Panthers a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Matthew Tkachuk added three assists. The Panthers have won three in a row and are within two points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card spot. 

College Basketball: Big East Tournament Quarterfinals, Jim Boeheim’s Retirement


Xavier rallied in the second half to defeat DePaul by the final score of 89-84. Xavier ended the game on a 14-4 run. Forward Jack Nunge led Xavier with 23 points, ten rebounds, and four assists. Xavier had all the momentum in the last four minutes of the game.

St John’s had a chance to get revenge on Marquette after losing to them in a close game last week. The Red Storm led 36-26 by the end of the first half. Marquette was the better team in the second half and during the overtime period. Marquette defeated St John’s 72-70. It is one of the best games of the Big East Tournament this season. St John’s relief too much from the perimeter. Marquette, on the other hand, fought and rallied back and made better adjustments. They were resilient, and that’s why they won this game. 

Creighton took out the defending Big East champs, Villanova Wildcats, 87-74. Center Ryan Kalkbrenner led the team with 21 points on a 9-for-12 shooting from the field, 12 rebounds, nine assists, and two blocks. 

Jim Boeheim worked his last game as Syracuse’s head men’s basketball coach on Wednesday.

Adrian Autry is the successor of Jim Boeheim as the new head coach of the Syracuse Men’s Basketball team. 

Who is Adrian Autry? The 51-year-old played four seasons at Syracuse from 1990-94. After an overseas professional career as a player and a brief stint on the Virginia Tech sideline, Autry returned to Syracuse as an assistant coach in 2011.

During Jim’s 47-year career span, he went to 35 NCAA tournament appearances, five Final Fours, and the 2003 national championship featuring Carmelo Anthony.

His 1,015 career wins rank second all-time in Division I basketball, behind only Krzyzewski’s 1,202.

When you think about Syracuse basketball, you think about Jim. He was an integral part of the Golden Era of Big East in the 1980s alongside his rivals John Thompson, Rollie Massamino, and Lou Carsenneca. The battles between Georgetown and Syracuse were epic. 

Sunday Sports Shorts

Duke was in command against Virginia Tech in this ACC matchup. Duke went on multiple runs throughout the second half. It’s an impressive victory for the Blue Devils as they had former alumni and hall of Famer Grant Hill watching them from the stands. The Blue Devils won 81-65. 

Jason Tatum silenced and stunned Philadelphia with a late game-winning three points to lead the Celtics to victory over the Sixers, 110-107. Joel Embiid finished with a game-high 41 points for the Sixers. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 26 points. 

The Columbus Blue Jackets gave a lot of problems to the Edmonton Oilers’ goalies. Edmonton came back to tie the game 4-4 after trailing 4-0, but the Blue Jackets attacked two more goals in the third period to win the game, 6-4. Connor McDavid finished with 4 points (2 goals and two assists). 

Baseball is back. Spring Training is here. The Mets and Yankees lost their games on the road against the Astros and Phillies. Baltimore Orioles beat Minnesota Twins, 10-5. The Toronto Blue Jays played a great game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Vlad Jr, Santiago Espinal, and Addison Barger all homered on Saturday. Pitcher Yusei Kikuchi played a good game with five strikeouts and no earned runs allowed through two innings. Blue Jays won 9-7. 

Saturday Hockey News with Miguel

The Boston Bruins got better. The front office is going to work during the trade deadline. Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway have been traded to the Bruins from the Washington Capitals. It’s championship or bust for the Bruins this season. Orlov has 19 points in 43 games this season. He won the Stanley Cup in 2018 with the Capitals. Hathaway gives the Bruins strength on both the forward and defensive sides. Hathaway led the Capitals with 198 hits in 59 games this season.

After trailing 3-0 to the Los Angeles Kings, the New York Islanders fought back by scoring two goals on Friday night, but it was too little too late. The Kings hang on to beat the Islanders in Long Island, 3-2. 

William Nylander was the hero for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night when he scored the game-winning overtime goal against the Minnesota Wild. Maple Leafs won 2-1 and snapped the Wild’s 4-game winning streak. 

Saturday Hockey News with Miguel

Toronto Maple Leafs acquire Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari in a 3-team trade with St Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild.

Connor McDavid made history in the garden on Friday night. He surpassed 100 points by recording two assists. The Edmonton Oilers squandered a 4-1 lead to the New York Rangers and lost in a 6-round shootout. The Rangers have won seven consecutive games. They are one of the hottest teams in the second half so far. 

Another New York team that rallied in a comeback fashion is the New York Islanders. The Islanders won 5-4 over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ilya Sorokin saved 40 of 44 shots. Brock Nelson and Anders Lee each recorded 3 points. 

The Carolina Hurricanes will host their first outdoor Stadium Series game against the Washington Capitals at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday night. 

Saturday Hockey News with Miguel

The New York Rangers played smart and intellectual hockey against the Vegas Golden Knights at the garden on Friday night. Goaltender Jaroslav Halak made 33 saves for the Rangers. Vincent Trocheck scored a goal and an assist to Filip Chytil, who made a sweet goal in the third period. The Rangers won this game 4-1. 

New Jersey Devils, the best road team in the NHL, traveled to Dallas to take on the Dallas Stars. Jack Hughes scored two goals in this game, and one came in overtime to give the Devils a 3-2 over the Dallas Stars. Vitek Vanecek deserves more recognition for his goal-tending performance. He saved 33 shots for the Devils. Also, the Devils blocked 24 of the Stars’ shots. 

It was a thrilling finish between the San Jose Sharks and Carolina Hurricanes. Trailing 4-3 with less than a minute to go, Martin Necas ties the game 4-4 with 11.5 seconds left in the third period. Necas forced the game to go to overtime and struck once again by scoring the game-winning goal to send everyone home. The Hurricanes won 5-4. 

Vancouver Canucks played with a lot of intensity and high energy against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Bo Horvat added four assists. Elias Pettersson scored two goals. CanuCks defeated the Blue Jackets 5-2. Canucks wore the old-school jerseys from the 1990s. 

Saturday Hockey News with Miguel

Vancouver Canucks have now lost 6 of their last seven games. Their latest loss came against the defending champions Colorado Avalanche. Nathan MacKinnon had two assists on the power play. He extends his point streak to seven games. Colorado won 4-1.

Ottawa Senators couldn’t keep up with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Goaltender Tristan Jarry was the star and player of the game. After returning from an injury, he made 44 saves to help the Penguins win this game, 4-1. Jake Guentzel added three points (2 goals and one assist). 

San Jose Sharks might or might not end up trading Eric Karlsson, but Karlsson has expressed that he loves playing in San Jose. Karlsson leads NHL defensemen in points, goals, and assists. He’s undoubtedly one of the hottest NHL players in the game. 

Saturday Hockey News with Miguel

New Jersey Devils took on the Anaheim Ducks. Almost 20 years ago, they faced off in the Stanley Cup Finals. As for this game, Jack Hughes scored two goals for the Devils. He has 21 goals in 22 games. The Devils jumped and scored three goals in the first period. Anaheim had no answer for New Jersey. The Devils won 6-2—an outstanding road performance by the best road team in hockey. 

Winnipeg Jets traveled to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins. The Jets started the goal with a power-play goal. Two coaches’ challenges were in the first period, and both goals were waived. However, the Jets answered those challenges by scoring back-to-back goals late in the second period to go up 3-1. The Jets would win this game 4-1. It’s their seventh win in the last eight games. Mark Scheifele scored two goals for the Jets. 

On Friday night, it was Connor McDavid’s birthday. The captain turned 26. Did he have a good birthday performance on the ice? He certainly did. McDavid finished the game with three points – 2 goals and one assist. The Oilers dominated the Sharks from start to finish. Oilers trounce the Sharks 7-1.