SPORTS briefs
Tommies outgun Hurricanes in ACAA volleyball action
The Holland College Hurricanes had a rough go against St. Thomas over the weekend as the Tommies won three of four Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) volleyball matches on home court in Fredericton, N.B. Sunday, the Hurricanes’ lone victory came thanks to the women’s five-set victory (2520, 20-25, 26-24, 23-25, 15-9), led by Taylor Allen’s 13 kills. Zayley Murphy and Abby Hyndman each chipped in 10 kills. Laura Ready dished out a match-high 43 assists while Allen, Murphy and Katie Wood all had 15 digs.
Meanwhile, St. Thomas outgunned the Holland College men 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-13, 25-16), despite 11 kills from Aaron Pugh and 10 kills each from Jeff MacDonald and Brett Butler. Nicholas Menzies had 26 assists while Zach Thibodeau and Butler had 13 and 10 digs, respectively.
In Saturday’s St. Thomas sweep, the women lost 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 2521) and the men were dumped 3-0 (27-25, 25-21, 25-21).
The Hurricanes sit at 5-3, tied for third with UNBSJ in the ACAA women’s standings, while the men (2-4) lie in third place.
Next up, the women host Mount Allison on Friday. Game time at Holland College is 7 p.m., while the men go into the holiday break after Sunday’s matchup versus UNBSJ at Holland College. Start time is 2 p.m. Hurricanes finish fourth in volleyball competition
The Holland College Hurricanes badminton team finished in fourth place as host for the recent Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) meet in Charlottetown.
The bright spots for the ‘Canes were the mixed doubles teams as Josh Watkins and Isabelle Saunders went 3-1 and finished second in the B competition. Meanwhile, on the A side, Jonah Wilton and Kathrine McEwen were 2-2 and placed third.
Other top-three ‘Canes finishes included Isabelle Saunders (2-2) in women’s singles B, Josh Watkins (2-2) in men’s singles A and Meredith Harrison and Bethany Parkhouse (2-2) in women’s doubles B.
King’s College won the event followed by Mount Allison and Dal-AC in second and third, respectively. The Université de Sainte-Anne finished fifth.
The next ACAA meet goes Jan. 12-13 at Mount Allison.
Jets’ Laine, Knights’ Fleury, Bolts’ Kucherov named three stars of week NEW YORK - Winnipeg Jets right-wing Patrik Laine, Vegas Golden Knights goaltender MarcAndre Fleury and Tampa Bay Lightning rightwing Nikita Kucherov are the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Laine led the NHL with 11 goals in four games. He started the week with his sixth career hat trick in a 6-3 triumph over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday and capped it with a careerhigh and franchise-record five goals in an 8-4 victory against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. Laine registered the 57th five-goal performance in NHL history as well as the first since Detroit’s Johan Franzen on Feb. 2, 2011. Fleury stopped 81 of the 83 shots he faced, going 3-0-0 with a 0.65 goals-against average, .976 save percentage and two shutouts to lift the Golden Knights (12-12-1, 25 points) into third place in the Pacific Division. Kucherov shared the League lead with seven assists and ranked second overall with nine points in four games to propel the Eastern Conference-leading Lightning to a trio of wins.
The Canadian Press
Canadians place Alzner on waivers as Weber nears return from surgery MONTREAL - The Montreal Canadiens have placed defenceman Karl Alzner on waivers. The 30-year-old has an assist and a plus-2 differential in eight games this season.
He had a goal and 11 points in 82 games with Montreal last season after signing a five-year, US$23.125 million deal in the 20017 off-season The move comes as top defenceman Shea Weber nears his return form off-season knee surgery.
Alzner was the fifth-overall pick of the Washington Capitals in the 2007 NHL draft.